Ukraine war: Hardened Colombian fighters answer Zelenskyy’s call to join depleted ranks The Associated Press
Day: February 8, 2024
President Vladimir Putin told leaders of Russia’s Jewish community on Wednesday that Moscow had achieved “specific results” in diplomatic efforts to free hostages caught up in Israel’s conflict with Hamas, Russian news agencies reported.
The agencies said Putin made the comments at a meeting with Russia’s chief rabbi, Berl Lazar, and the head of the Federation of Jewish Communities, Alexander Boroda. Putin said Russia had made use of its contacts with the political wing of Hamas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, second left, and President of the Federation of Jewish Communities Alexander Boroda at the Kremlin
(Photo: Sergei Fadeichev / Sputnik / via AP)
“You know, since the situation became more tense in the Middle East, Russia has been doing everything to help people who became hostages,” Putin was quoted as saying. “As is known, our Foreign Ministry worked through the political
Senior members of the Hamas terror group visit Moscow as guest of the Russian Foreign Ministry last month
wing of Hamas and, on the whole, there have been specific results.” Putin did not elaborate, according to the reported comments.
Moscow’s efforts, though directed at helping Russian nationals, also sought to help others, the president said. “They include elderly people and their family members who survived the Holocaust,” he was quoted as saying. “But I know, I understand, that it is vital to carry on with these efforts. And that is what we are doing.”
Russia, which has drawn closer to Israel’s arch-rival Iran since the outbreak of the nearly two-year-old Ukraine conflict, has restated its support for Palestinian statehood, and criticiזed Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip and has said the violence in the Middle East is a reflection of U.S. policy failures in the region.
Putin’s reference to Holocaust survivors comes a day after Russia’s foreign ministry told the Israeli ambassador, Simona Halperin, of its “negative reaction” to her criticisms of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian policy.
Authorities criticiזed her “unacceptable comments” in an interview with Russian newspaper Kommersant in which she said Lavrov had played down the importance of the Holocaust and that Russia was too friendly with Hamas.
Ever since the inclusion of Italy, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has had a more complicated relationship with maritime geography than its name implies. Now, with challenges to the international order appearing across multiple flanks, the alliance is trying to figure out how to further its mission in the Indo-Pacific. In recent years, like-minded European and East Asian nations have increasingly worked to deepen their defense ties. This is perhaps most evident in the rapidly evolving relationship between Japan and NATO, which has captured headlines on both sides of the Pacific in recent months. This enhanced cooperation is widely
The post Smoke or Substance? NATO-Japanese Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific appeared first on War on the Rocks.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on the election win on Wednesday, according to Azerbaijan in Focus, reporting Daily Sabah.
Azerbaijanis voted in a snap presidential election on Wednesday, with a fifth term for Aliyev.
President Erdoğan called Aliyev to congratulate him and express best wishes for the Azerbaijani people following the elections, the Presidential Communications Directorate said.
Aliyev secured 93.9%, the U.S.-based Oracle Advisory Group’s representative George Brinbaum said in a news briefing in the capital Baku after voting concluded at 7 p.m. local time (1500GMT).
Aliyev’s closest competitor, independent candidate Zahid Oruj, received a mere 1.8%, according to the results.
About 6.5 million people were eligible to vote in the election, including those abroad.
The last presidential election, which is held every seven years in Azerbaijan, was on April 11, 2018. A decree signed by Aliyev late last year moved the vote forward from its initial date in October 2025.
The post Erdoğan congratulates Azerbaijani counterpart Aliyev on election win appeared first on Azerbaijan In Focus.
Israel won’t accept Hamas’s latest terms for a hostage deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Wednesday.@tovahlazaroff reports | Read more:https://t.co/OYsZYp1QC2
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) February 7, 2024
Джейк Салливан: мы можем и будем оказывать помощь Украине https://t.co/mFOTQTb8My
— Голос Америки (@GolosAmeriki) February 7, 2024
Quite a Times story here. It says an Afghan refugee who worked for MI6, GCHQ, MoD & Home Office was stripped of UK citizenship in 2019 after MI5 believed he was spying for GRU, who groomed him since age of five. He acquired British & Russian citizenship. https://t.co/HIFBZASQD3
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) February 7, 2024
In his interview with Tucker Carlson, Putin will certainly try to claim, “We wanted to be your friends, but you disrespected and provoked us!” Listen to Putin’s stooges admit that Russia tried to damage the US for decades, but these efforts were thwarted.https://t.co/wqAAVhNUh6
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) February 7, 2024