Troubled G7 leaders focus on Ukraine war, China in Italian summit

Troubled G7 leaders focus on Ukraine war, China in Italian summit
Police patrols outside the press center facilities, ahead of the G7 summit of world leaders in the city of Bari, Italy, June 12, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 13 June 2024
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Troubled G7 leaders focus on Ukraine war, China in Italian summit

Troubled G7 leaders focus on Ukraine war, China in Italian summit
  • Determined to claim the initiative, the G7 leaders look likely to announce they have agreed on plans to issue $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from frozen Russian assets to back the multi-year debt package

BARI, Italy: Group of Seven (G7) leaders start their annual summit on Thursday looking to double down on support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and offer a united face in confronting China’s political and economic ambitions.
With the Middle East, migration and artificial intelligence (AI) also on a packed agenda, the June 13-15 summit in southern Italy would be taxing for leaders at the best of times, but most of them are also bowed down by their own domestic woes.
US President Joe Biden, facing a tough re-election bid in November, arrived in Italy the day after his son Hunter Biden was convicted of lying about his drug use to illegally buy a gun.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appears destined to lose power in a July 4 election, the leaders of France and Germany are reeling from political defeats, and opinion polls are bleak for the prime ministers of Canada and Japan.
Only the host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is riding high after triumphing in Italy’s European election last weekend, but achieving meaningful results in the luxury Borgo Egnazia hotel resort will be a tall order.
Determined to claim the initiative, the G7 leaders look likely to announce they have agreed on plans to issue $50 billion of loans for Ukraine using interest from frozen Russian assets to back the multi-year debt package.
However officials acknowledge the plan is complex, meaning any deal will only be in principle, with legal experts still having to thrash out the details that will need the backing of European nations, particularly Belgium, which is not in the G7.
For a second year running, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the summit and is due to sign a new, long-term security accord with Biden.
“By signing this we’ll also be sending Russia a signal of our resolve. If (Russian President) Vladimir Putin thinks he can outlast the coalition supporting Ukraine, he’s wrong,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

CONFRONTING CHINA
Underscoring US determination to punish Moscow for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Washington on Wednesday dramatically broadened sanctions on Moscow, including by targeting China-based companies selling semiconductors to Moscow.
By announcing new restrictions on Chinese firms on the eve of the G7 meeting, Biden is no doubt hoping to persuade Western allies to show greater resolve in confronting Beijing over its support for Russia and its industrial over-capacity.
The European Commission told automakers on Wednesday it would impose extra duties of up to 38.1 percent on imported Chinese electric cars from July, less than a month after Washington quadrupled duties for Chinese EVs to 100 percent.
While G7 leaders are expected to express concern over high Chinese production levels, which they say disrupt global supply chains and market stability, EU diplomats warn that Europe is anxious to avoid a full-blown trade war with Beijing.
Eager not to appear like an elitist fortress, the G7 has thrown open its doors to a large number of outsiders this year, including Pope Francis, who is expected to give a keynote speech on Friday on both the risks and potential of AI.
Among those who have also been invited to Puglia are the leaders of some of the biggest regional powers across the globe such as India, Brazil, Argentina, Turkiye, Algeria and Kenya.
Although the summit is scheduled to run until Saturday, many G7 chiefs will leave on Friday night, including Biden, meaning the final day has been earmarked for bilateral meetings for those staying on and a final news conference from Meloni.


Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties

Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties
Updated 12 sec ago
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Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties

Indian defense minister visits Russia to strengthen military ties
  • Visit of Delhi’s top defense official comes ahead of Putin’s expected visit to India in 2025
  • Indian minister will commission Russian-made warship for the Indian Navy as part of the trip

NEW DELHI: Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh began a three-day trip to Russia on Sunday, as New Delhi seeks to further strengthen its military cooperation with Moscow.

Russia is India’s biggest crude oil supplier and the main source of its military hardware, with their bilateral ties spanning over seven decades.

During his visit, Singh is set to commission the Indian Navy’s latest warship, a multi-role stealth guided missile frigate INS Tushil in Kaliningrad on Monday, alongside the Chief of the Naval Staff Adm. Dinesh K. Tripathi, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

He will also co-chair with his Russian counterpart, Andrey Belousov, a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation on Tuesday.

“The two leaders will review the entire range of multi-faceted relations between the two countries in the field of defence, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation. They will also exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest,” the statement read.

Singh’s visit follows a series of high-level meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year, which includes their July meeting in Moscow.

Modi and Putin also met in Kazan in October, on the sidelines of the 2024 BRICS summit.

Putin is expected to visit India early next year, according to reports citing the Kremlin.

