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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.

☆ Switzerland shuts embassy in Sudan for security reasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 24 (Reuters) - Switzerland has closed its embassy in Khartoum and evacuated staff and their families over the security situation in Sudan, the Swiss foreign ministry said on Twitter. "Our staff and their families have been evacuated and are safe," Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis tweeted late on Sunday. The Foreign Ministry said seven embassy staff and five accompanying people had been evacuated. Work was continuing to help Swiss nationals stuck in Sudan. The Swiss foreign ministry on Friday there were about 100 Swiss nationals registered in Sudan while others are thought to be visiting the Red Sea area as tourists.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a press conference during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 24, 2022 in New York City. Stephanie Keith | Getty ImagesUNITED NATIONS — When Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes the helm of the United Nations Security Council on Monday it will be against a backdrop of mounting allegations of Russian war crimes reported across Ukraine. Since then, the war has claimed the lives of more than 8,500 civilians, led to nearly 14,000 injuries and displaced more than 8 million people, according to United Nations' own estimates. Lvova-Belova told the Security Council on April 5 that the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia was part of a humanitarian campaign. In some cases, the commission found that Ukrainian forces committed war crimes against Russian troops, though those incidents were less frequent.

☆ Chinese ambassador sparks European blowback over post-Soviet states comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Several leaders in former Soviet states, including Ukraine, were quick to hit back following the interview, which aired Friday on French station LCI. Beijing has formal diplomatic relations with post-Soviet states, which include Russia. Ties have soured as Europe has uneasily watched China’s tightening relationship with Russia and its refusal to condemn Putin’s invasion. Voices in former Soviet states, where many remember being under Communist authoritarian rule, have been among those in Europe critical of such an approach. For Russia, giving up control of Crimea is widely seen as a non-starter in any potential peace settlement on Ukraine.

☆ UK military have evacuated diplomatic staff from Sudan, Sunak says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 23 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday the country's armed forces evacuated diplomatic staff and their family members from Sudan. Sunak paid tribute to what he called a "complex and rapid" evacuation after he said there had been a significant escalation in violence and threats to embassy staff. But British nationals living in Sudan were not rescued. "We are continuing to pursue every avenue to end the bloodshed in Sudan and ensure the safety of British nationals remaining in the country." The foreign minister James Cleverly said a top priority remained the safety of British nationals.

☆ Tensions over Karabakh rise after Azerbaijan blocks land route from Armenia
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Azerbaijan "took appropriate measures to establish control at the starting point of the road," the foreign ministry said. Armenia said the checkpoint at the Hakari bridge in the Lachin corridor was a gross violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement which ended a 2020 war. It called on Russia to implement the agreement which states that the Lachin corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, must be under Russian peacekeepers' control. Azerbaijan then claimed that Armenian soldiers fired on Azeri units at around 1110 GMT in the Lachin district, a claim Armenia denied. In recent months Armenia has repeatedly called on Moscow to do more to support the peace and ensure unfettered access between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor.

☆ Son of Vladimir Putin's spokesman says he served with Wagner in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MOSCOW, April 23 (Reuters) - The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said in an interview published on Saturday that he had served in Ukraine under an assumed name as an artilleryman in the Wagner mercenary force, the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported. Nikolai Peskov, the 33-year-old son of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told the privately-owned newspaper that he had served in Ukraine, a rare, public example of the son of a senior Russian official fighting in the war. "It was on my initiative," Peskov, whose father has served as Putin's spokesman since 2008, said in an interview. Wagner's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Dmitry Peskov had approached him and asked him to take his son on as an artilleryman. Peskov told him that he would not be going anywhere and would solve the situation at a different level, according to a recording of the call posted online.

☆ Chad recalls envoy to Cameroon as dispute over Exxon's asset sale escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Exxon closed the sale of its operations in Chad and Cameroon to Africa-focused oil and gas producer Savannah in a $407 million deal in December. Chad has nationalized the assets on its side of the border, including Exxon's share of the over 1,000 km (621 miles) Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline. Savannah Energy has said it will pursue its legal rights over Chad's decision to nationalize Exxon's assets it had acquired. The company said on Wednesday that it had sold a 10% stake of the share capital of the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company which owns and operates the 903km Cameroon section of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline to Cameroon national oil company (SNH). Chad said in its statement that it was not informed of this sale which was contrary to the status of the pipeline company.

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Pakistan’s Foreign Minister will travel to India next month, the most senior-level visit in seven years in what is a major diplomatic breakthrough between two nuclear-armed neighbors with a long history of fractious relations. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s (SCO) foreign ministers meeting on May 4-5 in the western Indian coastal state of Goa, Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed Thursday. This is the first time that the most senior Pakistani foreign office representative has visited India since 2016. Diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan have been beset by decades of distrust and occasional bouts of open conflict. The SCO and China’s growing hand in diplomacyThe SCO is an eight-member regional security and economic grouping led by China, and its members include India, Pakistan and Russia.

