China's Xi, Russia's Putin call on BRICS alliance to promote security
The leaders of China and Russia called for greater cooperation during online meetings of the BRICS alliance of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Western leaders will meet in the Spanish capital Madrid from Jun. 28 to Jun. 30 for what many are expecting to be the most important summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in recent decades. Just months after the invasion of NATO ally Ukraine, the 30 member states of the intergovernmental military alliance are keen to demonstrate their unity against Russian aggression. Leaders attending the two-day conference are expected to unveil a “transformative” approach to their security and defense strategy of the kind not seen since the Cold War, according to its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
(Bloomberg) -- Ever since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, China has blamed NATO for antagonizing Russia and accused the US of seeking to set up a similar alliance in the Asia-Pacific. The presence of four leaders from the region in Spain this week will only make Beijing more paranoid. Most Read from BloombergRussia Slips Into Historic Default as Sanctions Muddy Next StepsMichael Burry of ‘The Big Short’ Fame Warns Fed May Alter CourseA $2 Trillion Free-Fall Rattles Crypto to the CoreAnti-A
WELLINGTON (Reuters) -The foreign minister of Tuvalu pulled out of the United Nations Ocean Conference opening in Portugal on Monday after China blocked the participation of three Taiwanese included in the tiny Pacific island nation's delegation list, according to Radio New Zealand. Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, is not a member of the United Nations and its citizens are unable to attend U.N. events as representatives of Taiwan.
As the Western alliance expands to counter the Kremlin, Biden has to placate NATO’s problem child and ‘weakest link’ — the Turkish president.
The United States is likely to announce this week the purchase of an advanced medium to long range surface-to-air missile defense system for Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. Washington is also expected to announce other security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery ammunition and counter-battery radars to address needs expressed by the Ukrainian military, the source added. The weaponry is the latest assistance to be offered to Ukraine by the United States since Russia invaded its eastern European neighbor in February.
G7 leaders on Tuesday condemned China's "non-transparent and market-distorting" international trade practices in an end-of-summit statement billed as "unprecedented" by the United States.
VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - TUESDAY, 28 JUNE 2022, 10:26 Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, has said that attempts to encroach on the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea will be seen as a declaration of war on the Russian Federation.
The man considered to be the wealthiest oligarch in Russia, who has been photographed playing ice hockey with President Vladimir Putin, joins a growing list of those transferring — or, sailing — their prized assets to Dubai as the West tightens its massive sanctions program on Russia’s economy. Vladimir Potanin, head of the world’s largest refined nickel and palladium producer, may not be sanctioned by the United States or Europe yet; such sanctions could roil metal markets and potentially disrupt supply chains, experts say. As the biggest shareholder in mining company Nornickel, Potanin had a personal fortune of $30.6 billion before the war on Ukraine, according to Forbes.
Five emerging powers have become the object of the G7 industrialised powers' charm offensive, as the club of rich nations seeks broader support in their backing for Kyiv.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed a national security memorandum to fight illegal fishing, part of pledged efforts to help countries combat alleged violations by fishing fleets, including those of China. The White House said in a statement that it would also launch an alliance with Canada and the United Kingdom to "take urgent action" to improve monitoring, control, and surveillance in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. U.S. officials have vowed to introduce policies to better battle illegal fishing, particularly in the Indo-Pacific, as part of stepped up engagement with the region to counter China's growing influence.
President Biden plans to announce extension of some of the increased U.S. troop presence in Poland and changes to U.S. deployments in several Baltic nations.
