EU
Charles Michel meets Prime
Ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech
Republic
The President of the European
Council, Charles Michel, had a meeting with the Prime
Ministers of Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.
From the meeting emerged the need to “take further
urgent measures for Ukraine” and “the extremely
important role” played by “all EU countries”.
Johansson: 13 million Ukrainians
affected by war, 2 million
displaced
“There are 13 million people in
Ukraine affected in various ways by the war, of which 2
million are displaced”. These are the words of the EU
Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, in the
hearing at the European Parliament.
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WESTERN
EUROPE
Germany
Berlin: Ukraine will not enter
NATO
Answering a question about the
NATO peace mission proposed by Poland, Steffen
Hebestreit, spokesman of the German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz, said that no military or NATO personnel should
enter Ukraine.
Zelensky at the Bundestag: “With
every bomb, a wall is raised with the
EU”
Bundestag Vice-President Katrin
Goering-Eckardt introduced Zelensky’s speech by
emphasizing Germany’s support: “Putin has also attacked
our peace order with this war”. Speaking in front of the
German Parliament, Zelensky stated that “with every bomb
that falls, an ever-stronger wall is raised between
Ukraine and Europe. Hesitating on Ukraine’s entry into
Europe is another stone in the wall. We perceive
resistance, we perceive that you want economy, economy,
economy. Chancellor Scholz, tear down this wall.”
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Credits: Agenzia
Nova
Italy
Di Maio: Kiev ready for the
agreement but Moscow shies away from
it
As a guest on La7, Foreign
Minister Di Maio said, “Our diplomatic action does not
stop. We must bring Putin to accept an agreement. Russia
invents reasons every time to escape a closure.” He
added that, in the upcoming days, Draghi will demand a
cap on gas prices from important government leaders.
Defense Minister Guerini, in reference to NATO’s
position, said: “Putin has miscalculated. I think it’s
time to find a peaceful solution. A no-fly zone would be
too risky. It could lead to an involvement of the
Atlantic Alliance. The solution is: sanctions on one
side and aid on the other.”
Circular from the Defense Staff:
new rules for military
training
The Ministry of Defense has
issued a circular, redesigning the rules of the Army
after Russia's invasions of Ukraine: early leave granted
with caution, personnel that can be employed without
constraints and training activities “oriented to
warfighting”.
France
Emmanuel Macron offers political
asylum to Marina
Ovsyannikova
France has offered consular
protection to Marina Ovsyannikova, a Russian journalist
who protested the war in Ukraine on Monday, March 14,
during a Russian television broadcast. “We are Russians.
Intelligent people. Only we have the power to stop this
madness. Go to the protests. Don’t be afraid. They can’t
put us all in jail.” These are the words of the
journalist in reference to the declaration of illegality
of the so-called “fake news” about the Russian armed
forces.
Spain
Country’s yes to Putin’s
indictment for war crimes at The
Hague
Spain joins the initiative that
aims to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin before
the International Criminal Court in The Hague, as he is
found responsible for “war crimes” carried out during
the invasion of Ukraine. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel
Albares said the Spanish government’s goal is to “ensure
that Ukraine continues to live in
peace.” |
EASTERN
EUROPE
Ukraine
Zelensky: priority of the
negotiations is the end of the
war
After Zelensky’s words,
Ukrainian chief negotiator Podoliak reiterates the
rejections of the Swedish and Austrian model of
neutrality proposed by Moscow. Ukraine has a desire for
“absolute security guarantees'' against Russia to be
achieved with an “agreement whose signatories must
commit to intervene alongside Kiev in case of
aggression.” In an interview with CNN, the Ukrainian
Foreign Minister stresses that both delegations, Russian
and Ukrainian, “are far from reaching an agreement.” He
also explains how some factors, such as the continuous
“resistance of the Ukrainians” and “the sanctions
imposed on Russia”, force Moscow to slightly change its
position. Zelensky reaffirms that the priorities of the
negotiations are the “end of the war, security
guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial
integrity, real guarantees for our country, real
protection for our country.”
Poland
Requested NATO “peace mission
protected by armed forces” in
Ukraine
A NATO “peace mission” has been
requested by Poland to help Ukraine. “A mission that
cannot be unarmed”, as communicated by the Polish Deputy
Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Hungary
Demonstration in memory of the
1848 revolt ended with Russian
repression
On Tuesday 15, in Budapest,
thousands of people demonstrated to celebrate the
beginning of the 1848 revolt against Habsburg rule,
which ended with a brutal Russian repression. The theme
of the invasion of Ukraine dominated, but the Hungarian
Fidesz High Officials did not refer to it as a “war” as
the opposition was asking for a choice between Europe
and “the East”.
Slovenia
Slovenia prepares to receive
Ukrainian population
Preparations are beginning in
Slovenia to receive Ukrainians in need of medical
treatment. On Tuesday 15, Health Minister Poklukar
announced that Slovenia supports Poland’s proposal to
transfer Ukrainian patients to EU member states that do
not border Ukraine.
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AFRICA
AND MIDDLE EAST
Tunisia
Moussi (pdL) in the square
against Saied
There were about two thousand
people who demonstrated today in the streets of Tunis
supporting the Free Democratic Party (PDL), led by the
“pasionaria” Abir Moussi. The demonstrators denounced
the “seizure of power” by President Saied and the
economic crisis in which the country has plunged,
stressing how poverty has increased and the fear of an
imminent famine in the country.
