Putin hopes consistent policy of Israel towards Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he hopes the Israeli government will pursue a policy of continuity with regard to bilateral relations…reports Asian Lite News
“We have developed sufficiently business-like and trust-based relations with the previous government,” Putin said during a meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the resort city of Sochi.
Putin noted that trade and economic ties between the two countries are developing successfully, and bilateral trade grew by 50 per cent in the first seven months of this year despite pandemic-related restrictions.
He also voiced readiness to exchange views with Bennett on the situation in the region, including issues regarding Syria.
For his part, Bennett said he wanted to discuss with Putin the development of the Israel-Russia cooperation in economic, scientific and cultural spheres, as well as the situation in Syria and the Iran nuclear program.
For the first time after taking office earlier this year, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett departed for Sochi on Friday where he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin…reports Asian Lite News
Bennett will pay a one-day visit to the seaside resort city of Sochi and has only one scheduled meeting, his office said in a statement.
Before his departure, Bennett told reporters at the airport that “the ties between Russia and Israel are a significant element in the foreign policy of the State of Israel” due to Moscow’s regional and international role, and to the Russian-speakers in Israel who constitute “a bridge between the two countries”, reports Xinhua news agency.
Earlier this week, Bennett’s office said that the two leaders will discuss political, security and economic issues involving both countries and regional matters, “primarily Iran’s nuclear program”, according to the statement.
This is Bennett’s first official trip to Russia after becoming Prime Minister in June.
His predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, held many meetings with Putin.
NATO responsible for the current situation in Afghan
Putin said it is necessary to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets so the country could begin to tackle urgent social and economic challenges…reports Asian Lite News
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bears primary responsibility for the current situation in Afghanistan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
“While the participation of both China and Russia and other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries is important, those countries that were fighting there (in Afghanistan) for 20 years bear primary responsibility for what is happening there,” Xinhua news agency quoted Putin as saying at the plenary session of the 18th annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday.
The President said Moscow and Beijing will continue to work together with the aim of promoting dialogue with relevant structures in Afghanistan and ensuring the safety of both countries’ citizens.
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: “We will continue to do this within the framework of the SCO by allocating the necessary resources and creating conditions so citizens of our countries feel safe, regardless of what is happening in Afghanistan.”
Putin said it is necessary to unfreeze Afghanistan’s assets so the country could begin to tackle urgent social and economic challenges.
Russia has repeatedly voiced its concerns over the new bloc….reports Asian Lite News
The AUKUS, a security partnership between Australia, Britain and the United States, “undoubtedly” undermines regional stability, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
“In my opinion, it is good to be friends with each other, but bad to be friends against someone. This impairs the stability that we all talk about and we all care about,” Putin said during an interview with US TV channel CNBC on Wednesday.
He said that he hopes the situation will not develop according to some unpredictable scenario and will not cause any additional tensions in the region.
Australia, Britain and the United States announced the establishment of the AUKUS partnership on September 15 and under the arrangement, Washington and London will support Canberra in building nuclear-powered submarines.
Russia has repeatedly voiced its concerns over the new bloc.
Russian officials told US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland during her recent visit to Russia that the AUKUS not only hurts the existing security architecture in Asia-Pacific, but also carries the risk of undermining the global nonproliferation regime, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday.
Last week, relations between the European Union (EU) and the US have come under fire as some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) urged the union to reposition itself with increased autonomy.
Frustrated by Washington’s recent unilateral moves, especially the signing of the trilateral Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) security partnership and its push for military withdrawal from Afghanistan, the MEPs on Tuesday started their first October plenary by spending two and a half hours debating the transatlantic partnership, Xinhua news agency reported.
“I’m disappointed by President (Joe) Biden,” said Belgian MEP Hilde Vautmans.
“He claims America’s back. Fair enough. But does that mean that in his perception, in his mind, and in his strategic approach, that also Europe is back? No.”
