Ukraine’s president urges world powers to strip Russia of its veto power at UN Security Council

Ukraine’s president urges world powers to strip Russia of its veto power at UN Security Council
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Speaking at the UN Security Council on September 20, 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called for broader of the council and remove Russia’s veto power. (Getty Images/AFP)
Ukraine’s president urges world powers to strip Russia of its veto power at UN Security Council
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Speaking at the UN Security Council on September 20, 2023, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky called for broader of the council and remove Russia’s veto power. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Updated 21 September 2023
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Ukraine’s president urges world powers to strip Russia of its veto power at UN Security Council

Ukraine’s president urges world powers to strip Russia of its veto power at UN Security Council

UNITED NATIONS: Ukraine’s president accused Russia of waging “a criminal and unprovoked aggression” that undermines all norms of war and the UN charter Wednesday at a meeting of the UN Security Council. Volodomyr Zelensky also urged world leaders to strip Russia of its veto power.
The Ukrainian leader told the council that his proposal to end the 19-month war starts with adherence to the charter that ensures the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all 193 UN member nations. He stressed that restoration of all Ukrainian territory is the key to peace.
Before the meeting started, there was intense speculation about whether Zelensky and Russia’s top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, would clash, speak or totally avoid each other. But no confrontation happened because Zelensky left the council soon after his address.
The meeting started with a clash over his speech. Before Lavrov arrived, Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia protested the council president’s decision to allow Zelensky to speak ahead of the 15 council members.
He said Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, this month’s council president, was trying to turn the meeting into “a one-man stand-up show,” adding that it would be “nothing more than a spectacle” — a dig at Zelensky’s past as a comedian.
Rama cited the council rule allowing a nonmember to speak first. He added that “this is not a special operation by the Albanian presidency,” eliciting laughter with a quip about Russia’s insistence on referring to its offensive against Ukraine as a “special military operation.”
After another heated exchange over whether Nebenzia had referred to Rama as Albania’s prime minister and a NATO member instead of as the council president, Rama declared: “I take note, and we’ll continue with our session.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres then briefed the council, reiterating that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was “in clear violation of the United Nations charter and international law.”
The war “is aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world,” the UN chief warned.
Guterres again condemned the war and repeated his call for “a just and sustainable peace in Ukraine in line with the UN charter and international law — for Ukraine, for Russia and for the world.”




Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023. (AFP) 

Zelensky was the next speaker, sitting behind the Ukraine plaque at the Security Council’s horseshoe-shaped table and wearing his traditional fatigues.
He called the invasion “a criminal and unprovoked aggression by Russia” that was “aimed at Ukraine’s territory and resources.”
“But it’s not just that,” he said. “The terrorist state is willing, through its aggression, to undermine all the grounds of international norms meant to protect the world from the wars.”
Ukraine has long accused Russia of being an illegal successor to the former Soviet Union, which collapsed in the early 1990s, and Zelensky went after Russia again for claiming the Soviet Union’s Security Council seat “through backstage manipulations.”
The Ukrainian leader accused Russia of “mass atrocities” of human rights and said action should be taken to prevent Moscow from using its veto at the Security Council. The UN’s most powerful body is charged with ensuring international peace and security, but it has been blocked from taking any action on Ukraine because of Russia’s virtually certain veto.
Zelensky called for reforms to allow the 193 members of the UN General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, to suspend or strip the veto power of one of the five permanent members of the Security Council for egregious violations of the UN charter.
The assembly has condemned Russia’s invasion and demanded the withdrawal of its forces and a reversal of its annexation of Ukrainian territory, but its resolutions are not legally binding.
Ukraine has come under pressure from some council members, including China, to engage in talks to end the war, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides.
Zelensky laid out two key concrete steps to ensure Ukraine’s future security: a complete withdrawal of all Russian troops, mercenaries and military and paramilitary “formations,” and ships, from Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory and its Black Sea waters. That step would be followed by “full restoration” of Ukrainian control “over the entire state border and exclusive economic zone.”
“Only the implementation of these two points will result in an honest, reliable and complete cessation of hostilities,” he said.




Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a UN Security Council meeting during the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2023 in New York City. (Getty Images/AFP)

In a high-profile speech Tuesday to the General Assembly during its annual meeting of world leaders, the Ukrainian president accused Russia of using food, energy and even children as weapons in the war — and he warned other leaders that “when hatred is weaponized against one nation, it never stops there.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the council that Russia “has shredded the major tenets of the UN charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international humanitarian law — and flouted one Security Council resolution after another.”
The invasion violates the charter’s “central pillar” of respecting every country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said.
“Russia is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on a daily basis.” he said.
Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin declared from the outset that the Kremlin’s aim is to erase Ukraine from the map and restore Russia’s lost empire.
Lavrov blamed the West for “a shaking of global stability as well as the exacerbation and the fomenting of new hotbeds of tension.” He said “the US and its satellites have egregiously and openly interfered in the domestic affairs of Ukraine,” heightening the risks of global conflict.
He insisted that Russia has “fully” respected the provisions of the UN charter “in an interconnected way.”
 


