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☆ Putin to meet Xi in China as world convulses from global conflicts
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Pyongyang – which has an economy almost entirely dependent of China – is believed by Western governments to be aiding Russia with war supplies. Xi has ramped up his calls for Europe and other countries to help the world avoid a “Cold War,” suggesting they resist what Beijing sees as US efforts to contain China. They have also criticized Israel and the United States – converging with mounting global backlash, especially across the Global South against Israel’s war. The conflict has also impacted how China and Russia view their relations with countries there, he added. China “wants to use Russia” for its aims, but Russia is making China weak, he said.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Putin, –, It’s, China –, Xi, France –, Jens Stoltenberg, Sergei Guneyev, ”, Li Mingjiang, Manoj Kewalramani, Russia doesn’t, Stringer, Gaza —, Sergey Lavrov, presser, Wang Yi, Israel, “, Privately, Shen Dingli, China “, Alexander Dugin, Donald Trump, Li Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, West, NATO, Forum, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, EU, Takshashila, Boys, Getty, United, Global, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Russia, Weibo, Moscow, CNN Locations: Hong Kong, China, Russian, Gaza, Ukraine, Moscow, Washington, Iran, North Korea, Pyongyang, Russia, Tehran, Beijing, Europe, France, Serbia, Hungary, Bangalore, Rafah, AFP, Israel, United States, Kewalramani, South, Taiwan, Shanghai, Singapore

☆ Opinion: Russia can lose this war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Opinion Timothy Snyder | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And far too many of us, during Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, have believed that. Of its three most consequential foreign wars, the Red Army lost two. And the Russian army of today is not the Red Army. It was disproportionately Ukrainians who fought their war to Berlin in the uniform of the Red Army. Russia can lose this war, and should, for the sake of Russians themselves.

Persons: Timothy Snyder, Richard C, Levin, “, ”, Read, Leonid Brezhnev, Putin, Alexander Nemenov, Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Robert Nickelsberg Organizations: Global Affairs, Yale University, CNN, Russia, Getty, Red, Red Army, Soviet, Lease, Russian Empire, Russo, Fascism Locations: Nazi Germany, Russia, Ukraine, AFP, Poland, Afghanistan, USSR, Soviet Ukraine, Berlin, United States, Russian, Crimean, Japanese, Europe, Pacific, Kabul, Soviet Union, Crimea, Japan, Soviet, Ukrainian

☆ The pope raises eyebrows after saying Ukraine should have the 'courage of the white flag' and negotiate with Russia
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-10 | by ( Cameron Manley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Pope Francis said Ukraine should have the 'courage of the white flag' and negotiate with Russia. AdvertisementPope Francis has sparked controversy after saying Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia. "You are the heirs of the great Russia. The great Russia of the saints, of the kings, of the great Russia of Peter the Great, of Catherine II, that great imperial Russia, cultivated, with so much culture and humanity," he said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in Istanbul March 8, 2024 Ozan Guzelce/dia images via Getty ImagesBut Russia and Ukraine continue to speak at cross purposes.

Persons: Pope Francis, —, Edgers Rinkēvičs, Matteo Bruni, Bruni, Zelenskyy, Darya, Alexander Dugin, Dugina, Dmytro Kuleba, Francis, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Peter the Great, Catherine II, Oleh, " Bruni, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ozan Organizations: Service, RSI, Catholic Church, Ukrainian Foreign, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kremlin, Kyiv Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Swiss, Turkey, Visegrad, Latvian, Russian, Moscow, Ukrainian, Istanbul, Turkish, Crimea

☆ Russian election: As Putin readies for a fifth term, the Kremlin is stepping up its war on its own people
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Clare Sebastian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In January, she was jailed for five and a half years for spreading “false” information about the army. Russian independent news outlet Mediazona reported she was convicted after two reposts on VKontakte — Russia’s version of Facebook — including one about Russian troop deaths. Oskar CherdzhievRussia’s powerful investigative committee ordered a criminal case be opened on charges of spreading false information about the army. So they try to protect this.”‘Deeper and deeper into this darkness’With mainstream Russian media now entirely state-controlled, the authorities are targeting other forms of expression — the arts, literature and culture. In December, Akunin was added to Russia’s “terrorist and extremist list” for allegedly justifying extremism and spreading false information about the Russian army.