She recalled that the Biden administration did not consult its European partners when announcing its withdrawal from Afghanistan and “completely sidelined” the Europeans in the AUKUS deal. Moreover, he did not even take the step to abolish American tariffs on European steel, added Vautmans.
German MEP Bernd Lange highlighted the trade disputes between the EU and the US. “The honeymoon is over,” he said.
Concerning the steel tariff row, Lange noted that the EU will double its counter measures if a solution is not found by the end of November. Meanwhile, the US submarine deal with Australia “is certainly not something which has helped to make our relationship more stable,” he said.
Her response comes after Pakistan was retained in the red list of countries at the latest coronavirus travel update while India was removed from it, reported The Express Tribune…reports Asian Lite News.
The British Government has retained Pakistan on the ‘red list’ of its travel advisory due to the ‘deteriorating Covid situation’ in the country.
UK senior health official JO Churchill, in a letter dated August 6 explained the reasons for keeping Pakistan on the red list of countries, reported The Express Tribune.
She said that UK’s Joint Biosecurity Centre continues to assess risk based on factors including incidence, trends in deaths/hospitalisations, exported cases as well as testing and test positivity rates.
Her response comes after Pakistan was retained in the red list of countries at the latest coronavirus travel update while India was removed from it, reported The Express Tribune.
The British government placed Pakistan and India on the red list on April 2 and 19, respectively. However, in an updated list, the government announced that India, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE would be moved to the amber list from August 8.
“In Pakistan, the combination of a deteriorating epidemiological situation, combined with low testing rates and limited genomic surveillance, presents a high risk that an outbreak of a new variant, or existing VoC [variant of concern], will not be identified before it is imported to the UK,” she said in a letter.
The UK health official said the current trajectory of the pandemic in Pakistan is also of particular concern.
“In the past seven days, the incidence of cases in Pakistan has increased by 87 per cent on the previous week (19 – 25 July). The incidence of deaths has increased by 75 per cent in that same period. Test positivity is high and rising, growing from 5.6 per cent on July 26 to 7.9 per cent on August 3,” read the letter.
Major cities like Karachi have reported positivity rates of up to 20 per cent, she added.
The red list of the countries means only the UK nationals and those with residency rights will be allowed to travel to the country if they stayed in Pakistan for the ten days before they arrive. The amber travel list means that returnees can quarantine at home, rather than in a hotel. (ANI)
People take part in a protest in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa/IANS
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan Sullivan’s comments came days after President Joe Biden met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Geneva of Switzerland…reports Asian Lite News
The US is preparing additional sanctions against Russia over the alleged poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said.
“We are preparing another package of sanctions to apply in this case as well,” Sullivan said on Sunday in an interview with CNN when asked if the administration will further pressure Moscow over Navalny, Xinhua reported.
“It will come as soon as we have developed the packages to ensure that we are getting the right targets. And when we do that, we will impose further sanctions with respect to chemical weapons,” he added.
Sullivan’s comments came days after President Joe Biden met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Geneva of Switzerland, the first meeting between the two leaders since Biden took office.
In March, the Biden administration announced multiple sanctions and restrictions against Russian individuals and entities over the alleged poisoning of Navalny.
The US intelligence community assessed that officers of Russia’s Federal Security Service used a nerve agent known as Novichok to poison Navalny on August 20, 2020.
Russia has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying the Navalny case is a purely domestic affair and foreign intervention is not allowed.
Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan earlier said that the US President was meeting his Russian counterpart not “despite” but precisely because of the two countries’ differences…reports Asian Lite News.
US President Joe Biden has started his first major overseas trip with a warning to Russia that it faces “robust and meaningful” consequences if it engages in “harmful activities”, media reported.
Addressing US troops and their families at the RAF Mildenhall airbase in Suffolk on Wednesday, where he landed before travelling on to Cornwall, Biden said he would deliver a clear message to Putin, the BBC reported.
Biden is due to meet Russian President in Geneva at the end of this trip.
