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☆ Biden says there's 'not much time' to keep aid flowing to Ukraine and Congress must 'stop the games'
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Biden urged Congress to negotiate an aid package as soon as possible. "The vast majority of both parties — Democrats and Republicans, Senate and House — support helping Ukraine and the brutal aggression that is being thrust upon them by Russia," Biden said. The money later was approved separately, but opponents of Ukraine support celebrated their growing numbers. Then, on Saturday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., omitted additional Ukraine aid from a measure to keep the government running until Nov. 17. Biden said that deal was made to keep the government running and he worked to reassure U.S. allies additional funding would be there.

Persons: Joe Biden, John McCain, Biden, Roosevelt, Kevin McCarthy, Josep Borrell, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chuck Schumer, Schumer, McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, House . Florida Sen, Rick Scott, Scott, Mike Rogers, that's, you've, Rogers, Gregory Meeks, Zelenskyy, Meeks, Donald Trump Organizations: Tempe Center, Arts, Sunday, Ukraine, Russia, — Democrats, Republicans, Senate, House, White, Democrat, Republican, Union, Capitol, Ukrainian, House ., Alabama, House Armed Services Committee, Pentagon, Rep, House Foreign Affairs, FBI, IRS, Justice Department, Biden Locations: Tempe , Arizona, Ukraine, Russia, Kyiv, U.S, United States, Kentucky, House, House . Florida

☆ EU's Borrell, in Kyiv, Says Bloc Is Preparing Long-Term Security Pledges
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

(Reuters) -European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said during a visit to Kyiv on Sunday that Ukraine needed more military aid and he promised ongoing EU support. "Ukraine needs more capabilities & needs them faster," he said in a statement posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said he had discussed "continuous EU military assistance" during his first in-person meeting with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. "We are preparing long-term security commitments for Ukraine," Borrell added. He said their discussions of EU military aid to Ukraine covered "artillery & ammunition, air defense, EW & long-term assistance programs, trainings, and defence industry localization" in Ukraine.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Rustem Umerov, Borrell, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Elaine Monaghan, Hugh Lawson, William Maclean Organizations: Reuters, Union, Twitter, Defence, Ukraine, European Defence Agency Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Washington

BRUSSELS (AP) — The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo held a long-awaited face-to-face meeting on Thursday in talks aimed aimed at improving their strained relations as calls mount for a change in the Western diplomatic approach toward them amid concern that their tensions could spiral out of control. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti are in Brussels for talks under the so-called Belgrade-Pristina dialogue process, supervised by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. Serbia and its former province of Kosovo have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade has refused to recognize the move.

Persons: Aleksandar Vučić, Albin Kurti, Josep Borrell, Kurti, Borrell, Angelo Michele Ristuccia, “, ”, aren't, Vladimir Putin, Kosovo — Organizations: Serbian, Kosovo, European Union, NATO, KFOR, United Locations: BRUSSELS, Serbia, Kosovo, Brussels, Belgrade, Pristina, Kosovo Albanians, Serbian, United States, Russia, Ukraine, West, Moscow, Balkans, Yugoslavia

☆ ‘A spit in the face.’ Electric vehicle plans worry a Midwest auto town
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The first piece of steel for the Stellantis and Samsung joint venture EV battery plant is raised earlier this year. Many believe the company will decide to have other work done at the Kokomo plants, even if it no longer needs transmissions or engines. A fraction of auto plant payThe Kokomo battery plant is still more than a year away from starting production. The battery plant workers are likely to start at half that, Quirk said. Even the top wage will be nearly 30% below top wage at a UAW plant today, let alone what it could be in the upcoming contract.

Persons: “, ”, Gary Quirk, Quirk, epitomize, Stellantis —, Adam Nelson, Shawn Fain, Denny Butler, Chris Isidore, Todd Dunsmore, EVs, Philip Kline, Daniel Acker, Joe, Biden, Butler, —, Kline, ” Quirk, it’s, won’t, that’s, Dunsmore, “ I’ve Organizations: Indiana CNN, United Auto Workers, Stellantis, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Samsung, UAW, Big, —, Motors, Ford, EV, Local, CNN Kokomo, Kokomo, EVs, Employees, Bloomberg, Getty, General Motors, GM, LG, Workers, aren’t Locations: Kokomo, Indiana, Kokomo , Indiana, Midwest, Indianapolis, South Bend, Stellantis, ”, —, Ohio, North America

DETROIT (AP) — aWith just over 24 hours left before a strike deadline, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain says offers from the companies aren't enough and the union is getting ready to strike. We are preparing to strike these companies in a way they've never seen before.”The union is threatening to strike after contracts with companies that haven't reached an agreement by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. On Wednesday, Fain said the companies upped their wage offers, but he still called them inadequate. In a 2019 agreement the union got 6% pay raises over four years with lump sums in some years as well as profit sharing checks. All three companies’ offers on cost-of-living adjustments were deficient, he said, providing little or no protection against inflation, or annual lump sums that may workers won’t get.