Libya
Shipwreck with 23
people
A new shipwreck off the coast of
Libya, a boat carrying Egyptians and Syrians capsized.
There would be one dead and 19 missing and only three
people rescued, said the Tobruk-based Foundation for
Migrant Assistance and Humanitarian Services in
Libya.
Somalia
Drought, the Prime Minister
launches an appeal for
help
Mohamed Hussein Roble, Somalia’s
prime minister, has launched an international appeal
asking for help for the 6.9 million people who are
suffering from hunger due to severe drought. Half a
million people, he said, have fled their homes in search
of food, but without concrete help they could
die.
Iran
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe
released, detained in the country since
2016
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe a
British-Iranian citizen, has been released and is on her
way back to Britain. The woman had been detained in Iran
since 2016, for the first five years she served her
sentence related to the charge of conspiracy against the
Iranian government, but, soon after being released, in
March 2021 she had been summoned by a court again and
charged with participating in a protest against the
government as many as 12 years earlier.
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ASIA
Russia
Lavrov: ready for negotiations
with Kuleba with Turkish
mediation
Yesterday, Lavrov received
Turkish Minister Mevlut Cavusogli in Moscow, reiterating
the willingness and usefulness of continuing
negotiations with Ukraine at the level of foreign
ministers under Turkish mediation. In addition, Lavrov,
says that the meeting between Putin and Zelensky will
only be with the possibility of a specific agreement,
and it “must be a contact between the presidents to
consolidate the agreements, which are being defined
between the two delegations.”
Moscow: air defense systems for
Ukraine would destabilize the
situation
After Ukraine’s request to the
U.S. Congress to provide air defense systems, the
Russian Foreign Ministry said it would represent a
destabilizing factor and would not bring peace to the
country.
Marina Ovsyannikova, the
journalist of the blitz at the Russian tv, fined and
released
On Tuesday, the journalist broke
into a news station showing a sign in which she incited
to protest against the war. After the release of the
video message she was fined and then released. Her
lawyer stated that the police wanted to detain the
journalist to “limit themselves to following
administrative protocol, but the case was then taken
over by the high authorities”.
Turkmenistan
Serdar Berdymukhamedov wins
presidential elections
The presidential elections of
March 12 in Turkmenistan were won by Serdar
Berdymukhamedov, son of the current president Gurbanguly
Berdymukhamedov who has ruled the country since 2006.
The elections were won with the 72.97% of the votes,
without any competition, which is why the victory has
been referred to as “dynastic succession”.
Burma
UN accuses military of possible
crimes against humanity
The UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights has condemned the mass killings in Burma
that have been perpetrated by the military since
February 1, 2021 coup. The charges would be those of war
crimes and crimes against humanity.
Hong
Kong
Covid: Hong Kong is affected by
the most severe wave since the start of the
pandemic
In the last two years, Hong Kong
had managed to keep contagions under control, thanks to
its “zero Covid” policy. In recent weeks, however, the
omicron variant is putting a strain on the country,
which finds itself in dire straits with huge pressure on
hospitals, preventing people from being treated
properly.
Turkey
Turkey Foreign Minister in
Russia, “immediate
ceasefire”
During a joint press conference
with Lavrov in Moscow, Turkish Foreign Minister
Cavusogli said, “ we urgently need a humanitarian
ceasefire… The war must end.” Ankara’s first priority:
evacuating its citizens from Ukrainian territory. About
15,000 Turkish citizens have already been evacuated. He
also said that a phone call between Erdogan and Putin
will take place. Lavrov said he appreciates “Ankara’s
balanced approach” and that Turkey “has not followed the
sanctions imposed by the US and other countries”. He
also noted that the Russian goal is “to disarm Ukraine
and cleanse it of fascist ideology.”
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Credits: Adkronos
Japan
Japan revokes Russia’s Most
Favored Nation status for Ukraine
invasion
Following the U.S, G7 and EU
countries’ statements, Prime Minister Kishida also said
that in response to the invasion of Ukraine, Japan will
revoke Russia’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status,
which gives it equal access to all WTO members’ markets
and guarantees equal tariffs. Kishida called Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine a “historic atrocity” and said Japan
will expand the scope of asset freezes against Russian
oligarchs, ban specific imports and cooperate with
international aid agencies.
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NORTH
AMERICA
United
States
Ukraine: Republican leaders,
“Zelensky said Biden must do
more”
McConnell, the Senate Republican
leader, cited Zelensky’s speech to the U.S. Congress
saying that “the message to President Biden is that he
needs to do more”, a position shared by many other
Republicans. Pelosi, speaker of the House, thanked
Zelensky for acknowledging aid from the United States
and referred to his call for a no-fly zone, arguing that
“if this can’t be done, there are other opportunities to
help Ukraine.” He also newly condemned Russia’s
attacks.
SOUTH
AMERICA
Colombia
Elections, the left wins
On
March 13, elections were held in Colombia, both for the
renewal of Parliament and the primaries ahead of the
presidential elections on May 29. The left wing won the
parliamentary elections, an unexpected result for a
traditionally conservative country. For the first time
the left-wing coalition, which until now was in
opposition, has obtained the majority in both the House
and the Senate. As for the primaries, the most voted
candidate was Gustavo Pedro from the center-left
coalition, while former Medellìn mayor Federico
Gutiérrez from the center-right coalition came in
second.
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