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North Korea's Kim vows unconditional support for Russia in meeting with Shoigu

North Korea's Kim vows unconditional support for Russia in meeting with Shoigu

Reuters2 days ago

SEOUL, June 5 (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met Russia's Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, state media KCNA reported.
Kim pledged unconditional support for Russia's position on Ukraine and other international issues, the report said on Thursday.
"Kim Jong Un affirmed that the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will, in the future, too, unconditionally support the stand of Russia and its foreign policies," it said, using the North's official name.
North Korea will responsibly observe the articles of the treaty between the two countries, Kim was quoted as saying.
The two men also discussed strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership and mutual cooperation in different fields.
The treaty was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Pyongyang last year and a summit with North Korea's Kim, and includes a mutual defence pact for immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.

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Britain's gift to Putin
Britain's gift to Putin

New Statesman​

time38 minutes ago

  • New Statesman​

Britain's gift to Putin

Photo byOn Wednesday, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russia has now used more than 27,000 aerial bombs, more than 11,000 armed drones and thousands more guided munitions to attack Ukraine. Among the victims of this week's attacks were an emergency worker, his wife and their one-year-old grandson, the 632nd child killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion. And yet British businesses continue to enable the Russian state to secure its main source of income: revenue from oil and gas. New research shared exclusively with the New Statesman has found that since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, more than £200bn in Russian fossil fuel exports have been shipped using UK-based maritime services. A single UK-based firm has carried almost a quarter of Russia's exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) since the war began. While our government seeks to increase its defence budget, Britain's active role in the Russian fossil fuel trade helps to maintain the military spending of a nuclear power currently at war with a close European ally. The study, which has been conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), finds that the value of Russian crude oil, oil products and LNG shipped under British ownership or insurance since the war began has now reached £205.8bn. Three quarters of Russian LNG carriers were covered by UK insurance. Britain officially stopped importing Russian oil and oil products nine months after the invasion (it became illegal to do so on 5 December 2022). But a sanctions loophole means Britain keeps buying Putin's products: Russian crude is shipped to refineries in Turkey and India and then returns as oil products. CREA estimates that the UK has indirectly bought £1.4bn in Russian oil through this loophole, providing more than half a billion pounds' worth of revenue to the Kremlin. Much of the jet fuel taking British holidaymakers to sunnier climes this summer will have entered the supply chain in the oilfields of Siberia. Europe continues to buy Russian LNG directly, and in 2024 imported more LNG from Russia than ever before. Much of this is shipped, entirely legally, by a single British company: Seapeak, which is headquartered in Glasgow and which owns seven specialist LNG carriers, which can power through ice two metres thick. This is not subject to a ban and there is no suggestion that Seapeak has broken any laws. Seapeak was mentioned in an Early Day Motion on Russian LNG, which was signed by 34 cross-party MPs in January. CREA says that Seapeak alone has carried Russian LNG worth £13bn since the war began. Elsewhere, Russian fossil fuels are also shipped by a 'dark fleet' of uninsured vessels, whose ownership is obscured. As previously reported, these ships pass in sight of our shores on an almost daily basis as they sail through the English Channel. Since Labour came to power, the UK government has taken a more determined stance towards sanctioning these ships and those who enable their sale, including an accountant who allegedly arranged for the sale of vessels. A government spokesperson told the New Statesman: 'We are working with G7 and EU partners to eliminate remaining dependencies on Russian energy as soon as possible. We will not hesitate to take further action to increase economic pressure on Putin.' Why can't we stop paying Putin immediately? In a word: inflation. If Western countries entirely quit the Russian oil and gas habit, the wholesale price of energy would spike in a similar manner to 2022, bringing the price of almost everything else with it. The last inflationary surge cost the UK government £67bn in a single year in additional spending in support for consumers and businesses, and the population still endured a historic rise in the cost of living accompanied by strikes across the public sector. No government is going to impose that upon its voters, and even if it did, it wouldn't last long. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe This doesn't mean there is nothing the UK can do. Energy analysts say it is a question of supply: when the oil and gas market has enough capacity to make a sudden drop in Russian fossil fuels less important, sanctions can be imposed and enforced. The pragmatic answer is probably then to secure LNG and crude from other countries. The most realistic answer to this problem therefore comes from productive diplomacy with the US for LNG, and Saudi Arabia and others for oil. In the long term, of course, it means not relying on fossil fuels, because we don't have enough to power our country. Amid all the talk of how much we're going to spend on our military, it's important we also try to avoid paying for our enemy's. [See also: Revealed: how the City of London keeps Putin's oil flowing] Related

