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☆ Sudan: Testimonies detail atrocities by Wagner-backed militia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Nima Elbagir Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis Gianluca Mezzofiore Pallabi Munsi Ingrid Formanek Saskya Vandoorne | Nima Elbagir | Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

“I sat next to her in the car,” said Butheina Nourin, describing her perilous escape from Sudan’s Darfur region alongside the dead woman. A months-long CNN investigation uncovered an increase in Wagner supplies to the RSF that began in the run-up to Sudan’s conflict. Reports of atrocities committed by RSF fighters and their allied militias, clearly identified by their uniforms, are consistent across dozens of testimonies. Then-President Bashir was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in relation to the Darfur conflict. “Nobody in Sudan has more blood on their hands than Hemedti,” said Sudan analyst Eric Reeves.

Persons: wailed, “, ”, Butheina Nourin, Fatima, I, Nourin, Zohra Bensemra, Abdul Fattah al, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Wagner, General Burhan, entrenching, –, Omar al, Bashir, Hemedti, Sergey Lavrov, Hussein Haran, ” Haran, Khamis Abbakar, Kholood Khair, ” Khair, Gen, Mahmoud Hjaj, Hala, SIHA, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalos, Hussein Malla, ” “, Gueipeur Denis Sassou, Eric Reeves, Al Jazeera, Karib, “ It’s, RSF –, Wagner –, Yeveny Prigozhin, Sudan ”, Hussein Organizations: CNN, ” Fighters, Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Reuters, Central African, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, UN, Strategic Initiative, Women, International Criminal Court, ICC, United Arab, United Nations, SIHA, Getty, European, US State Department, State Department Locations: Chad, Sudan, Sudan’s Darfur, Darfur, Borota, Latakia, Libya, Bangui, Central African Republic, Moscow, Ukraine, Khartoum, el, Geneina, Horn of Africa, State, Sudan’s, Yemen, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Daman, AFP, Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Europe, EU, ”, Africa

☆ OPEC+ prepares for weekend meeting after Saudi warns speculators to 'watch out'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, OPEC+ agreed in early October to reduce production by 2 million barrels per day from November. After convening remotely throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, OPEC+ has returned to in-person meetings and will gather in Vienna on June 4. The OPEC ministers gather for a separate meeting unlikely to address output on June 3. Ministers face an oil market rattled by supply volatility, demand uncertainty, and a prospective recession, which could throttle transport fuel consumption. Two OPEC+ delegates, who did not want to be named due to the market sensitivity of the meeting, told CNBC that further output cuts were unlikely this weekend.

Persons: Saudi Arabia —, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, …, Alexander Novak, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al, Saud, Sergey Lavrov Organizations: Ministers, Russia, CNBC, Saudi Foreign, Brent Locations: Saudi Arabia, Russia, OPEC, Vienna, Saudi, Moscow, Riyadh, Cape Town, China, London, Washington

☆ Russia's foreign minister accuses the West of 'financial blackmail' as BRICS eye adding Saudi Arabia, Iran to economic bloc
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia's foreign minister slammed the West for its use of "financial blackmail." Saudi Arabia and Iran have requested joining the BRICS economic bloc, South Africa said. Meanwhile, South Africa's ambassador to BRICS also discussed potentially adding Saudi Arabia and Iran to the bloc of developing countries, as both outsider nations have officially requested membership. Lavrov held talks with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting on Thursday, according to the AP. It's also shifted oil exports to China and India at steep discounts after the European Union banned Russian crude imports.

Persons: —, Sergey Lavrov, BRICS, Lavrov, It's Organizations: Service, South Africa —, AP, Saudi, European Union, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, India, China, South, Moscow

☆ Analysis: China says it wants peace in Ukraine, but is it only on Russia's terms?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But Li’s trip has also laid bare the divisions between China and Europe when it comes to how peace can be reached — and served to underline Beijing’s close alignment with Moscow. As such, that’s “not on the table for China,” Tsang said. That stance has horrified much of Europe, and Li’s tour comes as China has been attempting to repair relations there. “No one will do anything against us behind Ukraine’s back, because we have built trusting relationships with all our key partners,” he added. “The crucial question is what message from Europe — Kyiv, Warsaw, Berlin, Paris, and Brussels — Li will deliver in Moscow and Beijing,” he said.