Persons: It’s, ”, Oleg Orlov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Orlov, Tatyana Makeyeva, Darya, “, ” Korolenko, Konstantin Eggert, Evgeniya, Nadezhda Buyanova, —, Buyanova, Oskar Cherdzhiev Russia’s, Grigory Chkhartishvili, Boris Akunin, he’s, Akunin, Russia’s, Misha Japaridze, Alexey Navalny, Andrei Soldatov, ” Soldatov, Soldatov Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Higher School of, Center, Combating Extremism, Bolshevik Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, Orlov’s, Russian, Shakhty, Ukrainian, ” Russia, Covid, USSR

☆ Opinion: Who is winning? Gen. Petraeus on Ukraine war, two years in
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

CNN —Two years into the Ukraine war, the tide has shifted, and Russian forces have some momentum, according to retired US General David Petraeus. Michal Dyjuk/AP/FILELast weekend Gen. Petraeus was at the Munich Security Conference, the leading global national security conference that was attended by pretty much every European leader and by top American officials – including Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. BERGEN: At the Munich Security Conference, what was the mood like? BERGEN: Who’s winning the war in Ukraine? BERGEN: What’s going on in Ukraine looks a lot like World War I, in the sense that it’s trench warfare, minefields, machine guns.

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, David Petraeus, Vladimir Putin’s, Putin, Lord Andrew Roberts, ” David Petraeus, Michal Dyjuk, Petraeus, Kamala Harris, Antony Blinken, Alexey Navalny’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Gen, PETRAEUS, I’ve, Olaf Scholz, Jens Stoltenberg, Tobias Schwarz, they’ll, Who’s, I’m, Vladimir Putin, Alexey Navalny, we’re, didn’t, Thomas Peter, –, Zelensky, can’t, what’s, There’s, Sergei Supinsky, it’s, Andrew Roberts, Biden, Donald Trump’s Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, Trump Administration, CNN, Munich Security Conference, Conference, Supreme, NATO, Munich, Reuters, Republicans, Kremlin, Russian Federation, Kherson –, Tactical Missile Systems, Pentagon, Getty, Congress, Munich Security, PETRAEUS Locations: New America, Ukraine, United States, Afghanistan, Iraq, Avdiivka, BERGEN, Munich, Europe, Russia, Russian, Spain, Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kherson, Ukrainian, Swedish, Donetsk, Sevastopol, Crimea, North Africa, Egypt, Kremlin, St, Petersburg, Moldova, Transnistria, Baltic, Soviet Union, AFP, ” BERGEN

☆ Former PM Alexander Stubb wins Finnish presidency, narrowly defeating ex-top diplomat Pekka Haavisto
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Haavisto conceded defeat after a projection by the Finnish public broadcaster YLE showing a win for Stubb was released Sunday night. "This has been a fair, great race," Stubb told Haavisto after the result was clear. Several polls indicated Stubb, who has also served as Finland's foreign, finance and European affairs minister, was the favorite to win the presidency. During the election campaign, Stubb and Haavisto largely agreed on Finland's foreign policy and security priorities. Haavisto was Finland's top diplomat in 2019-2023 and the main negotiator of its entry into NATO.

