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The US said the attack lasted 30 minutes, hitting 85 targets across seven locations in Iraq and Syria. In 2016, the Iraqi parliament passed a bill recognizing the PMU as a government entity operating alongside the Iraqi military. A screengrab from a video, geolocated by CNN to the town of Qaim, Iraq, shows the aftermath of US military strikes in the area, according to the Iraqi Military. Iraq and Syria condemned the US attack as infringements on their sovereignty that risk fueling regional conflict. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world,” Biden said in a statement Friday, following the strikes on Iraq and Syria.

Persons: Joe Biden, –, Biden, Kennedy Ladon Sanders, Sanders, Matt Rourke, Qaim, Turki Al, John Kirby, Washington, ”, SANA, Kirby, Douglas Sims, “, Mike Johnson, ” Johnson, Jack Reed, Lloyd Austin, ” Biden, Charles Lister, ” Lister, Ebrahim Raisi Organizations: CNN, Hamas, Army, US Army, Dover Air Force Base, House, Hezbollah, Al, US National Security, Syrian, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iraq’s Armed Forces, United Nations Charter, Republican, Senate Armed, US, Coalition Forces, Austin, Middle East Institute, Iraq Locations: United States, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Iran, Gaza, Israel, Delaware, Iraqi, Al, ” Syria’s, Deir Ezzor, Gen, Qaim, ” Syria, Washington ,, Tehran

☆ Ukraine says China needed for peace process after Davos meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

China needs to be involved in talks to end the war with Russia, Ukraine's top representative said after a high-level diplomatic meeting ahead of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Sunday it was important that Russian ally China was at the table when Kyiv convenes further meetings on its peace formula. Zelenskiy is due to arrive in Bern, Switzerland on Monday to meet the President of the Swiss Confederation Viola Amherd. We must find ways to work with China on this," Cassis said, adding that both Russia and Ukraine were not willing to make concessions. The role of the Global South in Ukraine's peace formula talks has come into focus in the lead up to Davos.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak, Li Qiang, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Li, Yermak, Viola Amherd, Ignazio Cassis, Cassis, Jamie Dimon, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Economic, Swiss, JPMorgan, Ukraine, Bloomberg News, Dimon, Cuban Missile, European Union, Kyiv, Global, United Nations Locations: Davos, China, Russia, Ukraine's, Switzerland, Ukrainian, Bern, Swiss, Ukraine, Brazil, India, South Africa, Africa, Latin America, East, Asia

☆ Opinion | Measuring Israel by the Just-War Yardstick
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( A. Walter Dorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

While Israel easily has just cause and constitutes a legitimate authority, its case is far weaker regarding the other five criteria. In addition, the fact that Hamas has violated these principles does not absolve Israel from an obligation to live up to higher moral standards. So the downside of Israel’s war outweighs any benefit. Israel can rightly claim that its ground invasion helps Israeli forces better distinguish Hamas fighters from civilians. Just-war theory reinforces the human instinct to not only preserve human life but also lament its loss, and to try to find solutions.

Persons: Israel’s, —, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu’s, Israel, Abraham, Netanyahu, Hamas’s Organizations: Hamas, Criminal, United Nations Charter, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Abraham Accords, Civilian Locations: Gaza, Israel, The Hague, Oslo Accords, United States, Israeli, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia

☆ Kazakhstan welcomes France's Macron under Moscow's disapproving gaze
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron during a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan November 1, 2023. Press service of the President of Kazakhstan/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. At a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Macron complimented Astana for refusing to side with Moscow on Ukraine and said the two countries planned to sign significant business deals. In addition to oil, Kazakhstan is a major exporter of uranium, and France's Orano already operates a joint venture with its state nuclear firm Kazatomprom. "We can call your visit historic, very important," Tokayev told Macron.

Persons: Kassym, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, Sergei Lavrov, France's, Tokayev, Tamara Vaal, Olzhas, Jason Neely Organizations: Press, Rights ASTANA, Kazakh, Astana, United Nations, Soviet Central, Foreign, Moscow, Thomson Locations: Astana, Kazakhstan, Handout, Central Asia, Ukraine, China, Europe, Russia, Moscow, Uzbekistan, Western, France

☆ Ukraine holds peace formula talks in Malta, Russia absent
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Christopher Scicluna | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Without Russia, which criticized Malta for hosting the talks after smaller ones this year in Jeddah and in Copenhagen, Zelenskiy said he longed for a day when human history "is the history of peace only." Officials said they hoped for the outcome of the weekend's gathering, partly in person, partly virtual, to be agreement to hold a global peace summit later this year. No official list of delegates to the talks was issued, but officials said they included representatives of European, South American, Arab, African and Asian countries. Simon Mordue of the European Council and Bjorn Seibert of the European Commission represented the EU, the official said. The parties would take necessary preparatory steps for a possible peace summit in future with no exact date yet fixed, the official said.