Persons: — aWith, Shawn Fain, Fain, ”, “, haven't, they’ll, It's, ” Fain, Ford, Stellantis, won’t, ” Tobin Williams, Thomas Kochan, “ It’ll, ____ Koenig Organizations: DETROIT, United Auto Workers, Motors, Ford, UAW, GM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Locations: North America, Dallas

REUTERS/Mahamadou Hamidou Acquire Licensing RightsTOLEDO, Spain, Aug 31 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers meet in Spain on Thursday to discuss their response to last month's coup in Niger - including possible sanctions - as they also consider news of military officers declaring they have seized power in Gabon. Borrell said the EU was "moving forward" with work on a legal framework for sanctions against the junta in Niger and the foreign ministers would discuss it further on Thursday. Both the EU and ECOWAS have already imposed punitive economic and political measures on Niger but the framework would allow the EU to target specific individuals and organisations. Borrell said on Wednesday after an EU defence ministers' meeting that the EU would seek to mirror any measures taken by ECOWAS. Diplomats said another subject of discussion was how the EU should respond if ECOWAS asks for financial help for a military intervention to restore Niger's ousted government.

Persons: Ibro Amadou, Mahamadou, Dmytro Kuleba, Hassoumi Massoudou, Niger's, Omar Touray, Josep Borrell, Borrell, David Latona, Andrew Gray, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Nigerien, REUTERS, Rights, Union, Ukrainian Foreign, ECOWAS, Wednesday, West, EU, Diplomats, Thomson Locations: Niamey, Niger, Rights TOLEDO, Spain, Gabon, West, Central, Toledo, Ukraine, West Africa's, EU

☆ Armenia-Azerbaijan: 'Reasonable' to believe genocide being committed, former ICC chief prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Eve Brennan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A former International Criminal Court chief prosecutor has said there is “reasonable basis to believe that genocide is being committed against Armenians” in the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been battling over the region for decades. On Monday, UN experts urged Azerbaijan to lift a blockade on the Lachin corridor, the sole road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. An Azerbaijani checkpoint at the entry of the Lachin corridor, the Armenian-populated breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region's only land link with Armenia, on July 30. “It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals during this critical time,” they added.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Luis Moreno Ocampo, Ocampo, KAren Minasyan, Vahe, Josep Borrell, “, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Karabak Organizations: CNN, Criminal Court, ICC, UN Security, Deputy, European Union, EU Locations: Nagorno, Karabakh, Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Netherlands, UNHCR, Azerbaijani

☆ Greece and Cyprus welcome EU bid to re-engage with Turkey, but urge caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis walk during a welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus July 31, 2023. The division of Cyprus between its Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, a source of friction between Greece and Turkey, has also been an impediment. Cyprus was divided after a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a Greek Cypriot coup engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece. It is represented in the EU by an internationally-recognised Greek Cypriot government. In recent years the Turkish Cypriot side has advocated a two-state settlement, rejected by Greek Cypriots.

Persons: Nikos Christodoulides, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Yiannis Kourtoglou, Mitsotakis, Christodoulides, Ersin Tatar, Michele Kambas, Conor Humphries Organizations: Cyprus, REUTERS, Monday, European Union, EU, Christodoulides, Cypriot, United Nations, Turkish Cypriot, Greek, Thomson Locations: Nicosia, Cyprus, Yiannis, Yiannis Kourtoglou NICOSIA, Greece, Turkey, Ankara, Turkish, EU, Cyprus's, Cypriot, Turkish Cypriot

☆ EU ready to re-engage with Turkey, but sets conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, July 20 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers agreed on Thursday that the bloc should re-engage with Turkey, but set some conditions and did not endorse Ankara's calls to revive its moribund membership bid. Turkey has been an official candidate to join the EU for 24 years, but accession talks have stalled since 2016 over the bloc's concerns about human rights violations and respect for the rule of law. "We discussed how to re-engage with Turkey," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a press conference after a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels. "We are convinced there is a reciprocal interest to develop a stronger relationship between Turkey and the European Union." But he noted the EU wanted Turkey to show movement too, especially on the issue of EU member Cyprus, the northern part of which was invaded by Turkey in 1974 and has since been under occupation.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Jan Strupczewski, Andrew Gray, Paul Simao Organizations: Union, EU, NATO, European Union, European Convention of Human, Reuters, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Turkey, Turkish, EU, Brussels, Cyprus, Nations, Ankara