Persons: Alexander Stubb, Pekka Haavisto, Haavisto, Stubb, Sauli Niinistö, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Nordic, NATO, National Coalition Party, YLE, Helsinki City Hall, Union, Washington, Kyiv, United Nations Locations: Ukraine, Finland, United States, Russia, China, Moscow, Europe

☆ Armenia Can No Longer Rely on Russia for Military and Defence Needs - PM Pashinyan Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Armenia can no longer rely on Russia as its main defence and military partner because Moscow has repeatedly let it down so Yerevan must think about forging closer ties with the United States and France, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. Armenia, a tiny former Soviet republic bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey, has long relied on Russia as a big power ally, though Pashinyan has angered the Kremlin by questioning the foundations of the alliance. Pashinyan said Armenia should think about what security ties it should build with the United States, France, India and Georgia. Pashinyan says Russia failed Armenia when Azerbaijan launched a lightning-fast military operation that took back control over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, triggering an outflow of ethnic Armenians living there. Azerbaijan has accused France of sowing the seeds of a new war by supplying arms to Armenia, which is also being courted by the United States.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Armenian Public, Russian Federation Locations: MOSCOW, Armenia, Russia, Moscow, Yerevan, United States, France, Soviet, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, India, Israel, Gaza, Soviet Union, Karabakh, South Caucasus

☆ Putin is trying to track down overseas properties that the Soviet Union owned and stake claims on them
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russian President Putin has ordered a search for real estate abroad that belonged to the Soviet Union and the Russia Empire. One decree allocates funds for the search, while the other provides funds for maintenance and operations. AdvertisementThe Soviet Union was formed in 1922 and collapsed in 1991, after which its constituent republics — which includes Ukraine and the Baltic countries, among others — became independent states. Putin has called the collapse of the Soviet Union "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century" and said in 2021 that the event marked the demise of "historical Russia." AdvertisementIn June 2022, Putin compared himself to Czar Peter the Great — the first emperor of Russia — to justify the invasion of Ukraine.

Persons: Putin, —, Vladimir Putin, Peter the Great, Russia — Organizations: Service, Russian Empire, TASS Locations: Soviet Union, Russia, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Baltic, Alaska, US

☆ Opinion: The Mideast conflict on campus is too simplistic
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-17 | by ( Peter Rutland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Many college students are taught that American society is the product of “settler colonialism” — a history of conquest and exploitation. In this simplistic framing, the plight of the Palestinians is just one more example of the familiar evils of settler colonialism. The Gaza war is better understood as a conflict between two competing nationalist projects than as a case of settler colonialism. There are a number of inconvenient historical truths that complicate the “settler colonialism” narrative. Another problem with the settler colonialism narrative is that it treats each side as a monolithic actor, playing the role of colonizer and victim, respectively.

Persons: Peter Rutland, Olivia Drake, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel ”, ”, —, Israel, Raphael Lemkin, colonizer, Netanyahu, Abraham Organizations: Wesleyan University, Association for, Nationalities, CNN, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, United, Palestine, Palestinian, Austrian, West Bank, Abraham Accords, United Arab, Arab League Locations: Russia, Europe, Eurasia, Israel, United States, Gaza, Israel’s, Americas, Palestine, Vienna, Vilnius, Lviv, Russian, Galicia, Egypt, Jordan, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Palestinian, Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Cairo

☆ She Once Won Eurovision. Now She’s on Russia’s Wanted List.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Ivan Nechepurenko | More About Ivan Nechepurenko | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 after a popular uprising ousted a Russia-leaning president in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Jamala won the Eurovision song contest in 2016 with a song dedicated to the Crimean Tatars who were deported in the 1940s after they were accused of cooperating with Nazi Germany. Her ancestors were deported to Central Asia, where she was born. “It happened in 1944, and then in 2014, and now again,” she said. In 1954, the peninsula was transferred from Russian to Ukrainian authority within the Soviet Union.