President Trump makes WWII gaffe as he insults German chancellor by saying Nazi defeat was ‘not great'
President Trump makes WWII gaffe as he insults German chancellor by saying Nazi defeat was ‘not great'

Daily Mail​

time42 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

President Trump makes WWII gaffe as he insults German chancellor by saying Nazi defeat was ‘not great'

President Donald Trump made an awkward joke about the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny that punctuated his Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The odd moment came when Merz mentioned before a group of reporters that tomorrow, June 6, was the anniversary of D-Day, when U.S. and allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy. 'May I remind you that we are having June 6 tomorrow. This is D-Day anniversary when the Americans once ended a war in Europe. And I think this is in your hand in specific – in ours,' Merz said. 'That was not a pleasant day for you,' Trump interjected, in a reference to Nazi Germany's forces who had occupied France and were fighting off the historic Allied invasion. 'No, that was not a pleasant ...' Merz responded. 'This was not a great day,' Trump joked again. That prompted Merz to explain a longer view that disassociated the modern democratic German Government from the Nazi German forces the U.S. and allies were fighting. 'Well, in the long run, Mr. President, this was the liberation of my country from Nazi dictatorship,' he informed the president. Merz appeared to be raising the issue to underline the importance that multilateral efforts can have toward ending conflict – as Russia continues its war on Ukraine. Trump also risked poking at his host while blaming President Joe Biden for allowing Russia to invade Ukraine. Trump referenced his opposition during his first term to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline – which provoked fears at the time of leading to more European reliance on Russian gas by piping it to Germany. 'I'm the one that stopped the pipeline. It's called Nord Stream 2. Until I came along, nobody ever heard. Not one person in this room ever heard of Nord Stream two. You probably did,' Trump said. 'This was a mistake,' Merz admitted. The moment came in a stunning Oval Office meeting where Trump raged against former first buddy Elon Musk in their escalating split. World leaders have been forced to be mindful during their Oval Office encounters with Trump after the president torched Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during their standoff at the White House. Vice President JD Vance accused Zelensky of being ungrateful. Merz made sure to express plenty of thanks up front. 'We owe the Americans a lot. We will never forget about that. And so with your German provenance I think this is a very good basis for close cooperation between America and Germany,' he said, likely referencing German elements in Trump's ancestry. He even thanked Trump, who maintains a real estate empire, for allowing him to stay at Blair House, across the street from the White House. 'Thank you for the hospitality and thank you for having your guest house for a night. This is a great place, great place. Many thanks for that. I really enjoyed it. Thank you,' he said. Trump appreciated the remark. 'It's a wonderful place. It's a landmark also. Blair House. It's a nice place to stay. Thank you very much for saying that,' the president said. There was one point where Merz decided he needed to correct point, or at least stress a key point, after Trump described the horrors he sees of casualties in the war. 'We get satellite pictures of the Warfield, and you don't even like to look at them, right? It's bodies, arms, heads, legs, all over the place, and you've never seen anything like it. It's so ridiculous.' Merz spoke emphatically. 'This is only by Russian weapons against Ukraine. This had never happened with Ukraine weapons against Russia. Never,' he said. 'Ukraine is only targeting military targets, not civilians, not private, not Institute, not energy infrastructure. So this is the difference, and that's the reason why we are trying to do more on Russia. How to stop this war?' There have been repeated demonstrations of Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian areas during the war. He underlined the point after a stunning Ukrainian attack on Russian aircraft on far-flung military bases. But Trump didn't give him the last word. 'Well, in this case, I'm talking about the battlefield. You know, the soldiers-on-soldiers. But you could also say that too, with the city, the cities are being hit also. So it's a terrible, terrible thing,' Trump said.

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