Tensions have risen in the past week after ethnically Albanian mayors took office in northern Kosovo, a majority Kosovo Serb area, following April elections that Kosovo Serbs had boycotted. NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) said the recent developments prompted them to increase their presence in northern Kosovo on Monday morning, which they later said turned violent. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathy for the Italian KFOR soldiers injured in the clashes, adding in a statement, “What is happening is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible. But Serbia still considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory as do the Serbs living in northern Kosovo. NATO has troops stationed in Kosovo to maintain peace, with tensions often flaring between Serbia and Kosovo.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russia bolsters attack on Kyiv; Putin congratulates 'dear friend' Erdogan on reelection
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Black Sea grain deal will no longer be operational if its current state of implementation continues, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday. The Black Sea grain deal will no longer be operational if its current state of implementation continues, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday, according to a Google translation of comments carried by Russian state news agency Tass. Reuters reported that Lavrov added that less than 3% of the grain exported under the agreement had reached the world's poorest countries. The U.N.-brokered agreement was set up to allow Kyiv's grains to be shipped through Black Sea ports, staving off the risk to global food security that was worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly complained that restrictions imposed on Russia prevent it from fulfilling its agricultural and fertilizer exports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moscow's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov both blamed the West for creating global insecurity and instability. As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Putin said Wednesday that the world was becoming increasingly unstable and that "new centers of tension are emerging." The Kyiv regime is being used as an anti-Russian battering ram, which is being pumped up with NATO weapons. Russia invaded Ukraine 15 months ago in a bid to overthrow the pro-Western government in Kyiv and regain its influence over the former Soviet republic. Western countries rallied around Ukraine to provide it with military and financial aid to help it defend itself against its neighbor.

☆ Russia is seeking allies to shift trade away from the greenback and quicken the pace of de-dollarization, deputy prime minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Russia is seeking partners to quicken the pace of de-dollarization, Russia's deputy prime minister Alexey Overchuk said. The nation could create an independent financial system with Islamic countries. We are talking about processes of de-dollarization and the creation of an independent financial system," Overchuk said at an economic forum on Friday, per a report from Russian news agency Tass. Ties between Russia and Islamic countries also have a "positive future," Overchuk said, given Russia's alignment on issues like energy, food, and de-globalization. The shift away from the US dollar is already beginning to take place, Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said, though experts have argued de-dollarization fears are largely overblown.

☆ Russia and China hit back at a G7 that saw them as a threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Moscow and Beijing lashed out against the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima, where leaders of major democracies pledged new measures targeting Russia and spoke in one voice on their growing concerns over China. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday slammed the G7 for indulging in their “own greatness” with an agenda that aimed to “deter” Russia and China. G7 member countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Concern about such incidents was reflected in the G7 statement on ensuring economic security and countering economic coercion, which did not explicitly mention China. “The bottom line is that the G7 has shown it will increasingly focus on China and will try to maintain a coordinated policy approach.

☆ Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he's 'positive and confident' the 'wheels are turning' toward release
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Paul Whelan, an American who is wrongfully detained in Russia, told CNN on Sunday that he feels confident that his case is a priority for the United States government but wishes it could be resolved faster. “I remain positive and confident on a daily basis that the wheels are turning. I just wish they would turn a little bit more quickly,” said Whelan, who called CNN exclusively from his prison camp in remote Mordovia. However, Whelan said Sunday he has more confidence in the US efforts to get him home than he did when he spoke to CNN in December following Griner’s release. Medical care, dental care is provided privately,” he told CNN.

CNN —Police in Georgia have removed protesters from outside a hotel where relatives of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are allegedly staying, according to the public broadcaster First Channel. According to First Channel, the opposition United National Movement party held a protest outside the Kvareli Lake Hotel in northeastern Georgia on Saturday to express their anger following Georgian media reports that Lavrov’s relatives were staying in the hotel. Reporters on the ground said the situation outside the hotel had grown “tense” on Saturday after protesters pelted eggs at a minibus that left the hotel carrying Russian tourists. ‘Tense’ protest scenesVideos posted on social media showed violent scenes of police officers roughly grabbing protesters gathered outside the hotel. The protests came after Georgian media reported that Lavrov’s relatives had traveled to Georgia for the wedding of the brother of Lavrov’s son-in-law, Alexandre Vinokourov.