Persons: Jamala, ” Jamala, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Organizations: Tatars, Soviet Union, Ukraine — Locations: Ukrainian, Crimean, Soviet Union, Russia, Crimea, Ukraine, Kyiv, Nazi Germany, Central Asia, Russian, Soviet, Moscow

☆ Moldova's Largest Orthodox Church Keeps Link to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Alexander TanasCHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova's largest Orthodox church reaffirmed its link to its Russian parent church on Thursday despite dissent from priests who have denounced the association with Moscow over the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. But parishioners are divided between two churches -- the Moldova Metropolis, subordinate to the Russian Orthodox Church, and the Metropolis of Bessarabia, which reports to the Romanian church. "The clergy and the people remain faithful to the Orthodox Church of Moldova and Metropolitan Vladimir," Bishop Ioan of theRussia-linked church said in a statement. "There will be no discussion of linking the Molodvan Orthodox Church to the Romanian Patriarchate." A group of priests in the majority Russian-linked church had asked Vladimir this week to switch allegiance to the Romanian church.

Persons: Alexander Tanas CHISINAU, Metropolitan Vladimir, Kirill, Bishop Ioan, Vladimir, Pavel Borsevschi, Maia Sandu, Sandu, Alexander Tanas, Ron Popeski, Sandra Maler Organizations: Orthodox Church, Metropolitan, Orthodox, of, European Union Locations: Moscow, Ukraine, Moldova Metropolis, Metropolis, Bessarabia, Romanian, Russia, Russian, of Moldova, Romanian Patriarchate, Romania, Soviet Union

☆ Russia's dwindling 'Mountain Jews' in spotlight after Dagestan airport riot
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A rabbi walks in the courtyard of a synagogue in the ancient city of Debent on the Caspian Sea coast in Russia's Caucasus region of Dagestan August 17, 2007. Dagestan became part of the Russian empire in 1813, when Tsarist forces prised it away from Persia. Known locally as "Mountain Jews", they speak a dialect of the Farsi or Persian language spoken in Iran to the south. Some scholars believe that the first Mountain Jews, like members of many other Jewish communities, started to emigrate to a prospective homeland in what was then Ottoman-ruled Palestine as early as the 19th century. Rabbi Ovadia Isakov, the best-known contemporary Mountain Jewish rabbi, told Russian media that 300-400 families remained in Derbent.

Persons: Thomas Peter, prised, Rabbi Ovadia Isakov, Isakov, Shneor Segal, Filipp Lebedev, Kevin Liffey, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Palestinian, Thomson Locations: Debent, Caucasus, Dagestan, RUSSIA, Israel, Gaza, Derbent, Persia, Iran, Ottoman, Palestine, Soviet Union, Russia, Azerbaijan

☆ Biden’s Moment: A President Convinced of America’s Role in the World
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( David E. Sanger | More About David E. Sanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

President Biden could very well go down in history as the last American president born during World War II and shaped by a view of American power nurtured in the Cold War. To Mr. Biden’s mind, this has been the moment he has trained for his entire political career, a point he often makes when challenged about his age. In the past eight months, he has visited two countries in the midst of active wars. He has married his public embraces with private cautions, and kept American troops out of both conflicts — so far. Whether Mr. Biden can bring the American population along, however, is a more unsettled question than at any moment in his presidency, and the backdrop of his rare Oval Office address on Thursday night.

Persons: Biden, Golda Meir, Mikhail Gorbachev, Hamas —, “, ”, Michael Beschloss, Vladimir V, Putin, Peter the Great, Republicans —, Donald J, Trump Organizations: States —, Hamas, Ukraine, Republicans, Republican Party Locations: States, Ukraine, Israel, United States, America

☆ Aliyev raises Azerbaijan's flag in former breakaway region of Karabakh
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Sunday raised the national flag in the capital of the former breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after a lightning military operation last month brought the territory back under Azerbaijan's control. "President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has raised the national flag of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the city of Khankendi and delivered a speech," the presidential office said. In Soviet times is remained as part of the Azeri Soviet Republic but with autonomy. In 2020, after decades of skirmishes, Azerbaijan began a military operation which became the Second Karabakh War swiftly breaking through Armenian defences. Then in September of this year, Aliyev launched a military operation against the ethnic Armenian fighters of the region, defeating them.

