Category: Politice

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is open to a dialogue on Ukraine, while expressing positive views on China’s efforts towards the political settlement of the crisis, the Beijing-based official Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

“We have never refused to negotiate. We are seeking a comprehensive, sustainable and just settlement of this conflict through peaceful means. We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations must take into account the interests of all countries involved in the conflict, including ours,” Putin was quoted as saying in a written interview with Xinhua on the eve of his two-day state visit to China, which will start on Thursday.

The president also said that China clearly understands the roots of the Ukraine crisis and its global geopolitical impact, as reflected in “China’s position on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis,” a 12-point proposition issued by China in February 2023, according to the report.

“The concepts and suggestions indicated in t
he document demonstrate the sincere desire of China to stabilize the situation,” he said, stressing that the four principles for the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis recently proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping seamlessly fit in the above-mentioned document.

“The steps build on the idea that we need to forego the ‘Cold War mentality’ and ensure indivisible security and respect for international law and the UN Charter in their entirety and interrelation,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the interview, the Russian leader underscored that this year is special for both countries, noting that October marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. “The deep and longstanding friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Russia and China has established one of the most important pillars of bilateral relations,” he said.

Putin noted that the rapid development of Russia-China trade relations has been demonstrating strong immunity to external challenges and crises. In the past
five years, trade between the two countries has doubled, he noted, saying that China has been Russia’s largest trading partner for 13 consecutive years, and in 2023, Russia ranked the fourth among China’s trading partners.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

French President Emmanuel Macron called Wednesday for resuming political dialogue in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia after spiraling violence.

The French Presidency said a statement that this came during a Defense and National Security Council meeting Macron convened to discuss protests in New Caledonia.

The president has requested a decree aimed at declaring a state of emergency after at least three people were killed amid violent protests that erupted over the passage of a constitutional reform that angered pro-independence forces, added the statement.

The unrest flared after French lawmakers approved a bill extending voting rights in provincial elections to residents arriving from mainland France, a change critics fear could marginalize indigenous people and benefit pro-France politicians.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

ABU DHABI: His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, strongly condemned the attack on His Excellency Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, noting that he was deeply saddened to hear of this heinous crime.

In a statement, His Highness expressed his sincere ?sympathy and solidarity? to the family of His Excellency Fico, as well as to the government and people of Slovakia. His Highness offered his heartfelt wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

His Highness reaffirmed that the UAE expresses its categorical condemnation of such criminal and hateful acts of extremism, and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has sent a message of congratulations to President Santiago Pena of Paraguay on the occasion of his country’s Independence Day.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, have dispatched similar messages to the President of Paraguay.

Source: Emirates News Agency

On the 76th anniversary of the Nakba (Palestinian Catastrophe), the Arab League called on the United Nations Security Council, Wednesday to take necessary actions to stop the Israeli occupation’s war against Palestinians. In a statement underscoring the Nakba’s 76th anniversary, the Arab League affirmed the need for the Security Council to intervene legally and ethically to put an end to the Palestinian crisis, implementing and preserving peace regionally and globally.

Achieving peace would require the international community to reach an unbiased and unprejudiced decision concerning the humanitarian crisis taking place in Gaza by the Israeli occupation, the statement reiterated.

Meanwhile, the 1948 Nakba anniversary coincides with the current Palestinian genocide in Gaza by the hands of the Israeli occupation since October 2023, leaving more than 120,000 Palestinians killed, injured or missing, added the statement.

The Arab League warned that the Israeli occupation’s brutality and aggression is not only fo
cused in Gaza, but in the occupied West Bank where Palestinians had been facing mass arrests, forced displacement, killings, and destructions of their homes.

While the Israeli occupation forces commit atrocities, Israeli illegal settlers were terrorizing and taunting Palestinian civilians, adding to the crimes against humanities directed towards Palestinians.

The Arab League reaffirmed the importance of international organizations and institutions responsible for human rights and justice in their role to protect and support Palestinians facing massacres by the Israeli occupation.

Palestine, the Arab League said, should become a sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Moreover, the League condemned the Israeli occupation’s war on Gaza, calling on the international community to intercede for humanitarian and medical relief to enter the Gaza Strip.

May 15 marks the 76th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba, which resulted in the massacring and forced displacement of Palestinians by Zionist terro
rist groups to establish the Israeli occupation.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Singapore’s newly appointed prime minister Lawrence Wong was sworn in on Wednesday, succeeding Lee Hsien Loong, who has led the country for 20 years.

Wong took the oath of office in a televised ceremony at the national palace, in presence of Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Wong will retain his current position as finance minister and leads a country led for a couple of decades by Loong, the 72-year-old son of Lee Kuan Yew, the founder of modern Singapore, who remained in office until his death in 2015.

Source: Kuwait News Agency