☆ Wheat prices soar for a third day as Russia-Ukraine tensions stoke fears of major food crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Known as the world's "bread basket," Ukraine grows far more wheat than it consumes and it's exports contribute to global food security, especially in African countries, which now fear food shortages. Wheat prices rose on Thursday after Russia threatened to treat ships heading for Ukrainian ports as military cargo carriers, deepening fears of a global food security crisis. It follows a jump of 8.5% in the previous session, the biggest daily gain in more than a year, on mounting geopolitical tensions. Wheat prices remain well below the peak levels of 1,177.5 cents per bushel reached in May of last year, however. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday that Russia's decision to pull out of the pact would imperil global food security.

Persons: António Guterres, Josep Borrell, Borrell Organizations: Chicago Board of Trade, Initiative, Union Locations: Ukraine, Russia, EU

BRUSSELS, July 19 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers are expected to discuss a proposal on Thursday to spend up to 20 billion euros ($22.4 billion) on weapons, ammunition and other military aid for Ukraine over four years. The fund has already allocated more than 5 billion euros in support for Ukraine since February last year. An EU official said the aim was to provide more military aid to Ukraine "on a more predictable and sustainable basis". The Peace Facility is used to reimburse EU countries for at least part of the cost of weapons, ammunition and other military aid they give to nations outside the bloc. Diplomats said they expect EU governments to consider the plan alongside a proposal from the European Commission, the bloc's executive, to provide 50 billion euros in economic aid to Ukraine over the same four-year period.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Borrell, Andrew Gray, Jan Strupczewski, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Union, Kyiv, NATO, Peace, Ukraine, EU, Ukraine Defence Fund, Diplomats, European Commission, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Ukraine, Vilnius, EU, Kyiv, Spain

☆ Russia warns ships in Black Sea, Ukraine to create temporary grains export route
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ukraine said on Wednesday it was establishing a temporary shipping route via Romania, one of the neighbouring Black Sea countries. Russia's Defence Ministry said flag states of ships travelling to Ukrainian ports would be considered parties to the conflict on the Ukrainian side from midnight Moscow time (2100 GMT on Wednesday). U.S. officials have information indicating Russia laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports, said White House National Security Council spokesperson Adam Hodge. "We believe that this is a coordinated effort to justify any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea and lay blame on Ukraine for these attacks," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Western countries of "perverting" the U.N.-backed deal formally called the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Persons: West, Vasyl Shkurakov, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Adam Hodge, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Valery Shershen, Grant McCool, Stephen Coates Organizations: Ukrainian Coast Guard, Operational Command, Putin, International Shipping Organization, United, Sunday, Russia's Defence Ministry, White, National Security, Monetary Fund, Russian, Reuters, Pentagon, Ukraine, European Union, Thomson Locations: Izmail, Odesa, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Romania, United Nations, Turkey, Ukrainian, Russian, Africa, Asia, China, Azov, Crimea, Washington, Brussels, European

☆ Xi Jinping's foreign minister vanished from public view. His prolonged absence is driving intense speculation
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Nectar Gan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not been seen in public for three weeks, an unusually long absence during a busy period of diplomatic activity in Beijing, sparking intense speculation in a country known for its political opaqueness. Qin, 57, a career diplomat and trusted aide of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was promoted to foreign minister in December, after a brief stint as ambassador to the United States. As foreign minister, Qin has delivered searing rebukes of Washington after relations plunged to a new low in the aftermath of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the US. The Chinese Foreign Ministry often leaves out content it deems sensitive from the transcripts of its regular briefings. Senior Chinese officials have disappeared from public view in the past, only to be revealed months later by the ruling Communist Party’s disciplinary watchdog that they’ve been detained for investigations.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Qin Gang, Qin, Xi Jinping, Antony Blinken, Andrey Rudenko, Wagner, “, ”, Deng Yuwen, Janet Yellen, John Kerry . Qin, Josep Borrell, Wang Yi, Deng, they’ve, Xi Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Hong Kong CNN — China’s, Russian, Communist Party, Foreign Ministry, European Union, EU, ” Reuters, Reuters, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Chinese Foreign Ministry, Senior, Xi Locations: Hong Kong, Beijing, United States, Washington, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Russia, China, Indonesia