Persons: Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Olaf Scholz, Annegret, Ilham Aliyev, Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Aliyev, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Karabakh, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Azerbaijan, Berlin, Germany, Nagorno, Karabakh, Republic of Azerbaijan, Khankendi, Armenia, Artsakh, South Caucasus, Russian, Azeri Soviet Republic, Soviet Union, Karabakh's, Turkey

☆ How 1880s technology made it possible for 2 women to travel around the world in under 80 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

In 1889, journalist Nellie Bly set off on a trip around the world, trying to make it under 80 days. "You see a huge emphasis being placed on building ships that were ever faster than the previous generation of ships," Goodman said. Once aboard the train, Bly began to receive telegrams from her editors and well-wishers. "Sometimes it literally literally just says, 'Nelly Bly's train,'" Behn said. For Behn, what Bly and Bisland did remains incredible and deserve to be remembered as much as Verne's story.

Persons: Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Bisland, —, Jules Verne's, Bly, Bisland, Adrien Behn, Matthew Goodman, Elizabeth Bisland's, Victoria, Augusta Victoria, Henry Guttmann, seasickness, Behn, San Francisco —, Bettmann, Goodman, John Mix Stanley, Said, Getty Images Bly, they'd, Alfred Touchemolin's, voyaged, She'd, James Buchanan, Joseph Pulitzer's, Nelly Bly's, Jules Verne, Thomas Cook, Fogg, Nelly, she'd Organizations: Service, Cosmopolitan, Atlantic, Hulton, Western, Central Pacific, Union Pacific, Union Pacific's Overland, Rockies, Railroad, US, Ships, Suez, Getty Images, Workers, SSPL, Headquarters, Thomas Cook &, Companies Locations: London, New Jersey, New York, California, Blackwell's, of, New York Harbor, Chicago, Omaha, Utah, San, Salt, Union, Iowa, San Francisco, Midwest, Between Nebraska, Sacramento , California, Sierra Nevada, Lake Jessie , North Dakota, Washington ,, Philadelphia, Suez, Europe, Asia, Africa, Britain, India, Port Said, Egypt, Yemen, commonwealths, British, Aden, Colombo, Penang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon, Yokohama, France, Germany, America, South China, Nevada, Russian Empire, East, North America, London's, Italy, Ireland, United States, Japan, China

☆ Opinion: Washington’s turmoil plays right into Putin’s hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Sheena Mckenzie | Opinion Frida Ghitis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In the meantime, a top NATO official warned that the arsenal for supporting Ukraine is running low. Europeans, contrary to the claims of demagogues running for president, are spending heavily to support Ukraine. Their meeting erupted in a round of applause for the Russian president, with delegates shouting “Putin! He voted against four of five bills supporting Ukraine as it sought to defend itself from a Russian invasion, which is now in its 20th month. Asked if Ukraine would be able to fight without US military support, 37-year-old Olha said, “Of course, we will fight — but it will be many times bloodier.”

Persons: Frida Ghitis, you’ve, Kevin McCarthy, McCarthy, Olha Hrubryna, she’s, ”, “, ” Volodymyr Kostiak, MAGA, Robert Fico, Rob Bauer of, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Putin, Donald Trump –, Josep Borrell, Joe Biden, Paul Krugman, Krugman, Trump, “ Putin, Oksana Markarova, Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, firebrand Trump, he’s, Olha Organizations: CNN, Washington Post, Politics, Republican, Frida Ghitis CNN, House Democrats, Ukraine, Capitol, NATO, European Union, Pro, Royal Dutch Navy, Soviet Union, European, Republican Party, New York Times, Political, firebrand, GOP Locations: Ukraine, Washington, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Slovakia, Russian, China, Russia, United States, –, Europe