The Indian defense minister’s visit will “symbolize” how the India-Russia partnership has continued at a time “when other states have turned against Russia,” particularly since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, said Amitabh Singh, associate professor at the Center for Russian and Central Asian Studies in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

“This visit is in continuation with the annual meeting that (the defense ministers) have. This becomes all the more relevant in the context of ongoing conflict in West Asia and Ukraine,” he told Arab News.

New Delhi has abstained from publicly criticizing Russia over the Ukraine war and did not join the chorus of international sanctions slapped on Moscow, despite pressure from Western countries.

While India’s dependence on Russian military hardware has decreased over the years as it diversified supply from other countries, Moscow still plays an important role for Indian defense needs, Singh said.

“India has not given up on Russia despite the differences and difficulties that the Russian military supplies are facing,” he added.

“We cannot stop our collaboration. We want to reduce our dependence, but we can’t simply shrug off our dependence on Russia.”


US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says

US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says
Updated 08 December 2024
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US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says

US will remain in eastern Syria and seek to prevent Daesh resurgence, Pentagon says
  • US President Joe Biden keeping a close eye on ‘extraordinary events’ transpiring in Syria
  • President-elect Donald Trump declares, in a social media post, ‘THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT’

WASHINGTON/MANAMA: The United States will maintain its presence in eastern Syria and will take measures necessary to prevent a resurgence of Daesh, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East Daniel Shapiro said on Sunday.

Speaking hours after Syrian rebels announced they had toppled Bashar Assad’s government, Shapiro called on all parties to protect civilians, particularly minorities, and to respect international norms.

“We are aware that the chaotic and dynamic circumstances on the ground in Syria could give Daesh space to find the ability to become active, to plan external operations, and we’re determined to work with those partners to continue to degrade their capabilities,” he told the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain’s capital.

“(We’re determined) to ensure (Islamic State’s) enduring defeat, to ensure the secure detention of Daesh fighters and the repatriation of displaced persons,” Shapiro added.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded the militant advances across western Syria, was formerly an Al-Qaeda affiliate known as the Nusra Front until its leader, Abu Mohammed Al-Golani, severed ties with the global jihadist movement in 2016.

Western governments, which have shunned the Assad-led state for years, must decide how to deal with a new administration in which HTS looks set to have influence. HTS is a globally designated terrorist group.

US President Joe Biden was keeping a close eye on “extraordinary events” transpiring in Syria, the White House said late Saturday.

“President Biden and his team are closely monitoring the extraordinary events in Syria and staying in constant touch with regional partners,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement on social media.

President-elect Donald Trump said that Assad had “fled his country” after losing the backing of Russia.

“Assad is gone,” he said on his Truth Social platform Sunday. “His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer.”  

Earlier, Trump said Saturday that the US military should stay out of the escalating conflict in Syria as a shock opposition offensive closes in on the capital, declaring in a social media post, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.”

Trump’s comments on the dramatic militant push were his first since Syrian militants launched their advance late last month. They came while he was in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.

In his post, Trump said Assad did not deserve US support to stay in power.


South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push

South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push
Updated 08 December 2024
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South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push

South Korean opposition plans new impeachment push
  • Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said that they will try again on December 14
  • Meanwhile police arrested the defense minister in charge of the martial law operation, and the interior minister resigned