Biden also said that US is “not seeking conflict with Russia” but “want a stable and predictable relationship”
“… but I’ve been clear: The United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian government engages in harmful activities,” BBC quoted Biden as saying.
The White House has indicated that he intends to cover a “full range of pressing issues” with his Russian counterpart, including arms control, climate change, Russian military involvement in Ukraine, Russia’s cyber-hacking activities and the jailing of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny.
Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan earlier said that the US President was meeting his Russian counterpart not “despite” but precisely because of the two countries’ differences.
“We do not regard a meeting with the Russian president as a reward. We regard it as a vital part of defending America’s interests and America’s values,” Sullivan said.
“When President Biden returns to Washington next week, we believe that we will be in a materially stronger position to manage the major threats and challenges this country faces,” Sullivan said.
The Adviser also stressed that nothing can replace a face-to-face meeting between heads of government.
This is especially true for Putin, who has a “highly personalized style of decision making”.
Therefore, he said, it was important for Biden “to sit down with (Putin) face to face” and be clear about US expectations. Talking directly to Putin is also “the most effective way to understand what Russia intends and plans”.
Prince Michael reportedly told the undercover reporters in a virtual meeting that for 10,000 pounds ($14,000) a day he could make “confidential” representations to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage…reports Asian Lite News
An investigation by Sunday Times and Channel 4 revealed that Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, Prince Michael of Kent, was offering investors access to the Kremlin in exchange for personal gain.
The reporters of the media posed as investors of a fake South Korean gold company seeking contacts in the Kremlin to further its business in Russia.
Prince Michael reportedly told the undercover reporters in a virtual meeting that for 10,000 pounds ($14,000) a day he could make “confidential” representations to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage.
Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and the weekly newspaper set up a fake South Korean gold company — House of Haedong.
The royal’s business partner, Simon Reading, also reportedly told the fake investors that Michael could be hired for 10,000 pounds a day to make “confidential” representations on behalf of the fictitious gold firm to Putin.
“If he (Prince Michael) is representing the House of Haedong, he could mention that to Putin and Putin would find the right person who is interested in South Korea or interested in gold. It just opens the door, you know, which is so helpful,” Reading reportedly said.
Meanwhile, responding to the reports, Prince Michael’s office said he “has no special relationship with President Putin” and that the two men last met in 2003. The royal “earns his own living through a consultancy company that he has run for over 40 years”, it was reported.
“That is my hope and expectation. We are working on it,” Biden told reporters when asked if he plans to meet Putin during his upcoming trip to Europe…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he expects to hold a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Europe in June.
“That is my hope and expectation. We are working on it,” Biden told reporters when asked if he plans to meet Putin during his upcoming trip to Europe, the first overseas visit since he took office in January.
Biden will attend the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Cornwall, Britain from June 11 to 13, and hold bilateral meetings with leaders of G7 members. He will then travel to Brussels, Belgium to participate in the NATO Summit on June 14, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Russian President Vladmir Putin
Biden had proposed a summit with Putin in Europe this summer to address a range of bilateral issues. US media reported earlier that the White House is hammering out the details of the summit.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have been adversarial in recent years. The two were bitterly divided over Ukraine and cybersecurity issues, and they mutually accused the other of domestic political interference.
US President Joe Biden has invited Putin among other world leaders to the event scheduled for Thursday and Friday…reports Asian Lite News
Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech at a US-initiated summit on climate change via video link on Thursday, the Kremlin said.
“Putin will outline Russia’s approaches to establishing broad international cooperation aimed at overcoming the negative consequences of global climate change,” the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.
US President Joe Biden has invited Putin among other world leaders to the event scheduled for Thursday and Friday, Xinhua news agency reported.
US President Joe Biden
The summit comes at a critical juncture, with the latest UNFCCC report stating that the collective climate action pledges according to the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are far off track from the goals envisaged in the Paris Agreement, most notably to pursue efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
There are also increasing calls to developed countries to step up financial support for climate action in developing countries, in particular for adaptation.