CNN —Armenian soccer player Henrikh Mkhitaryan has called on international leaders to “stand up against ethnic cleansing” in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The region has its own de facto government that is backed by Armenia, but is not officially recognized by Armenia or any other country. The latest figures mean that more than one-third of the region’s roughly ethnic Armenians have left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia. The blockade prevented the import of food, fuel and medicine to Nagorno-Karabakh, prompting fears that residents were being left to starve. The closure of the Lachin corridor has also prevented international organizations and foreign media from accessing Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persons: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, “, Mkhitaryan, Ilham Aliyev, Nikol Pashinyan Organizations: CNN, Twitter, Inter Milan, Cross, Criminal Court, Manchester United, Arsenal, Europa League, Karabakh, Reuters Locations: Armenian, Nagorno, Karabakh, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh, Baku, Russian, Russia

☆ Putin is 'scrounging around' for low-quality weapons by doing a deal with North Korea, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A State Department spokesman mocked Vladimir Putin for seeking weapons from North Korea. Putin was "scrounging around" for low-quality weapons in doing the deal, said Matthew Miller. Putin appeared to strike an arms deal with North Korea's Kim Jong Un at a summit this week. The Russian president appears to be seeking weapons supplies from North Korea that can be used to attack Ukraine. Analysts said the North Korean weapons Putin seeks, such as rockets and ammunition, are ageing and inaccurate, but such are Russia's problems supplying front line troops in Ukraine that Putin wants to get hold of them anyway.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Matthew Miller, Kim Jong, Kim Jong Un, Miller, Kim Organizations: Department, North, Service, US State Department, UN Security Council, Korean, UN Locations: North Korea, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Vladivostok, Russian, Russia

☆ Ukrainian Catholic bishops rebuke pope over his Russia comments
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Pope Francis attends a meeting with bishops of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church at the Vatican, September 6, 2023. In a statement that was remarkable for its candour, they said their two-hour session with the pope at the Vatican was a "frank conversation". They were welcomed by the Kremlin, which praised the pope for what it said was his knowledge of Russian history. The statement from the Ukrainian bishops said the prelates "expressed the Ukrainian people's pain, suffering, and a certain disappointment" over the papal remarks. The statement quoted the pope as telling the bishops: "The fact that you doubted whom the pope is with was particularly painful for the Ukrainian people.

Persons: Pope Francis, tsars Peter I, Catherine II, Vladimir Putin, Francis, Putin, Philip Pullella, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Catholic Church, Vatican, Handout, REUTERS Acquire, CITY, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Mongolia, Russian, propounding

☆ Pope acknowledges his Russia comments were faulty
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Pope Francis holds a news conference aboard the papal plane on his flight back after visiting Mongolia, September 4, 2023. "I was not thinking of imperialism when I said that," Francis said about his comments last month. The comments caused an uproar in Ukraine because Russian President Vladimir Putin has invoked the legacies of the two Russian monarchs in justifying his invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of its territory. They were welcomed by the Kremlin, which praised the pope for his knowledge of Russian history. There were dark political years in Russia but the heritage is there, available to all," he said.

Persons: Pope Francis, Ciro Fusco, Pope, Catholic Church Pope, Francis, tsars Peter I, Catherine II, Vladimir Putin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Peter, Catherine, Francis said, John XXIV, Philip Pullella Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Catholic Church, Kremlin, Communist Party, Vatican, coy, Thomson Locations: Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, Kremlin China, China, Vatican, Beijing, Vietnam, Marseilles

CNN —Pope Francis formally began his 8,000-kilometer trip to Mongolia on Saturday, a country sandwiched between Russia and China that has a tiny Catholic population. With just 1,500 Catholics in the entire country, the visit was lacking the usual fanfare and mass crowds typically associated with Pope Francis’ trips abroad. Yang Guang from China told Reuters: “I’m just extremely happy because this is the first time I’ve seen him. He came at the invite of the government and spent the first day resting,Mongolian President Ukhnaagin Khurelsukh signs the honor book alingside Pope Francis on Saturday. China is officially an atheist state, but religious practice is legal in the country – albeit under tight government supervision and surveillance.