SEOUL: South Korea’s main opposition party said Sunday it will try again to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law.
Meanwhile police arrested the defense minister in charge of the martial law operation, and the interior minister resigned. Both they and Yoon are being investigated for alleged insurrection.
Yoon averted impeachment late Saturday as huge crowds braved freezing temperatures in another night of protests outside parliament to demand the president’s ouster.
Opposition parties proposed the impeachment motion, which needed 200 votes in the 300-member parliament to pass, but a near-total boycott by Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) doomed it to failure.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), said Sunday that they will try again on December 14.
“Yoon, the principal culprit behind the insurrection and military coup that destroyed South Korea’s constitutional order, must either resign immediately or be impeached without delay,” Lee told reporters.
“On December 14, our Democratic Party will impeach Yoon in the name of the people.”
In exchange for blocking his removal from office, Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) said that it had “effectively obtained (Yoon’s) promise to step down.”
“Even before the president steps down, he will not interfere in state affairs, including foreign affairs,” PPP leader Han Dong-hoon said Sunday after a meeting with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
This will “minimize the confusion to South Korea and its people, stably resolve the political situation and recover liberal democracy,” Han told reporters.
But Lee and the National Assembly speaker Woo Won-shik, both from the opposition Democratic Party (DP), on Sunday called the arrangement illegal.
“For the prime minister and the ruling party to jointly exercise presidential authority, which no one has granted them, without participating in constitutional processes to address unconstitutional martial law, is a clear violation of the Constitution,” Woo said.
“The power of the president is not the personal property of President Yoon Suk Yeol,” said Lee. “Isn’t this another coup that destroys the constitutional order?“
Kim Hae-won, a constitutional law professor at Pusan National University Law School, called it a an “unconstitutional soft coup.”
“In reality, a political party is merely a private political entity, and handing over the president’s functions to an entity that is neither a constitutional institution nor a state body seems like an action that disrupts the state’s rights,” Kim said.
On Saturday before the vote, Yoon, 63, reappeared for the first time in three days and apologized for the “anxiety and inconvenience” caused by his declaration of martial law.
But he stopped short of stepping down, saying he would leave it to his party to decide his fate.
Massive crowds — police said there were 150,000 people, organizers one million — gathered outside parliament to pressure lawmakers to oust the president.
Many wore elaborate outfits, carrying home-made flags and waving colorful glow sticks and LED candles as K-pop tunes blasted from speakers.
“Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted today, I am neither discouraged nor disappointed because we will get it eventually,” said protester Jo Ah-gyeong, 30, after the impeachment vote.
“I’ll keep coming here until we get it,” she said.
Regardless of the political situation, police are investigating Yoon and others for alleged insurrection over the extraordinary events of Tuesday night.
Early Sunday police arrested Kim Yong-hyun, who quit as defense minister on Wednesday and was slapped with a travel ban, reports said.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min on Sunday tendered his resignation which was accepted, Yoon’s office said.
Declaring martial law late Tuesday, Yoon said it would safeguard South Korea “from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness.”
Security forces sealed the National Assembly, helicopters landed on the roof and almost 300 soldiers tried to lock down the building.
But as parliamentary staffers blocked the soldiers with sofas and fire extinguishers, enough MPs got inside — many climbed walls to enter — and voted down Yoon’s move.
The episode brought back painful memories of South Korea’s autocratic past and blindsided its allies, with the US administration only finding out via television.
“This is a country we’ve spent our entire lives building,” Shin Jae-hyung, 66, who suffered arrest and torture in the 1970s and 80s as he battled successive military-led regimes, said.


Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war

Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war
Updated 08 December 2024
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Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war

Trump says Zelensky wants ‘deal’ to stop Ukraine war
  • French President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace on Saturday

Paris: US president-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was keen for a deal to end his country’s war with Russia, after the pair met in Paris.
French President Emmanuel Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, almost three years into Moscow’s invasion and ahead of Trump taking office in January.
“Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse.”
Zelensky’s meeting with Trump was his first face-to-face encounter with the tycoon-turned-politician since his November election victory.


White House on guard against Daesh resurgence in Syria

White House on guard against Daesh resurgence in Syria
Updated 08 December 2024
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White House on guard against Daesh resurgence in Syria

White House on guard against Daesh resurgence in Syria
  • The main priority is to ensure “that the fighting in Syria not lead to a resurgence of Daesh,” Sullivan said
  • Trump, who visited Paris on Saturday, warned against US involvement in Syria, saying the country is “a mess” and “not our friend”

LOS ANGELES, United States: The White House said Saturday that US priorities in Syria now are to ensure the country’s conflict does not encourage a resurgence of the Daesh militant group or lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
Spillover “is a concern,” said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, with particular worry about the so-called Daesh, also known as Daesh.
In previous phases of Syria’s long-running civil war, “at its worst, we saw the explosion of Daesh onto the scene,” he said at a conference in Simi Valley, California run by the Reagan National Defense Forum.
The main priority is to ensure “that the fighting in Syria not lead to a resurgence of Daesh,” Sullivan said. “We are going to take steps ourselves, directly and working with the Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurds, to ensure that does not happen.”
Militant forces are in the midst of a lightning offensive and say they have begun to encircle Syria’s capital Damascus.
Sullivan said the administration of outgoing US President Joe Biden is working to ensure allies Israel, Jordan, Iraq and others in the region, “who would potentially face spillover effects from Syria, are strong and secure, and we’re in touch with them every day.”
Washington is also alert to stopping a “humanitarian catastrophe, both in terms of civilians, access to life-saving necessities, and in terms of the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in Syria,” Sullivan said.
“Of course, an event like this happens and Daesh immediately looks to take advantage. We have seen reports of Daesh trying... to reconstitute to a certain extent.”
So the United States will seek to “contain the potential violence and instability,” protect allies and ensure that Daesh not “get new oxygen out of this” that could lead them to threaten US or allies’ interests, Sullivan added.
Sullivan’s remarks come as Washington prepares for a transition of power next month back to former president Donald Trump, who defeated Biden in November’s election.
Trump, who visited Paris on Saturday, warned against US involvement in Syria, saying the country is “a mess” and “not our friend.”
“THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
Sullivan, addressing Trump’s remarks, agreed, saying “the United States is not going to... militarily dive into the middle of a Syrian civil war.”