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☆ Decision on negotiations with Russia is up to Ukraine, EU top diplomat says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - It is up to Ukraine to decide when to enter negotiations with Russia, the European Union's top diplomat said on Monday, commenting on speculations the West might push Kyiv to start talks with Moscow. "Ukraine will decide what to do. Our duty is to support them", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said as he arrived for a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels. Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Marine StraussOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ EU sanctions to target Iran Guards 'inner circle', Germany says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Fresh European Union sanctions will target the "inner circle of power" of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Germany said on Monday as the bloc convened to respond to what it has condemned as Tehran's widespread use of force against peaceful protesters. So far, 336 demonstrators have been killed in the unrest and nearly 15,100 detained, according to the activist HRANA news agency. "New sanctions will target in particular the inner circle of power of the Revolutionary Guards and the structures financing them." EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the decision on talks was up to Ukraine. EU foreign ministers will discuss increasing support for Kyiv during the winter and also touch on a ninth package of sanctions on Russia, though diplomats say no decision is expected yet.

☆ As EU sanctions come, Macron says Iran 'revolution' harms nuclear deal prospects
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( John Irish | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The grand children of the revolution are carrying out a revolution and are devouring it," Macron said when asked to qualify what was taking place in Iran. Ties between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months as efforts to revive the nuclear talks, to which France is one of the parties, have stalled. "I don't think there will be new proposals which can be made right now [to save the nuclear deal]", he said. The EU, the United States, Canada and Britain have imposed sanctions on Iran. EU foreign ministers will impose new sanctions on Iran on Monday, diplomats and officials have said.

☆ Germany, other EU members plan to expand Iran sanctions -Der Spiegel
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

FRANKFURT, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Germany and eight other EU member states are planning to expand sanctions on Iran to include individuals and organisations linked to violence against protesters in the Islamic Republic, magazine Der Spiegel reported, without disclosing its sources. A package containing 31 proposals was introduced in Brussels on Wednesday targeting individuals and institutions in the security sector as well as companies responsible for suppression in Iran, the magazine reported. Measures include the freezing of assets and travel bans, the magazine said, adding the package had a good chance of being approved by EU foreign ministers at their next meeting on Nov. 14. Ties between the Islamic Republic and the West are increasingly strained as Iranians keep up anti-government protests. Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Joern Poltz; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Challenges From Iran, China and Russia Top Agenda at G-7 Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Warren P. Strobel | Bojan Pancevski | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Leading G-7 diplomats appear unlikely to make significant progress toward a price cap on Russian oil at the meeting. MÜNSTER, Germany—Top diplomats from the world’s wealthiest democracies opened two days of meetings Thursday aimed at coordinating their sometimes divergent approaches to Russia, China and Iran. Foreign ministers of the Group of 7 countries plan to issue a strong denunciation of Russia’s nuclear threats in Ukraine when the meeting concludes Friday and to agree on fresh economic support to quickly rebuild Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, according to U.S. and European officials familiar with the agenda.

☆ Challenges from Iran, China and Russia Top Agenda at G-7 Meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Warren P. Strobel | Bojan Pancevski | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ We cannot put China on a par with Russia, top EU diplomat says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUENSTER, Germany, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Western countries need to reduce their dependence on China but should not put it in the same category as Russia, the European Union's top diplomat said on the second day of a meeting of the Group of Seven foreign ministers in Germany. China hawks have said the trip risks appearing as a stamp of approval for Xi and a sign Germany will continue to prioritize its economic relations with Beijing over security and strategic considerations. "It is clear that China is .. becoming much more assertive, much more on a self-reliant course," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters. "But for the time being, many member states have a strong economic relationship with China and I don't think we can put China and Russia on the same level." "Africa is suffering a lot from the war in Ukraine because Russia is blocking food, destroying agricultural transport infrastructures," said Borrell.

[1/4] Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi gestures during an interview at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar UlfianaJAKARTA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - G20 summit host Indonesia is waiting to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend, Indonesia's foreign minister said on Thursday, adding that differences over Ukraine had made preparations for the meeting particularly fraught. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told Reuters in an interview that Putin's attendance at the meeting might only become clear at the last minute. The grouping has failed to release joint communiques at several meetings this year, including a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in July. Retno said that while discussion of the Ukraine war was inevitable, the G20 remained "intact".

The top diplomats of the G7 rich democracies will join sessions in the western German city of Muenster focusing on Ukraine, China and the Indo-Pacific as well as Iran and Africa, among others. "G7 partners will now together kick off winter aid for Ukraine," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said at the opening of the event. The joint winter aid will be coordinated by G7 partners, she noted. Japan and Germany have agreed to work towards a military logistics pact, a Japanese government official said on Thursday after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 meeting. The G7 session was being hosted by Germany as holder of the group's rotating presidency.