Persons: Alexander Ermochenko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Ian Borg, Borg, Simon Mordue, Bjorn Seibert, Christopher Scicluna, Elaine Monaghan, Andrew Gray, Olena, David Evans, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, United Nations, YouTube, Malta's, European Union, United, United Arab Emirates, European, European Commission, EU, Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Donetsk, Russian, Rights VALLETTA, Malta, Israel, Kyiv, Jeddah, Copenhagen, China, Egypt, United Arab, Armenia, Mexico, Washington, Brussels

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops and tanks briefly raided northern Gaza overnight, the military said Thursday, engaging with Hamas fighters and targeting anti-tank weapons in order to “prepare the battlefield” before an expected ground invasion. Israel has imposed a suffocating siege on Gaza since Hamas’ bloody rampage and hostage-taking across southern Israel ignited the war. The Israeli military says it only strikes militant targets and accuses Hamas of operating among civilians in an attempt to protect its fighters. That is more than three times the number of Palestinians killed in the six-week-long Gaza war in 2014. On Wednesday, the wife, son, daughter and grandson of Wael Dahdouh, a veteran Al-Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, were killed in an Israeli strike.

Persons: Khan Younis, Israel, Benny Gantz, ”, Daniel Hagari, ” Israel, Wael Dahdouh, William Schomburg, “, ___ Chehayeb, Wafaa, Jack Jeffery, Brian Melley Organizations: Health Ministry, Hamas, ’, West Bank, The United, Gaza Health Ministry, Al, UNRWA, International Committee, World Health Organization, Shifa, United Nations, United Locations: RAFAH, Gaza, Israel, Petah Tikva, Iranian, Lebanon, Syria, The United States, Jazeera, Palestinian, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, Beirut, Teibel, Jerusalem, Deir al, Cairo, London

☆ US grand strategy can prop up the global order
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-16 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But the United States can prevent the rules-based order from collapsing if it keeps steering a steady course with regards to Russia and China. If the United States holds firm on its grand strategy, any new geopolitical risks should be similarly contained. One explanation for the current outbreak of crises is that the United States is weaker and more internally divided than it was during the so-called “Pax Americana” era. It could easily drop down the United States’ list of priorities, says Michel Duclos, a former French diplomat who is a fellow at the Paris-based Institut Montaigne. He will struggle to unite the U.S.’s allies as he is not a champion of either the NATO military alliance or the rules-based global order.

Persons: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Mike Segar, Vladimir Putin, –, Biden, David Hannay, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Jake Sullivan, Michel Duclos, Putin, ’, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic, Thomas Shum Organizations: Democratic, Belmont University, REUTERS, Reuters, U.S, Reuters Graphics Reuters, United Nations Charter, –, Montaigne, Kyiv, Trump, NATO, Thomson Locations: coronavirus, Nashville , Tennessee, U.S, Israel, Gaza, United States, Russia, China, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Korea, Vietnam, Soviet, Soviet Union, Iraq, Washington, China’s, Taiwan, Africa, Azerbaijan, Europe, Asia, India, Saudi Arabia, French, Paris, Beijing, Japan, South Korea

CNN —Turkish airstrikes killed at least 11 people in multiple Kurdish-controlled locations in northeastern Syria, the Kurdish Internal Security Force said Thursday, the latest response from Ankara’s forces following a bomb attack in Turkey’s capital claimed by Kurdish militants. “Eleven people were martyred, including five civilians and six members of the Internal Security Forces,” Asayish said. Eight civilians and two members of the Kurdish security forces were wounded, it added. Later Sunday, the Turkish Defense Ministry said its warplanes had destroyed 20 PKK targets in northern Iraq in response to the attack. According to Ankara, the PKK trains separatist fighters and launches attacks against Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq and Syria, where a PKK-affiliated Kurdish group controls large swaths of territory.