Ukraine says wife of spymaster Budanov was poisoned

Ukraine says wife of spymaster Budanov was poisoned
Updated 57 min 24 sec ago
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Ukraine says wife of spymaster Budanov was poisoned

Ukraine says wife of spymaster Budanov was poisoned
  • “Yes, I can confirm the information, unfortunately, it is true,” GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters
  • The 37-year-old has himself been the target of several attempts on his life, including a botched car bombing

KYIV: The wife of Ukraine’s military spy chief has been poisoned with heavy metals and is undergoing treatment in a hospital, a spokesperson for the agency said on Tuesday.
Marianna Budanova is the wife of Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukrainian military intelligence agency GUR, which has been prominently involved in clandestine operations against Russian forces since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“Yes, I can confirm the information, unfortunately, it is true,” GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Reuters, without clarifying when the poisoning took place.
The BBC’s Ukrainian service cited Yusov as saying that several GUR officials had also experienced milder symptoms of poisoning.
Budanov’s public profile has risen in Ukraine and the West, where he is portrayed as a behind-the-scenes mastermind of operations to strike back at Russia. In Russian media he is a hate figure.
The 37-year-old has himself been the target of several attempts on his life, including a botched car bombing.
If confirmed as deliberate, the purported poisoning of his wife would represent the most serious targeting of a high-profile Ukrainian leadership figure’s family member during the 21-month-long war.
The poisoning was first reported by Ukrainian media outlets.
One publication, Babel, cited an unidentified source who said Budanova had been in hospital, and was finishing a course of treatment for the effects of the poisoning.
Another outlet, Ukrainska Pravda, cited an unidentified source who said the poison was likely administered through food.
Moscow has previously blamed Ukrainian secret services for the murders of a pro-war Russian blogger and a pro-war journalist on Russian soil. Ukraine denies involvement in those deaths.
Separately, Russian media has reported that a court in Moscow had arrested Budanov in absentia in April on terrorism charges.


Ukraine says Russian shells hit private homes, four killed

Ukraine says Russian shells hit private homes, four killed
Updated 28 November 2023
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Ukraine says Russian shells hit private homes, four killed

Ukraine says Russian shells hit private homes, four killed
  • “A 63-year-old man was killed. Two women, aged 65 and 63, were injured,” Dnipropetrovsk region governor Serhiy Lysak said

KYIV: Russian shells struck a residential building and private houses on Tuesday, killing four and injuring at least five people, local Ukrainian officials said.
A five-story building was hit in the morning in the southern town of Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region governor Serhiy Lysak said.
“A 63-year-old man was killed. Two women, aged 65 and 63, were injured. There may be people under the rubble,” he said on Telegram messenger.
In a separate attack in the afternoon, Russian shelling destroyed at least five private houses in a northern settlement just on the border with Russia, Sumy regional prosecutors reported.
Two bodies have been recovered from the rubble, and a 7-year-old girl died in hospital after a car she was in came under fire, the prosecutors said on Telegram. Three people have been injured.
Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians although many have been killed in its frequent air strikes.


Sri Lanka eyes Saudi investment to modernize tourism sector

Sri Lanka eyes Saudi investment to modernize tourism sector
Updated 28 November 2023
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Sri Lanka eyes Saudi investment to modernize tourism sector

Sri Lanka eyes Saudi investment to modernize tourism sector
  • Tourism is a key industry for Sri Lanka, accounting for 12 percent of GDP in 2019
  • Officials also discussed possibility of Saudia Airlines launching direct flight to Colombo

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka is looking for Saudi investment to modernize its tourism and other sectors, top officials in Colombo have said following an official visit of Saudi Economy and Planning Minister Faisal Al-Ibrahim. 

Al-Ibrahim was in the Sri Lankan capital on Monday, where he met President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties. 

“President Ranil Wickremesinghe … further highlighted that the tourism and agriculture sectors were areas open to greater investment, as the country is committed to modernizing these domains,” the presidential secretariat said in a statement. 

Tourism and agriculture are key industries for Sri Lanka, accounting for about 12 percent and 7 percent of its 2019 GDP respectively. The country has been working to revive its crisis-hit economy following a severe financial crisis that drove the country to bankruptcy last year. 

Al-Ibrahim said that he was honored to meet Wickremesinghe. 

“We discussed both countries’ ambitions and transformation journeys as well as strengthening our bilateral economic ties and trade and investment growth opportunities,” Al-Ibrahim wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. 

During Al-Ibrahim’s meeting with Sabry, the two officials discussed Saudi investment, as well as manpower and tourism cooperation, the foreign minister said.  

“We also discussed (ways) to improve the tourism traffic between the two countries and further strengthen people-to-people contact. We also discussed the possibility of Saudia Airlines commencing direct flights to Colombo,” Sabry told Arab News. 