☆ Russia's war on Ukraine latest news: Putin backs evacuation of civilians from occupied region
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the evacuation of civilians from parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson region on Friday, the latest sign of Russia's retreat in one of the most bitterly contested areas in Ukraine. FIGHTING, SECURITY* The Russian-installed deputy governor of Ukraine's Kherson region said a 24 hour curfew had been imposed in Kherson city, amid what he said was a likely Ukrainian offensive against the city. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that civilians in the Kherson region should be evacuated from the conflict zone, the Kremlin chief's first acknowledgement of a deteriorating situation in a region he claims to have annexed. * Putin said Russia had mobilised 318,000 people into its armed forces, Interfax news agency reported. * Germany will install better air defence protection over Defence Ministry office buildings in response to a series of suspect drone overflights, Der Spiegel reported.

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/PoolWASHINGTON/LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The Group of Seven rich nations and Australia have agreed to set a fixed price when they finalize a price cap on Russian oil later this month, rather than adopting a floating rate, sources said on Thursday. “The Coalition has agreed the price cap will be a fixed price that will be reviewed regularly rather than a discount to an index," said a coalition source, who was not authorized to speak publicly. Coalition partners agreed to regularly review the fixed price and revise it as needed, the source said, without disclosing further details. The downside of the agreed fixed price system is that it will require more meetings of the coalition and bureaucracy to review it regularly, the source said. Russia has said it will refuse to ship oil to countries that set price caps.

☆ Truss phone was hacked by suspected Putin agents when she was foreign minister, the Daily Mail reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss's personal phone was hacked by suspected agents working for Russian President Vladimir Putin when she was foreign minister, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers, and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats," the spokesperson added. The hack was discovered during the Conservative Party leadership campaign that led to Truss becoming prime minister, the Mail reported. Truss left office last week as prime minister and was succeeded by Rishi Sunak. The Mail said the messages that fell into foreign hands included criticisms of Johnson made by Truss and Kwarteng, "leading to a potential risk of blackmail".

☆ SE Asian ministers discuss Myanmar crisis, without any Myanmar representative
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

JAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian foreign ministers began meeting in Jakarta on Thursday to discuss how to kick-start a stalled peace process in military-ruled Myanmar, where dozens have been killed in recent weeks as violence escalated. The meeting at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indonesian capital will not be attended by any representatives from Myanmar. Myanmar had been invited to send a non-political representative to the meeting in Indonesia, but the junta did not agree, according to the host government. There was also interest among some ASEAN members to seek quiet negotiations with the junta, the source said. Reporting by Poppy McPherson in Bankok and Stanley Widianto in Jakarta Writing by Ed Davies Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Cambodia's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn speaks during a meeting with Southeast Asian foreign ministers at the secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Indonesia, October 27, 2022. Galih Pradipta/Pool via REUTERSJAKARTA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government warned on Thursday that any pressure from its Southeast Asian neighbours to put a time frame on a peace plan would create "negative implications". No Myanmar representatives were present at the special meeting of the group's foreign ministers to discuss the stalled peace plan. Late on Thursday, Myanmar's military-appointed foreign ministry released a statement blaming armed resistance movements for violence and saying pressure to set a time frame will create more negative implications than positive ones. And Indonesia has mentioned that this request needs to be delivered to Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) immediately," said Retno.

☆ Explainer: Why is ASEAN holding a special meeting on Myanmar?
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Martin Petty | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In August it cited "notable progress" on the peace plan, without providing specifics, but said its commitment would be determined by developments on the ground. It has accused its opponents of trying to sabotage the ASEAN plan and has justified military offensives as necessary to secure the country and enable political talks. Instead of advocating for the five-point ASEAN plan, the generals have instead been pushing a five-step roadmap of their own towards a new election, with few similarities. Suspending Myanmar as an ASEAN member would be extremely unlikely, as would any trade sanctions, and the junta has demonstrated it will not respond to threats. ASEAN has so far opted to bar the generals from key summits and invited non-political representatives instead, which the junta has declined.

☆ ASEAN chair alarmed over escalating Myanmar violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 26 (Reuters) - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is gravely concerned about an escalation of violence in Myanmar and is calling for restraint and an immediate cessation of fighting, the bloc's chair Cambodia said. "We are deeply saddened by the growing casualties, and the immense suffering that ordinary people in Myanmar have endured," said the statement. "We, therefore, strongly urge utmost restraint and immediate cessation to violence," said the statement, which called for all parties to pursue dialogue. ASEAN is leading diplomatic efforts to bring peace to Myanmar but the junta has done little to implement the "consensus", which committed to an immediate halt to violence and the start of dialogue towards a peace agreement. A group of 457 Myanmar civil society organisations have called in an open letter for ASEAN leaders to scrap the peace plan it agreed with the military and instead work with civilian leaders and a shadow government.