Persons: Pope Francis, Pope Francis ’, Pope, Yang Guang, “, I’ve, It’s, I’m, Ukhnaagin Khurelsukh, alingside Pope Francis, Remo Casilli, Madame Tsetsege, ” Pope Francis, Saints Peter, Louise Delmotte, ”, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh Organizations: CNN, Reuters, Vatican Media, Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, Saints, Paul Catholic Cathedral, Vatican News Locations: Mongolia, Russia, China, Ulaanbaatar, Portugal, Mongolian, Moscow, Ukraine

☆ Lithuania summons Pope's diplomat over remarks on Russian empire heritage
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer from his window at the Vatican, August 27, 2023. Vatican Media/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVILNIUS, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Majority-Catholic EU member Lithuania has summoned the Vatican's top diplomat in the country after Pope Francis told Russian youths to remember they are the heirs of "the great Russian empire". The Vatican said on Tuesday Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism in the speech, in which he also extolled Russian emperors Peter the Great and Catherine II who expanded the Russian empire. The territories of Lithuania and Poland were annexed into the Russian empire in the 18th century by Catherine II. Francis' intent was "to preserve and promote all that is positive in the great Russian cultural and spiritual heritage", said Vatican.

Persons: Pope Francis, Francis, Peter the Great, Catherine II, Russia, Andrius Sytas, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Vatican, Handout, REUTERS, Rights, Catholic EU, Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Russian, European Union, NATO, Catholic, Communist, Thomson Locations: Rights VILNIUS, Lithuania, St . Petersburg, Russian, Poland, Vatican, Ukraine, Soviet, Vilnius

☆ Vatican Walks Back Pope Francis’ Praise for Russian Empire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/vatican-walks-back-pope-francis-praise-for-russian-empire-8163220f

Persons: Dow Jones, francis Locations: russia, vatican

CNN —Ukrainian officials have criticized Pope Francis’ recent address to Russian youth, calling his remarks “imperialist propaganda.”The pontiff made a video address to the 10th All-Russian Catholic Youth Assembly in St. Petersburg on Friday, during which he urged them to view themselves as descendants of the Russian empire. You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of saints, rulers, the great Russia of Peter I, Catherine II, that empire – educated, great culture and great humanity. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared himself to Peter the Great during an exhibition dedicated to the first Russian emperor, using the comparison to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Peter the Great waged the Great Northern War for 21 years,” Putin said at the time. The pope has previously been criticized for some of his comments about Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Persons: Pope Francis ’, Peter I, Catherine II, Russia, ”, Oleh Nikolenko, ‘, Russia ’, ” Nikolenko, Vladimir Putin, Peter the Great, “ Peter the Great, ” Putin, “, Peter, –, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, Catherine the Great, ” Shevchuk, Pope, Francis, Darya Dugina, Visvaldas Kulbokas, Francis ’, Volodymyr Zelensky Organizations: CNN, Catholic Youth Assembly, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Kremlin, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Vatican, La Stampa, NATO, Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Locations: St . Petersburg, Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Sweden, Ukrainian, Italian, Moscow, Rome

☆ Pope did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism in speech, Vatican says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis did not intend "to exalt imperialist logic," the Vatican said Tuesday, after a speech delivered on Friday drew criticism for references to Russia's imperialist past. "You are heirs of the great Russia — the great Russia of the saints, of kings, the great Russia of Peter the Great, of Catherine II, the great Russian empire, cultured, so much culture, so much humanity," Pope Francis said in the Friday speech, as translated and transcribed by NewsFromUkraine. The pope delivered the prepared speech in his native Spanish, before making these off-script comments in Italian. The pope has previously repeatedly called for a cease-fire in the war in Ukraine and spoken against Russia's actions in the conflict. Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the religious leader for "his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians."

Persons: Pope, Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, Russia —, Peter the Great, Catherine II, NewsFromUkraine, Russia, Oleg Nikolenko, Rome, Dmitry Peskov, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy Organizations: Google, Vatican, Roman Catholic, Ukrainian, Kremlin, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Facebook, Tass Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Spanish

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