☆ China's Wang Yi urges EU to 'clarify' its position on partnership
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) - The European Union must further "clarify" its position on its strategic partnership with Beijing, China's top diplomat Wang Yi told European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, as EU leaders called for reduced dependence on China. The launch of an EU-China comprehensive strategic partnership in 2003 had promised to elevate ties beyond trade and investment. In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a hardening of China's position required Europe to "de-risk" both economically and diplomatically. During his meeting with Borrell, Wang called on both sides to guard against the politicisation of economic issues and the use of "de-risking" as another term for "decoupling". There is no fundamental conflict of interest between China and the EU, Wang said.

Persons: Wang Yi, Josep Borrell, Wang, Borrell, Ursula von der Leyen, Ryan Woo, Michael Perry, William Mallard Organizations: European Union, EU, Twitter, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Beijing, China's, China, EU, Moscow, Ukraine, Jakarta, Europe, Taiwan

July 11 (Reuters) - China's foreign minister Qin Gang will not attend a diplomatic gathering in Indonesia this week for health reasons, a spokesman for his ministry said on Tuesday. Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are scheduled to meet on Thursday, before Friday's East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum. "State Councillor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang cannot attend this ASEAN ministerial meeting because of health reasons," spokesman Wang Wenbin said. Qin, 57, took over from Wang as foreign minister in December and was last seen in public on June 25 in Beijing after meeting officials from Sri Lanka, Russia and Vietnam. Wang Yi, who is the foreign policy chief for the Chinese Communist Party, ranks above Qin, who as the foreign minister is the government's foreign policy chief.

Persons: Qin Gang, Wang Yi, Wang Wenbin, Wang, Qin, Josep Borrell, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Yew Lun Tian, Karen Lema, Stanley Widianto, Martin Petty, John Geddie, Robert Birsel Organizations: Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Friday's East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional, Politico, European Union, EU, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Indonesia, China, Jakarta, Wang, Beijing, Sri Lanka, Russia, Vietnam, Washington, Manila

BEIJING, July 4 - China has cancelled a trip by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell scheduled for next week, an EU spokesperson said on Tuesday. "We want to engage with China but we need progress and we need it this year," Toledo said. In a prepared speech for delivery in Beijing in April, Borrell had said that EU cannot trust China if it does not seek peace in Ukraine. China has said it wants to broker a peace in Ukraine but its position paper released in February was met with lukewarm responses by both Russia and Ukraine. EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, who is in Beijing this week for environment talks, also failed to visit China in April because he caught COVID-19.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Nabila Massrali, Borrell, Jorge Toledo, Toledo, Frans Timmermans, COVID, Yew Lun Tian, Martin Quin Pollard, Conor Humphries, David Holmes Organizations: European Union, Reuters, Sunday, EU, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Europe, Brussels, Beijing, Ukraine, Russia, EU

☆ Putin pays tribute to Russian pilots killed fighting mutineers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down. Some Russian Telegram channels monitoring Russia's military activity, including the blog Rybar with more than a million subscribers, reported on Saturday that 13 Russian pilots were killed during the day-long mutiny. Among the aircraft downed were three Mi-8 MTPR electronic warfare helicopters, and an Il-18 aircraft with its crew, Rybar reported. It was also not clear in what circumstances the aircraft were shot down and pilots killed. Putin met on Monday night with the heads of Russian security services, including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, IFX reported, citing a Kremlin spokesperson.

Persons: Putin, Prigozhin, Biden, West, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Rybar, Sergei Shoigu, IFX, Shoigu, Alexander Lukashenko, Lukashenko, Joe Biden, John Kirby, Josep Borrell, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Cynthia Osterman, Stephen Coates, Grant McCool, Rosalba O'Brien, Lincoln Organizations: Telegram, Reuters, Russia's Defence Ministry, Kremlin, Defence Ministry, Belarus, White House, West, NATO, Union, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russian, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Luxembourg