☆ US says Wagner Group is trying to use third countries to obscure weapons shipments to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group has been working to obscure its efforts to acquire military equipment for use in Ukraine, including by trying to source the materials from Mali, where the group has a strong foothold, a US official told CNN. That document also said that Wagner was likely trying to use weapons procured from Turkey for use in its operations in Mali. The White House has also previously accused North Korea of supplying Russia’s Wagner Group with missiles and rockets for use in Ukraine. “Wagner is directly supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, and we oppose efforts by any other country to assist Russia through Wagner,” the US official said. We will continue to identify, expose, and counter these efforts by Wagner to procure military equipment for use in Ukraine.”

CNN —Former United States President Barack Obama, late night television host Stephen Colbert, and CNN’s Erin Burnett are some of the “500 Americans” Russia has banned from entering the country. The list includes Obama, former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman, several US senators and the next expected chairman of the joint chiefs Charles Q. The rambling list of names also includes American late night TV hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert, and Seth Meyers. Friday’s list also includes CNN Anchor Erin Burnett and is an update of a previously published longer list of sanctioned individuals that includes CNN’s Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, CNN contributors Bianna Golodryga and Timothy Naftali. While the list was labelled, “500 Americans,” Paton Walsh is a British citizen.

☆ How the U.S. and South Africa ended up in a dispute over Russian gunrunning allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

WASHINGTON, D.C - Sep. 16, 2022: U.S. President Joe Biden meets with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L) in the Oval Office of the White House. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty ImagesRelations between the U.S. and South Africa frayed last week, when U.S. South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), released a rather different interpretation of the conversation in its readout. RICHARDS BAY, South Africa - Feb. 22, 2023: Russian military frigate "Admiral Gorshkov" docked at the port in Richards Bay on February 22, 2023. South Africa drew criticism from the U.S. and Europe for holding 10 days of joint naval exercises with Russia and China.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Wagner leader says his forces will leave Bakhmut; Bill Clinton says he foreshadowed Russian invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Prigozhin lambasted Russian defense officials in a video where he stood surrounded by the dead bodies of Russian troops, blaming the officials for the deaths of the men. Sergey Lavrov once again pinned Wednesday's attempted drone attack on the Kremlin on the United States and Kyiv, saying that any self-respecting country should stop communicating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at this point. Ukraine says the drone attack was staged by Russia. Meanwhile, Russian officials have warned that high water levels at a dam near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could threaten the plant, which is Europe's largest of its kind. A rupture of the dam would create "functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety," a Russian nuclear energy advisor said.

☆ Russia's foreign minister joins Tucker Carlson's Kremlin fanbase, blasting the TV host's ousting as an offense to freedom of speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke out in support of the now-ousted Tucker Carlson. He cited Carlson leaving Fox News as an example of poor press standards in the US. "I heard that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News. Lavrov's comments about Carlson were brief, but he isn't alone in the Kremlin's praise for the right-wing TV figure. Fox News announced that it parted ways with Tucker Carlson on Monday without specifying why the host was ousted.

☆ Colombia's Gustavo Petro finds his opening in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

So what was the most solid common ground President Biden, as host, could find for his guest? Leaders from the region tend to see the climate issue as their platform in international summits. Like many countries in Latin America, Colombia has received considerable investments from Chinese companies in recent years, mostly in the transport and mining sectors. “Petro has the aspiration of leading the new phase of Latin America’s geopolitics. And Biden can also tout a considerable concession from his meeting with Petro, who had always refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine – until now.