“We decided to explore possibilities of Saudi investment in Sri Lanka and opportunities for the Sri Lankans for further skilled employment opportunities in Saudi Arabia in its planned construction boom,” he said, alluding to the Kingdom’s various megaprojects under Vision 2030.  

“All in all, we had a very productive discussion and agreed to have a clear plan to continue our cooperation.” 

Saudi Arabia and Sri Lanka have expanded ties in the past year. They agreed to broaden their political consultation following their first joint committee meeting in May and earlier this year launched a new employment scheme aimed at boosting Colombo’s manpower exports to the Kingdom.


Finland closes Russian border for 2 weeks to stop asylum seekers

Finland closes Russian border for 2 weeks to stop asylum seekers
Updated 28 November 2023
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Finland closes Russian border for 2 weeks to stop asylum seekers

Finland closes Russian border for 2 weeks to stop asylum seekers
  • Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November

HELSINKI: Finland will close its entire border with Russia to travelers for the next two weeks in a bid to halt a flow of asylum seekers to the Nordic nation, the government said on Tuesday.
Finland last week shut all but one of its remaining border posts to travelers from Russia, keeping open only the northernmost crossing located in the Arctic. But this too would now close, allowing only goods transport, the government said.
Some 900 asylum seekers from nations including Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen have entered Finland from Russia in November, an increase from less than one per day previously, according to the Finnish Border Guard.
The decision means only freight traffic can pass between the two countries.


Singapore sees logistics, green energy opportunities under Saudi Vision 2030

Singapore sees logistics, green energy opportunities under Saudi Vision 2030
Updated 28 November 2023
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Singapore sees logistics, green energy opportunities under Saudi Vision 2030

Singapore sees logistics, green energy opportunities under Saudi Vision 2030
  • Saudi Arabia, Singapore elevated their ties to strategic partnership during PM Lee’s visit last month 
  • Manpower Minister Tan See Leng tells Arab News about Singapore’s interests in deepening cooperation 

SINGAPORE: Singapore sees growth opportunities in logistics, transport and green energy under the Saudi Vision 2030, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said on Tuesday, as the two countries have recently elevated their ties to a strategic level. 

Saudi Arabia and Singapore agreed to strengthen relations during an official visit by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the Kingdom and his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month. 

The visit was preceded by seven memoranda of understanding to facilitate investment opportunities, which were inked during the third session of the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee held in Riyadh, led by Tan, who is also the city state’s second minister for trade and industry, and Saudi Transport and Logistic Services Minister Saleh Al-Jasser. 

“Minister of Transport and Logistic Services Eng. Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser and I reaffirmed our commitment to growing our countries’ bilateral ties,” Tan told Arab News. 

“With Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the country has seen new growth areas for Singapore’s businesses on many fronts, such as in logistics, transport and green energy. I had shared with His Excellency Al-Jasser Singapore’s interests to deepen our cooperation in the ports and logistics sectors and Singaporean companies’ interest to participate in projects arising from Vision 2030.” 

Singapore’s Manpower Minister Tan See Leng signs an agreement with Saudi Transport and Logistic Services Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, Riyadh, Oct. 17, 2023. (Tan See Leng)

Singapore, Asia’s top logistics hub, has been ranked by the World Bank as the first in the world for logistics competence, infrastructure and timeliness of services. 

During the Saudi-Singapore Joint Committee’s recent sessions, the Saudi Ports Authority, known as Mawani, and Saudi Global Ports, a subsidiary of Singapore’s port operator PSA, signed an agreement to establish an integrated logistics zone at the King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam. 

“The development of the integrated logistics zone is one of SGP’s partnerships with Mawani on its Vision 2030 roadmap to grow Saudi Arabia as a logistics hub,” Tan said. 

“On the energy front, I was pleased that Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and I signed the Energy Cooperation Roadmap. Through this, we will see closer cooperation in areas such as low-carbon solutions and technologies, renewable energy, energy efficiency and innovation for decarbonization. Prince Abdulaziz and I also discussed our countries’ commitment to our energy transition.” 

This year’s joint committee meeting also saw in attendance representatives of the private sector from the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Singapore Business Federation, as well as members of a business delegation from Singapore, which signed five memoranda with the Saudi Ministry of Investment to facilitate their entry into the Kingdom. 

Tan said that Singaporean companies were also interested in working together with Saudis in the fields of oil and gas, tourism and hospitality, urban infrastructure and education sectors. 

He gave as an example Surbana Jurong, a Singaporean government-owned consulting company focusing on infrastructure and urban development, which has already established offices in Riyadh to work on design consultancy in NEOM, the Kingdom’s flagship smart-city megaproject under Vision 2030. 

“I am also glad that (the Saudi Ministry of Investment) has set up a Singapore office earlier this year in September, to promote investments into the Kingdom and facilitate Saudi companies tapping into Singapore to expand into Asia,” Tan said. 

“With these developments, I hope that in the years to come, there will be greater presence by Singapore companies in the Kingdom, and that more Saudi companies will explore using Singapore as a launchpad into Southeast Asia.”