President Tayyip Erdogan held firm on his stance towards Finland and Sweden's NATO bids on Tuesday, saying Turkey wanted results not words to address its concerns, adding he will also push U.S. President Joe Biden on a "stalled" F-16 fighter jet purchase. Breaking with decades of a policy of neutrality, Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) -- The leaders of Finland and Sweden are set to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday in a bid to convince him to drop the objections to their membership in NATO.Most Read from BloombergRussia Slips Into Historic Default as Sanctions Muddy Next StepsA $2 Trillion Free-Fall Rattles Crypto to the CoreMichael Burry of ‘The Big Short’ Fame Warns Fed May Alter CourseAnti-Abortion Centers Find Pregnant Teens Online, Then Save Their DataHyundai Quietly Climbs the EV Sa
Taiwan and the United States are to hold their first meeting under a new trade framework on Monday, talks that will add to tensions with Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as its own. Taipei's top trade negotiator John Deng will meet deputy US trade representative Sarah Bianchi to discuss the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st Century Trade, according to Bianchi's office. The talks will be held virtually after Deng contracted Covid-19 in Mexico, where he is isolating in a hotel, Hsiao Bi-khim
(Bloomberg) -- When Kaja Kallas’s mother was six months old, she was forced into a Soviet cattle car and sent on a three-week journey to Siberia.Most Read from BloombergRussia Slips Into Historic Default as Sanctions Muddy Next StepsMichael Burry of ‘The Big Short’ Fame Warns Fed May Alter CourseA $2 Trillion Free-Fall Rattles Crypto to the CoreAnti-Abortion Centers Find Pregnant Teens Online, Then Save Their DataChina Cuts Travel Quarantine in Biggest Covid Zero Shift YetTens of thousands of ot
STORY: In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia made bond payments due in May but the fact they had been blocked by Euroclear because of Western sanctions on Russia was "not our problem".Russia has struggled to keep up payments on $40 billion of outstanding bonds since its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, as sweeping sanctions have effectively cut the country off from the global financial system and rendered its assets untouchable to many investors.Russia has long said it has the money to pay, calling the default artificial, as sanctions block foreign bondholders from receiving the cash. On Monday, a U.S. official said the default showed how dramatically the sanctions were impacting Russia's economy.Around a half of Russian gold and foreign exchange reserves - some $300 billion - were earlier blocked by western sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops to Ukraine.Euroclear did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In another step to widen sanctions on Moscow, the British government said on Sunday that Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada would ban new imports of Russian gold.
North Korea has accused the United States of setting up a military alliance like NATO in Asia, saying the unwavering U.S. aim to oust North Korea's government compelled it to develop stronger defences. The North Korean criticism comes amid concern it could be preparing its first nuclear test in five years and after a recent agreement between South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden to deploy more U.S. weapons if deemed necessary to deter the North.
STORY: They were trying to reach Europe, and some paid with their lives.The deaths of at least 23 people as they tried to cross into Spain's North African enclave Melilla on Friday (June 24) is a grim reminder of the perils of migration, that also include dangerous sea crossings.However Spain is hoping a new strategy will help keep migrants from danger, says foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares.“We cannot allow the Mediterranean, through Libya, Morocco and other countries, the Atlantic, the route between Africa and the Canary Islands, to become enormous tombs where every year thousands of human beings die when all they aspire to is a better life.”Parts of Africa are facing a hunger crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which has disrupted grain exports.Moscow denies responsibility for the food crisis, blaming Western sanctions.Two diplomatic sources said Spain, its southern neighbors, and EU officials are increasingly worried the situation will trigger chaotic migration from the Sahel and sub-Saharan regions.They say numbers are already on the rise.Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which it calls a "special military operation", Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had revived a policy mothballed by previous governments, according to two officials close to him.It centers on working with African partners to contain migration and to tackle root causes such as instability and climate change.“We are looking for good relations with all the neighbors around us and jointly managing phenomena that no one, not even the most powerful state on the planet, can deal with on its own.”The two diplomatic sources said Spain will use a NATO summit in Madrid this week to press its case and is likely to ask for increased intelligence sharing, including on issues related to migration.It also wants to secure a commitment for better policies on "hybrid threats" including the possibility that irregular migration is used as a political pressure tactic by hostile actors.The government has also sent a bill to parliament that would mark a significant expansion of existing funding for migration control to eight African countries.However, human rights groups and migration advocates say Spain's quest to outsource enforcement has put vulnerable people in the hands of security forces in countries with a history of abuses and heavy-handed policing.The deaths on Friday, which were protested in Madrid at the weekend, came after clashes with Moroccan security forces when around 2,000 people tried to cross into Melilla.A Moroccan official said security personnel had not used undue force.The Moroccan Association for Human Rights and Spanish migration charity Walking Borders said on Saturday (June 25) the incident was a "tragic symbol of European policies of externalizing borders of the EU".Sanchez's office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western leaders to make a big push to end the war with Russia before the winter sets in.
NATO leaders will urge Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to lift his veto over Finland and Sweden's bid to join the military alliance when they meet for a three-day summit on Tuesday, as the West strives to send Russia and China a signal of resolve. Taking place in the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine, the Madrid gathering comes at a pivotal moment for the transatlantic bond after failures in Afghanistan and internal discord during the era of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened to pull Washington out of the nuclear alliance.