Russia-Ukraine : Security in Europe is “intertwined” with peace in the Indo-Pacific, the prime minister has said, as he warned China to stay out of Ukraine-Russia conflict.
During the UK-France summit in Paris, Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to unveil a plan for increased allied activity in the Indo-Pacific.
No 10 said it will include establishing France and the UK as the “backbone” to a permanent European maritime presence there.
The approach will include coordinating regular deployment of France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and the UK’s HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales carriers across the region.
Sunak, speaking to reporters on board the Eurostar to the summit according to PA Media, said Paris and London were aligned when it came to their approach to the Indo-Pacific, with both declaring they want to be “active participants in the region”.
Sunak confirmed he and Macron wanted to stress to China and other countries “not to be providing support to Russia” after its invasion of Ukraine.
The prime minister said he would be discussing the West’s approach to Beijing ahead of the French president’s visit to China, a trip he said was due to happen soon.
He said: “One thing that we’ve talked about previously in our G7 meetings as well, is a) about our collective economic security, but also ensuring that, as we support Ukraine, part of that is making sure that other countries – we’d urge all countries not to be providing support to Russia, or trying to circumvent sanctions.”
Russia-Ukraine war
Finland’s prime minister, Sanna Marin, is the latest foreign leader to visit Kyiv, and has met the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Friday morning.
They attended a church service at St Michael’s Golden Dome Cathedral in memory of soldier Dmytro Kotsiubaylo who was killed near Bakhmut on Tuesday.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said that a conversation with US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi last week was “constructive”.
In an interview on Russian state TV he said he heard nothing new from the U.S. side.
Lavrov said the pair spoke for 10 minutes and discussed nuclear arms issues and the conflict in Ukraine. It was the first meeting between the pair since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said that a conversation with US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi last week was “constructive”.
In an interview on Russian state TV he said he heard nothing new from the U.S. side.
Lavrov said the pair spoke for 10 minutes and discussed nuclear arms issues and the conflict in Ukraine. It was the first meeting between the pair since Russia invaded Ukraine last February.
“We spoke constructively, without emotions, we shook hands,” Lavrov said.
“Everything I heard was a position that has already been expressed and underlined in public many times before. I gave my honest, detailed assessment about the New Start treaty, and why we saw it necessary to suspend it,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin suspended the New Start nuclear arms treaty last month, accusing the United States of trying to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine.
Russia said on Friday it was still in contact with Washington over the treaty, but held out little prospect of returning to it.
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Summary of the day so far …
- The private mercenary group Wagner appears to be taking a “tactical pause” in Bakhmut, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War said in its daily update. The ISW believes that Wagner is waiting until enough reinforcements of conventional Russian troops have arrived before taking a backseat in the fierce battle.
- Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, has said the energy situation is difficult after Russia’s barrage of attacks on Thursday. In a message on Telegram, he said “the energy system has suffered significant damage. Nevertheless, critical infrastructure has already been restored in the city, and water supply has been almost completely restored”. However, public transport remains closed.
- The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board of governors on Friday backed the reappointment of Argentina’s Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said.
- Ukraine handed suspicion notices on Friday to three former senior managers of the aircraft manufacturer Antonov for obstructing the country’s military and allowing Russia to destroy the giant Mriya cargo plane at the start of the war.
- Russian president, Vladimir Putin, congratulated Xi Jinping on Friday after the Chinese leader secured an unprecedented third term as president. In a telegram, Putin said he was sure the two leaders could advance their cooperation on the most important regional and international issues
- The Kremlin said on Friday it sees risks of possible “provocations” in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two Russian-backed breakaway regions of Georgia, after days of protests in Georgia over a “foreign agents” bill. Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Friday that Moscow was watching the situation “with concern”.
- The war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several “empires” and not just the “Russian empire”, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Friday.
The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation board of governors on Friday backed the reappointment of Argentina’s Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general, diplomats at the closed-door meeting said.
Reuters reports the decision was a formality since there was no challenger.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s board approved his reappointment by acclamation, meaning that no vote was held and no country expressed opposition, diplomats said. The decision is subject to approval by the IAEA’s general conference, an annual meeting of all member states held in the autumn.
The general conference is expected to approve it. Grossi’s current term ends in December.
Earlier this week Grossi was vocal about the dangers posed by military action around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine which has been occupied by Russia since the earliest days of the war, and which on six occasions has become disconnected from external power and had to rely on emergency generators, raising the risk of an accident.
“We spoke constructively, without emotions, we shook hands,” Lavrov said.
“Everything I heard was a position that has already been expressed and underlined in public many times before. I gave my honest, detailed assessment about the New Start treaty, and why we saw it necessary to suspend it,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin suspended the New Start nuclear arms treaty last month, accusing the United States of trying to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine.
Russia said on Friday it was still in contact with Washington over the treaty, but held out little prospect of returning to it. (The Guardian)