Persons: ” Asayish, Hakan Fidan, Fidan, ” Fidan Organizations: CNN, Turkish, Kurdish Internal Security Force, Kurdish, Internal Security Forces, Turkey’s Defense Ministry, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, United Nations Charter, European Union, Ministry, Turkish Defense Ministry, Turkish Armed Forces, Group, Kurdistan Regional Government Locations: Syria, Kurdish, Turkey, Kurdistan, Ankara, United States, Turkey’s, Iraq, “, Turkish, Iran, Kordestan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Istanbul

Istanbul CNN —Turkey’s military carried out airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in northern Iraq on Sunday, just hours after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in the capital in the latest attack of its nearly four-decade long insurgency. The ministry said in a statement that two attackers murdered a civilian and stole his vehicle ahead of the opening of parliament in Ankara. According to Ankara, the PKK trains separatist fighters and launches attacks against Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq and Syria, where a PKK-affiliated Kurdish group controls large swaths of territory. And in November last year, Ankara blamed the PKK for a bomb attack on a central pedestrian boulevard in Istanbul that killed six and injured dozens. In recent years, Turkey has carried out a steady stream of operations against the PKK domestically as well as cross-border operations into Syria.

Persons: Istanbul CNN —, ”, Ali Unal, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Organizations: Istanbul CNN, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Turkish Defense Ministry, United Nations Charter, European Union, Turkey’s, Ministry, Firat News Agency, Sunday, Group, Kurdistan Regional Government Locations: Istanbul, Iraq, Kurdistan, Metina, Gara, “, Turkey, United States, Ankara, Turkish, Iran, Kordestan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Syria, Kurdish

☆ After Ankara bombing, Turkey hits back in Iraq and at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament as he attends the reopening of the Turkish parliament after the summer recess in Ankara, Turkey, October 1, 2023. On Sunday morning, two attackers detonated a bomb near government buildings in Ankara, killing them both and wounding two police officers. It launched an insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. It said the attackers had hijacked the vehicle and killed its driver in Kayseri, a city 260 km (161 miles) southeast of Ankara. Turkey's armed forces have in recent years conducted several large-scale military operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria against Kurdish militants.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, Abdul, Latif Rashid, Ali Yerlikaya, Yerlikaya, Yasar Guler, Huseyin Hayatsever, Robert Birsel, Jonathan Spicer, Mark Heinrich, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Kurdistan Workers Party, United Nations, Iraq, European Union, Reuters, PKK, Counterterrorism, Immortals Battalion, Kurdish, Islamic, Defence, Thomson Locations: Turkish, Ankara, Turkey, Handout, Iraq, Iraq ISTANBUL, Istanbul, Iraq's, Gara, Kurdistan, United States, Kayseri, Kurdish, Ataturk, Islamic State, Syria

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Pakistan’s interim prime minister said he expects parliamentary elections to take place in the new year, dismissing the possibility that the country’s powerful military would manipulate the results to ensure that jailed former premier Imran Khan’s party doesn’t win. Kakar resigned as a senator last month after outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raza Riaz chose him as caretaker prime minister to oversee the elections and run the day-to-day affairs until a new government is elected. “The most important player in this dispute is the Kashmir people," Kakar said. “It is neither India or Pakistan,” but the Kashmiri people who "have to decide about their identity" and their future. It’s just a divine blessing.”By law, he can’t contest the elections when he’s interim prime minister, but Kakar said in the future he hopes “to play a constructive political role in my society.”

Persons: —, Imran Khan’s, Haq Kakar, Khan, Kakar, Shehbaz Sharif, Raza Riaz, ”, ” Kakar, Imran Khan, I’m, that’s, — Kakar, Karar, “ Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Associated Press, United Nations, NATO, Taliban, Islamic Locations: Pakistan, Kashmir, India, “, Ukraine, Europe, North America, Afghanistan, Islamic State, Kabul, Pakistan's

☆ Biden and Zelensky Try to Rally the World Behind Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. today in New York City, President Biden tried to rally the world to stick with Ukraine and warned against appeasing Moscow in a way that would reward its aggression. “Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Biden told the General Assembly. “But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles” of the United Nations Charter “to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?”President Volodymyr Zelensky gave his own speech soon afterward, presenting Russia’s aggression as an unrelenting worldwide threat that will not stop at the borders of Ukraine. “The goal of the present war against Ukraine is to turn our land, our people, our lives, our resources into a weapon against you, against the international rules-based order,” Zelensky told the leaders. He added that Russia was weaponizing essentials like food and energy “not only against our country, but against all of yours as well.”

Persons: Biden, “, ” Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, ” Zelensky Organizations: appeasing Moscow, General, United Nations Locations: New York City, Ukraine, “ Russia, Russia

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Mr. Biden said as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine watched from the audience. I respectfully suggest the answer is no.”“We have to stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow,” Mr. Biden continued. “Ask Prigozhin if one bets on Putin’s promises.”Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Zelensky received strong applause from some of the delegations in the hall, but many others did not clap. On Tuesday evening, Mr. Biden and Jill Biden were to host a reception for other world leaders at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “This is clearly a genocide,” Mr. Zelensky said.