☆ EU says aborted Russia mutiny shows Moscow's military power is 'cracking'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, June 26 (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers on Monday said an aborted mutiny in Russia at the weekend showed Moscow's war in Ukraine was causing domestic instability and undermining its military power, but stressed their focus remained on supporting Kyiv. "The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg as he arrived for a meeting with ministers from across the 27-member bloc. "The monster that Putin created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now, the monster is acting against his creator." German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Putin was destroying his own country with his "brutal war of aggression" in Ukraine. Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen suggested the weekend's events showed Putin's hold on power was not as strong as it seemed.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Josep Borrell, Borrell, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin's Wagner, Putin, Annalena Baerbock, Yves Herman, Baerbock, Jean Asselborn, Alexander Schallenberg, Elina Valtonen, Sabine Siebold, Bart Meijer, Andrew Gray, Conor Humphries Organizations: Union, Kyiv, Moscow, EU, European Commission, REUTERS, Austrian, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Russia, Ukraine, EU, Luxembourg, Brussels, Belgium, Russia's, Europe, Finnish

☆ NATO head urges Kosovo to ease tensions with Serbia
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Sabine Siebold | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Stoltenberg, the transatlantic military alliance's Norwegian secretary-general, said he had spoken to European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about Kosovo. Ethnic Albanians make up more than 90% of the population in Kosovo as a whole. Local Serbs, backed by Belgrade, said they will not accept the mayors and that they do not represent them. The situation remained tense on Sunday with heavily armed police in armoured vehicles still guarding the mayors' offices. Reporting by Sabine Siebold, writing by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Sharon SingletonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Oil dips on demand worries after unexpected U.S. crude build
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Katya Golubkova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Brent crude futures was 29 cents lower, or down by 0.4%, to $74.60 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged down by 32 cents, also 0.4% down, to $70.55, as of 0005 GMT. Right now too much oil is still available," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note. The U.S. Treasury Department has estimated that the United States will go into a crippling default as early as June 1 if Congress does not lift the debt ceiling. Oil prices fell even as the International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global oil demand this year by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a record 102 million bpd.

BRUSSELS, May 17 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has proposed adding 3.5 billion euros ($3.85 billion) to a fund used to finance military aid for Ukraine, EU sources said on Wednesday. It originally had a budget of 5 billion euros, meant to last until 2027. That ceiling has already been raised once, by 2 billion euros, last December. The fund allows EU countries that supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine to claim back a portion of the cost. It was conceived for any conflict that the European Union could deal with."

☆ China walks back ambassador's claim that ex-Soviet states aren't real countries, a position that played strongly into Putin's hands
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China's foreign ministry walked back ambassador's comments dismissing ex-Soviet states' sovereignty. Other former Soviet Union countries include Ukraine and Moldova, as well as Central Asian countries that Russia has retained closer ties to. And Lu's comments seemed to suggest that China's foreign policy was inching closer to that of Russia. The Baltic countries have already questioned China's efforts to play peacemaker in Ukraine, and Lu's comments appear to have made them even more concerned. Estonia's foreign minister said Lu's comments were "false and a misinterpretation of history," and Latvia's foreign minister called them "completely unacceptable."

☆ EU ministers braced for Ukrainian frustration over ammunition plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

loading"The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating," Kuleba said on Thursday. Kuleba can make his case directly when he discusses the state of the war and Ukraine's needs by video link to a regular meeting of EU foreign ministers, taking place in Luxembourg. EU officials pushed back against Kuleba's criticism by stressing that this fast track is up and running so ammunition is already flowing to Kyiv. But the second track, worth another 1 billion euros to fund joint procurement, has yet to be finalised. EU officials and diplomats said they expected an agreement that would satisfy all sides in the coming days.

☆ China says hopes Germany supports peaceful Taiwan 'reunification'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang attend a joint press conference at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, April 14, 2023. Suo Takekuma/Pool via REUTERSBEIJING, April 15 (Reuters) - China's top diplomat Wang Yi "hopes and believes" Germany will support China's "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Wang made the remarks at a meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who is visiting China until Saturday, adding that China once supported Germany's reunification. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday it strongly approved of Baerbock's comments. "The Foreign Ministry thanks many high-level officials in the executive departments of various countries, including Germany, for their solidarity with Taiwan," it said.

☆ EU cannot trust China unless it seeks peace in Ukraine -Borrell
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 14 (Reuters) - European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said it would be hard for Europe to trust China if it did not try to find a political solution to the Ukraine crisis. "Neutrality in the face of the violation of international law is not credible," Borrell said, adding an appeal for Chinese President Xi Jinping to speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and for China to provide more humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people. Xi has met Russian President Vladimir Putin twice but not spoken with Zelenskiy since Russia invaded Ukraine in what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in February 2022. China stated its opposition to attacks on civilians and on nuclear facilities in position paper on Ukraine published in February, but it has refrained from openly criticising Russia for its actions in Ukraine. Reporting by Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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