UNITED NATIONS – The basic food security of tens of millions across the globe is hanging by a thread as Russia mulls whether it will preserve a deal that has permitted Ukrainian grain to move through the Black Sea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday renewed threats of abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that allows the safe wartime export of agricultural products from besieged Ukrainian ports. Lavrov also said that the deal is currently one-sided since Russian fertilizers have not been able to transit the same way Ukrainian grain has. "It was not called the grain deal it was called the Black Sea Initiative and in the text itself the agreement stated that this applies to the expansion of opportunities to export grain and fertilizer," Lavrov told reporters during a press conference. Lavrov said there are dozens of Russian cargo vessels carrying some 200,000 tons of fertilizer stuck at European ports.

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.

Lavrov, who flew from Moscow to New York to preside over the Security Council, defended his country's "special military operation" in Ukraine in opening remarks before the international forum. Lavrov then blamed the United States for exacerbating geopolitical challenges around the world, including tensions between China and Taiwan. "Today it's Ukraine, but tomorrow it could be another country, another small nation that is invaded by its larger neighbor," she added. In direct remarks to Lavrov, Thomas-Greenfield reiterated calls for the immediate release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, whose sister attended the meeting. "I want minister Lavrov to look into her eyes and see her suffering.

☆ Brazil’s Lula pitches ‘peace coalition’ for Ukraine, but he treads a thin line
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Julia Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He says he aims to form a coalition of countries willing to intervene and lead efforts for peace in Ukraine, though in the process is finding himself treading a thin line with the world’s biggest powers. When he launched his political comeback in 2022, Lula told Time magazine that he thought both Russia and Ukraine were responsible for the conflict. Lula condemned Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor, but controversially claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have done more to avoid the conflict. Lula could not contemplate sending weapons – a step that would go far beyond Brazil’s traditional foreign policy, suggested the analyst. But he couldn’t do nothing, either – after all, Lula had promised to bring Brazil “back” to the world stage.

☆ Ukraine and Russia turn toward the Americas; Zelensky speaks to Mexican lawmakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday appealed to Mexico’s Congress for support in the war against Russia, as both Kyiv and Moscow seek to reinforce ties in the Americas. Zelensky’s appeal comes after many Latin American countries have adopted a policy of non-intervention over the war in Ukraine, rebuffing efforts led by United States President Joe Biden to unite the global community in opposition to Russia’s invasion. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has raised eyebrows among Ukraine supporters for criticizing Western arms shipments into Kyiv. Still, Mexico has voted alongside the United States in UN resolutions calling for Russia to leave Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, left, talks with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira as he leaves Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Monday.

☆ United Nations issues rare rebuke of United States over leaked documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Richard Roth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Weeks after a trove of classified US intelligence documents were posted on social media, the United Nations issued a rare rebuke of the United States after reports that those documents allegedly revealed the US was spying on the Secretary-General and other high ranking UN officials. The UN also sent a note to the US Mission at the United Nations in New York regarding the leak, according to Dujarric. The stern reaction comes after a BBC report last week on a US intelligence leak which accused Guterres of being too soft on Russia. According to the broadcaster, the documents in the leak also includes detail of a private conversation between Guterres and his deputy Amina Mohammed. The leak appears to shed light on how Washington perceived Guterres’ handling of the Black Sea grain deal, according to the BBC.

☆ WSJ editor Emma Tucker finds Evan Gershkovich update 'hugely reassuring"
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The talk between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about detained journalist Evan Gershkovich has been “hugely reassuring,” Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “We know that the US government is taking the case very seriously right up to the top,” Tucker said. The Wall Street Journal knows little about the case, which is one of the biggest problems the outlet is facing, Tucker said. Though Tucker doesn’t have a timeline, she said she is hopeful Gershkovich will be able to see a lawyer next week. “I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to make some sort of contact with him next week,” Tucker said.

☆ Pope Francis warns that the war in Ukraine is powered by competing 'empires' and 'arms industry'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Pope Francis has said that a number of different empires are powering the war in Ukraine. Speaking on Swiss TV, he criticized the forces driving the war, as well as the arms industry. He said he'd offered to negotiate peace with Putin at the beginning of the war but was rebuffed. Pope Francis said he would like to engage in peace talks with President Putin. Writing on Twitter on the anniversary of Putin's invasion, Pope Francis said, "Let us remain close to the battered Ukrainian people who continue to suffer and ask ourselves: has everything possible been done to stop the war?

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