Persons: Biden, Mr, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir V, Moscow, ”, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin, “, Biden’s, Kevin McCarthy, we’ve, Lloyd J, Austin III, Ukraine’s, Xi Jinping, Jill Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Netanyahu, “ Slava Ukraini Organizations: appeasing Moscow, United Nations General Assembly, Republicans, United Nations, International Criminal Court, . Security, Mr, White, Pentagon, Capitol, Defense, General, appeasing, United, Soviet Union —, Turkmenistan —, Metropolitan Museum of Art, United Nations ’ Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Washington, New York, Russia’s, Germany, China, Beijing, Libya, “, United Nations, Soviet Union, Soviet Union — Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, China’s, Brazil, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Moldova, Georgia, Syria, Belarus, Baltic

☆ Biden to push for Ukraine aid, democracy as China and Russia skip UN General Assembly
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden will address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, where he plans to promote democracy and advocate for increased support for Ukraine. Lula has argued the U.S. and other Western nations are prolonging the war with their defense support. This will be the first time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has attended the U.N. summit in person since the war began. A "substantial section" of Biden's speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday will be devoted to the war in Ukraine, Sullivan said. U.S. support for Ukraine

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Alejandro Mayorkas, Joe Biden, Saul Loeb, Biden, it's, Jake Sullivan, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Lula, Benjamin Netanyahu, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sullivan Organizations: Defense, . Homeland, Hurricane, White, Washington , D.C, AFP, Getty, United Nations General Assembly, Ukraine, House, . Security, Global, Israeli, General, United Nations Charter Locations: Maui, Hawaii, Washington ,, France, United Kingdom, China, Russia, United States, Brazil, Ukraine, U.S, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

But most concurred it was a foreign policy triumph for Modi as he pushes to increase India’s influence on the world stage. “India’s statement embodies the voice of the emerging Global South” said Derek Grossman, an analyst focused on the Indo-Pacific at the RAND Corporation. “It’s emerging as a successful case study of Western and non-Western powers and the Global South working together to pursue shared goals,” he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's leader Xi Jinping skipped the G20 summit this year. Heading into the summit, Modi had argued that the developing countries should have more say, noting that they are disproportionately impacted by many crises including climate change, food shortages and rising energy prices.

Persons: —, Narendra Modi, Rishi Sunak, Olaf Scholz, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, ”, Amitabh Kant, Modi, “, Derek Grossman, Michael Kugelman, Wilson, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Sergey Lavrov, India's, ” Lavrov, Michael Schuman, ” Schuman, ” Kugelman, Krutika Pathi, Adam Schreck, Joanna Kozlowska Organizations: DELHI, British, United, Russia, RAND Corporation, Beijing, ”, Union, South Asia Institute, Global, Russian, Atlantic, European Union, “, Associated Press Locations: Ukraine, Russia, China, Moscow, United Nations, India, New Delhi, Brazil, South Africa, Beijing, London

☆ Iran at odds with allied Russia after Moscow backs UAE in island dispute
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Tehran summoned Russia's ambassador on Wednesday over a Moscow-endorsed statement on three Gulf islands disputed by Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE joins fellow economic Middle East heavyweights Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Following a ministerial meeting in Moscow on Monday, Russia and the GCC released a joint statement that urged a diplomatic solution to the territorial dispute. Iranian officials called on Russia to correct its position on the territorial row, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency. Moscow is not Iran's only key partner to wade into hot waters over the three Gulf islands dispute.

Persons: Russia's, Reem, Abu Musa, Tehran's, Nasser Kanaani Organizations: United, United Arab Emirates, UAE, State, International Co, General Assembly, International Court of Justice, Gulf Cooperation, GCC, United Nations Charter, Saudi Press Agency, of Justice, Islamic, Islamic Republic News Agency, CNBC, Kyiv — Locations: Tehran, Moscow, Iran, United Arab, Abu Musa, Tunb, UAE, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Gulf, Russia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iranian, Ukraine, Russian, Syria, China, Beijing, United Arab Emirates

☆ 'Things will just have to be accepted as tense': Saudi-Iran relations have a long way to go despite rapprochement efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister made a high-profile visit to Tehran over the weekend, drawing coverage and praise about the improvement in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two longtime foes. His Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian praised the re-establishment of diplomatic ties, saying it would improve security for the region. The meeting was the result of Iran and Saudi Arabia agreeing to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in each other's countries after China-led negotiations in Beijing in March. The Iranian hosts complied with the minister's request for a change of venue in order to avert a diplomatic incident, regional outlets reported. What exists is a fragile agreement that can only be made stronger with time, consistency and trust building."