☆ Germany forced to halt evacuation mission from Sudan - Spiegel
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 19 (Reuters) - A mission by the German military to evacuate around 150 citizens from Sudan had to be halted on Wednesday due to fighting in the capital Khartoum, the Spiegel news magazine reported citing unnamed sources. Spiegel said the Luftwaffe air force had dispatched three A400M transport planes for the mission early on Wednesday. The Bundeswehr military aborted the mission amid reports of renewed clashes and airstrikes in Khartoum, according to the report. Fighting erupted in Sudan on Saturday, killing at least 185 people and derailing an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian democracy in the country. Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike HeineOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nicaragua withdraws approval of EU ambassador to country
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Reuters) - Nicaragua has withdrawn its approval of the European Union's ambassador to the country, the Central American nation's foreign ministry said Tuesday, after an EU statement calling for a "return to the rule of law" in Nicaragua. In a statement, the foreign ministry said the decision was due to the "interventionist, daring and insolent" position from the EU on Nicaragua. Nicaragua's foreign ministry accused the EU of "crimes against humanity," without citing evidence. It said it "will not receive" the EU's nominee for ambassador to the country, Fernando Ponz. Ponz was nominated for the role after Nicaragua declared the previous ambassador to the country, Bettina Muscheidt, "persona non grata" in September.

☆ 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.

☆ Sudan's RSF says it's ready to cooperate over Egyptian troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin AbdallahCAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - The head of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Saturday that his forces were ready to cooperate with Egypt to ease the return of Egyptian troops who had handed themselves over to the group in the northern Sudanese town of Merowe. Two Egyptian security sources said Egyptian officials were able to make contact with the leader of the Egyptian unit to confirm they were safe. The video showed a number of men dressed in army fatigues crouched on the ground and speaking to members of the RSF, Sudan's main paramilitary group, in an Egyptian Arabic dialect. A mobilisation of RSF forces towards Merowe's military airport on Wednesday prompted an army statement a day later that described recent RSF moves as illegal, bringing long-bubbling disagreements to the surface. It strongly supports Sudan's army and has recently promoted negotiations with pro-army political parties, in parallel to a plan for a transition towards elections backed by Hemedti.

OSLO, April 13 (Reuters) - Norway is expelling 15 Russian embassy officials that the foreign ministry said on Thursday were intelligence officers operating under the cover of diplomatic positions, a move which Moscow said it would respond to. The expulsions amount to a quarter of Russian diplomats currently accredited in Oslo, the Norwegian government said. It is the latest instance of a Western nation expelling Russian diplomats since the beginning of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. So far this year, Estonia, the Netherlands and Austria have also expelled Russian diplomats. The Nordic country still seeks to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Russia, and Russian diplomats are welcome in Norway, Huitfeldt said.

☆ Most Korean plaintiffs in Japan forced-labour cases accept Seoul's compensation plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Soo-Hyang Choi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The bereaved families of 10 victims expressed hope that this issue be promptly resolved, and agreed to accept the compensation under the government plan," the foreign ministry said in a statement. South Korea will continue efforts to seek understanding from the victims and their families, the ministry added. The South Korean proposal has been hailed as "groundbreaking" by U.S. President Joe Biden following a deterioration in Japanese-South Korean relations to the lowest point for decades in the wake of the 2018 rulings. The March announcement was followed by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Tokyo for a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The two leaders agreed to put aside their countries' difficult shared history and work together to counter regional security challenges.

☆ Macron comments leave senior Taiwanese official 'puzzled'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, April 12 (Reuters) - Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron on Taiwan are puzzling, a senior Taiwanese politician said, wondering whether France's founding ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity are now out of fashion. He also called for the European Union to reduce its dependence on the United States and to become a "third pole" in world affairs alongside Washington and Beijing. Taiwan parliament speaker You Si-kun, writing on Facebook late Tuesday above a screengrab of a report about Macron's comments on Taiwan, questioned the French commitment to freedom. "Are 'liberté, égalité, fraternité' out of fashion?," he wrote, referring to the official French motto of "liberty, equality, fraternity". "The actions of President Macron, a leading international democracy, leave me puzzled."

☆ Germany expels Chad's ambassador in tit-for-tat move
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, April 11 (Reuters) - Berlin has ordered Chad's ambassador to Germany to leave the country within 48 hours in response to a similar move by the Central African country last week, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. "In response to the unfounded expulsion of our Ambassador to Chad, we today summoned the Chadian Ambassador in Berlin, Mariam Ali Moussa, and called on her to leave Germany within 48 hours. Germany's ambassador to Chad, Gordon Kricke, was expelled from the country last week. The Chadian Communications Ministry said that the decision was a result of "non-respect of diplomatic customs". "Ambassador Kricke exercised his office in N'Djamena in an exemplary manner & has worked for human rights & the rapid transition to a civilian government in Chad," the German ministry said.