☆ Russia accuses Ukraine of planning to set off 'dirty bombs,' but foreign ministers around the world swiftly reject the claim
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's defense minister has accused Ukraine of preparing to use radioactive "dirty bombs" in the war. The US, UK, France, and Ukraine rejected the claim amid concerns that the war is escalating. Shoigu made the accusations in phone calls with his counterparts from the US, UK, France, and Turkey on Sunday, per AP. The US, the UK, and France dismissed Russia's claim about "dirty bombs" in a joint statement on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also hit back at the allegation about "dirty bombs" in a video address on Sunday.

☆ Russian, U.S. chiefs of staff discuss risk of 'dirty bomb' in Ukraine - RIA
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 24 (Reuters) - Russian military Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley spoke by phone on Monday and discussed the possibility raised by Moscow that Ukraine might use a "dirty bomb", RIA news agency reported. The call took place shortly after a similar conversation between Gerasimov and his British counterpart. The foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States said earlier they all rejected "Russia's transparently false allegations". Ukraine said the Russian accusation was a sign that Moscow was planning such an attack itself and would blame Kyiv. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by ReutersOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Air strike during Myanmar concert kills at least 50 - media, opposition
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Myanmar has been gripped by fighting since the army overthrew an elected government early last year. Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged across the country, which the military has countered with lethal force. Since the coup, open conflict has resumed between the Myanmar army and bitter rival the KIA, which has been fighting on and off for six decades for greater autonomy for the Kachin people. The U.N. in Myanmar said it was deeply concerned and saddened by reports of the attack. Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN are due to meet later this week to discuss the Myanmar crisis, its chair Cambodia said on Sunday.

☆ World's female foreign ministers meet to back Iranians
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

We have a moral obligation to support them," Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. The ministers will address the unrest ignited by Mahsa Amini's death last month in Iran while in police custody. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTheir gathering "shows global solidarity for Iranian women and tells the Iranian regime that the world is watching," she said. Female foreign ministers from Germany, Chile, New Zealand and Norway were expected to attend, while another French official was expected to represent Paris, according to a Canadian government source. The female officials were set to hear from women of Iranian heritage and to discuss ways to coordinate efforts supporting Iranians.

☆ EU to sanction 8 people, entities over Iranian drone use by Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine has reported a spate of Russian attacks using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks. Iran denies supplying drones to Russia, while the Kremlin has not commented. Sanctions experts from the 27 EU members agreed to the list in a meeting on Wednesday. A European Commission spokesperson said there was widely-shared political agreement from foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday that the EU should react swiftly. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles in addition to more drones.

☆ Swiss considering wider EU sanctions on Iran over Amini death
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ZURICH, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Switzerland is considering whether to adopt the strengthened European Union sanctions against Iran following Teheran's crackdown against demonstrators outraged by the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research (WBF) said it had noted the EU had extended sanctions to a further 11 individuals and four organisations in connections with the death of Amini and the reaction to the demonstrations. No time frame was given before Switzerland makes its decision, with the WBF saying it would examine the EU sanctions. A decision could be made by either Economic Affairs Minister Guy Parmelin alone or together with the Swiss cabinet. Neutral Switzerland has already adopted some U.N. and EU sanctions against Iran imposed over the country's nuclear activities and human rights violations.

☆ The EU is considering paying for Elon Musk's Starlink internet service in Ukraine days after SpaceX threatened to stop footing the bill
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The EU is mulling paying for Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, per Politico. EU officials are worried that SpaceX could cut internet service for Ukraine on a whim. SpaceX had earlier requested the Pentagon to fund the Starlink service in Ukraine due to costs. This is days after CNN reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX had requested the Pentagon to fund the satellite internet service in Ukraine, due to costs. SpaceX has sent some 25,300 SpaceX terminals to Ukraine, Musk said in a tweet on Monday.

Firefighters help a local woman evacuate from a residential building destroyed by a Russian drone strike, which local authorities consider to be Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) Shahed-136, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 17, 2022. 'SUICIDE DRONES'Ukraine said the attacks were carried out by Iran-made "suicide drones", which fly to their target and detonate. The White House accused Iran of lying when it says Iranian drones were not being used by Russia in Ukraine. Ukraine's military said it had destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or around 85% of those used in attacks. Yeysk is separated from occupied Russian territory in southern Ukraine by a narrow stretch of the Sea of Azov.

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