Persons: Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Qasem Soleimani, Sanam Vakil Organizations: Mutual, United Nations, Saudi, Chatham House Locations: Saudi, Tehran, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, Beijing, East, North Africa

LUXEMBOURG, April 24 (Reuters) - Recent remarks by China's ambassador to France questioning the sovereignty of former Soviet states such as Ukraine are totally unacceptable, several EU foreign ministers said before a meeting on Monday. "It is totally unacceptable", Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said ahead of the Luxembourg meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers. It was unclear when Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the EU, gave the interview to the Chinese news outlet The Paper. But its publication came hard on the heels of the remarks by China's ambassador to France. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he disagreed with Lu's comments, while Luxembourg's foreign minister Jean Asselborn called Lu's remarks a "blunder" and said efforts were being made to calm things down.

☆ China respects ex-Soviet states as sovereign nations - foreign ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, April 24 (Reuters) - China respects the status of the independent sovereign nations that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, after Beijing's envoy to Paris sparked a diplomatic storm by questioning their sovereignty. "The Chinese side respects the status of the member states as sovereign states after the collapse of the Soviet Union," Mao said, adding that China was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with those countries. China respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries and upholds the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, Mao said. And only sovereign states can become official members of the United Nations, she said. "The country you mentioned is a full member of the United Nations."

☆ In Beijing, Spanish PM urges Xi to speak with Ukraine's Zelenskiy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sanchez told a news conference in Beijing he had informed Xi, who visited Moscow on March 20-21, that Spain supported the proposals made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. They include a demand to restore Ukraine's territory to the status quo before Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. "I transmitted our concern over the illegal invasion of Ukraine," Sanchez said, adding that he "encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy". Last month, Beijing put forward its own 12-point peace plan and called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the conflict. Sanchez urged China to seek a more balanced economic relationship with Spain and called for greater transparency.

☆ Russia rails at UN move on Ukraine, China readies 'position paper'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The draft text would again see the General Assembly demand Moscow withdraw its troops and call for a halt to hostilities. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, but carry political weight. The United States has accused Iran and North Korea of supplying Russia with weapons and on Saturday said it was concerned China was considering providing "lethal assistance" to Russia. China said on Monday that the United States was in no position to make demands of Beijing. China and Russia announced a "no limits" partnership shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine.

☆ UN to mark Russia invasion of Ukraine anniversary by urging 'just peace'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The United Nations headquarters building is pictured with a UN logo in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 1, 2022. The 193-member General Assembly is likely to vote next Thursday after two days of speeches by dozens of states to mark the Feb. 24 anniversary of the start of the war. Russia was diplomatically isolated last year, when 141 states voted on March 2 to denounce its invasion and demand Moscow withdraw its troops. The United States and western allies have called the invasion an unprovoked land grab against a sovereign nation. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said last month.

CNN —President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke on Sunday to discuss Russia’s invasion and recent US efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses. The package announced last week includes weapons and artillery rounds, as well as equipment to help Ukraine boost its air defense. Biden also highlighted the $53 million package announced late last month to support Ukraine’s electrical system as it faces a barrage of attacks from Russia, according to the White House statement. He presented a 10-point peace plan to end Russia’s invasion in a video speech to G20 leaders in Bali last month. Biden welcomed his “stated openness to a just peace based on fundamental principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter,” the White House said Sunday.

☆ G-7 leaders promise to back Ukraine against Russian aggression for 'as long as it takes'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Leaders of some of the world's largest economies reiterated their commitment to Ukraine and condemned Russia's escalating aggression following a virtual meeting Tuesday morning, vowing to back Ukraine for "as long as it takes." "We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the G-7 group of nations said in a statement. He said that he and the G-7 leaders will keep their "unwavering commitment to hold Russia accountable for its war and support Ukraine for as long as it takes." The G-7 condemned steps Russia has taken to escalate its war in Ukraine. The White House has repeatedly said it takes Russia's threats of nuclear war seriously, but does not see indications of a present threat.

☆ Serbia won't recognise results of Russia's referendums in Ukraine - Vucic
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BELGRADE, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Serbia will not recognise the results of referendums held in four regions of Ukraine partly occupied by Russian forces, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday, despite Belgrade's warm ties with Moscow. Russia's President Vladimir Putin is expected to proclaim the annexation of the four provinces - Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia - in a speech on Friday. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"Serbia ... will not recognise that (referendums) as it adheres to international law, the United Nations Charter and UN resolutions," Vucic told reporters. But Serbia has also repeatedly declined to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations and says it fully respects Ukraine's territorial integrity. Ukraine also refuses to recognise Kosovo's independence from Serbia.

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