☆ India has not suspended trade talks with UK, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW DELHI, April 10 (Reuters) - Trade talks between India and Britain have not been suspended and will continue this year, three officials said on Monday, responding to a British newspaper report that said India had "disengaged" from the talks after London failed to condemn Sikh separatists. An official in India's foreign ministry said progress in the trade talks and New Delhi's concerns around Sikh separatist activities in Britain should not be interlinked. A diplomatic official in the British High Commission in New Delhi said trade talks will continue in a scheduled manner and security officials in London were addressing India's concerns about Sikh separatist activities in Britain. "Both the UK and India are committed to delivering an ambitious and mutually beneficial FTA and concluded the latest round of trade talks last month," a spokesperson for Britain's Department for Business and Trade said. A second Indian foreign ministry source said that trade talks with Britain had not been suspended, and described the media report to be "baseless".

☆ Red Cross confirms contact with Russia about Ukrainian kids
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The International Committee of the Red Cross says it has been in contact with a Russian official suspected of war crimes as it works for the return of Ukrainian children who were deported to Russia. Deportations of Ukrainian children have been a concern since Russia's Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. An AP investigation revealed Lvova-Belova's involvement in the abductions and found an open effort to put Ukrainian children up for adoption in Russia. The exact number of Ukrainian children taken to Russia has been difficult to determine, and numbers from the warring countries differ vastly. She claimed no Ukrainian children have been adopted.

☆ Malaysia says it will protect its rights in South China Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Reuters) - Malaysia said on Saturday it was firmly committed to protecting its sovereign rights and interests in the South China Sea after China expressed concern about Malaysian energy projects in a part of the sea that China also claims. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday China was worried about activity by the state energy firm Petronas in a part of the South China Sea that Malaysia says is its territory. "The government of Malaysia is unequivocally and firmly committed to protecting Malaysia's sovereignty, sovereign rights and interests in its maritime areas in the South China Sea," the ministry said. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which about $3 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes annually. Anwar said this week Petronas would continue its activities in the South China Sea.

Summary FSB charges Gershkovich with espionageGershkovich denies the chargesUnited States has demanded his releaseRussia says Gershkovich was caught red-handedMOSCOW, April 7 (Reuters) - Russian Federal Security Service investigators have formally charged Evan Gershkovich with espionage but the Wall Street Journal reporter denied the charges and said he was working as a journalist, domestic news agencies said on Friday. TASS reported that FSB investigators had formally charged Gershkovich with carrying out espionage in the interests of the United States, but that Gershkovich, 31, had denied the charge. Gershkovich is the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has told the United States that Gershkovich was caught red-handed while trying to obtain secrets. The United States has urged Russia to release Gershkovich and cast the Russian claims of espionage as ridiculous.

☆ Russia charges Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich with espionage
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A man walks out of the pre-trial detention center Lefortovo, where U.S. journalist for the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich is being held on espionage charges, in Moscow, Russia, April 6, 2023. Russian Federal Security Service investigators have formally charged Evan Gershkovich with espionage but the Wall Street Journal reporter denied the charges and said he was working as a journalist, Russian news agencies reported on Friday. Gershkovich is the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. The Journal has denied that Gershkovich was spying and demanded the immediate release of its "trusted and dedicated reporter". The United States has urged Russia to release Gershkovich and cast the Russian claims of espionage as ridiculous.

☆ Russia protests to Canada over envoy's remarks about dead blogger
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 7 (Reuters) - Moscow formally protested to Canada on Friday after the country's U.N. envoy described a murdered Russian blogger as "a vitriolic propagandist" and a hate-monger, the foreign ministry said. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said it summoned a senior Canadian diplomat to strongly protest about Rae's remarks, which it described as "yet another manifestation of the Russophobia being fomented in Canada." He was a vitriolic propagandist, a spreader of hate and misinformation with a criminal record. Russian investigators have charged Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old St Petersburg resident, with terrorist offences over the killing of Tatarsky. Russia's health ministry said 42 others were injured in the blast.

☆ Iran appoints first UAE ambassador since 2016 as Gulf relations improve
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CAIRO, April 4 (Reuters) - Iran said on Tuesday it had appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates for the first time since 2016, amid a realignment of relations between Gulf states and Iran. The move comes after the UAE in August moved to upgrade ties and said it was returning its ambassador to Tehran. The UAE downgraded relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran following Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric. The UAE, which has business and trade ties with Iran stretching back more than a century, started re-engaging with Tehran in 2019 after attacks in Gulf waters and on Saudi energy sites. Iran's newly appointed ambassador Reza Ameri had served as the director general of the Iranian expatriates office in the foreign ministry, Iranian state media said.

☆ Japan changes aid rules; to fund defence projects of friendly nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TOKYO, April 5 (Reuters) - Japan on Wednesday said it plans to offer friendly nations financial assistance to help them bolster their defences, marking Tokyo's first unambiguous departure from rules that forbid using international aid for military purposes. Japan's Overseas Security Assistance (OSA) will be operated separately from the Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) programme that for decades has funded roads, dams and other civilian infrastructure projects, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a regular news conference. The Philippines and Bangladesh are likely to be included as the first recipients of the aid, a government source involved in talks said to Reuters. In principle, only developing countries will be eligible to receive the aid given it will be provided as grants, according to the foreign ministry. Reporting by Tim Kelly, Yukiko Toyoda, Sakura Murakami, and Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Tom Hogue, Christian Schmollinger and Raju GopalakrishnanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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