Russia jails Australian man for 13 years for fighting on Ukraine's side
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Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Zelenskyy says spoke with MBS, expresses appreciation for Saudi peace efforts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that he spoke with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and thanked him for his 'readiness to make efforts for peace.' 'Communication with leaders is ongoing practically around the clock – we are in constant touch,' he wrote on X. 'Now is the moment when there is a real chance to achieve peace.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Three-Quarters of UN Members Support Palestinian Statehood
Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to promise it will at the UN General Assembly in September. The Israel-Hamas war, raging in Gaza since the Palestinian group's attack on October 7, 2023, has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own. The action breaks with a long-held view that Palestinians could only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel. According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 UN members now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, including France, Canada and Britain. Here is a quick recap of the Palestinians' quest for statehood: On November 15, 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising against Israeli rule, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally proclaimed an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. He made the announcement in Algiers at a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side. Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognize an independent Palestinian state. Within a week, dozens of other countries, including much of the Arab world, India, Türkiye, most of Africa and several central and eastern European countries followed suit. The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011, at a time of crisis for the Middle East peace process. South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Chile, answered calls by the Palestinians to endorse their statehood claims. This came in response to Israel's decision to end a temporary ban on Jewish settlement-building in the occupied West Bank. In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership. The quest failed, but in a groundbreaking move on October 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member, much to the dismay of Israel and the United States. In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to "non-member observer state". Three years later, the International Criminal Court also accepted the Palestinians as a state party. Israel's offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has boosted support for Palestinian statehood. Four Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas) and Armenia took the diplomatic step in 2024. So did four European countries: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, the latter three EU members. Within the European Union, this was a first in 10 years since Sweden's move in 2014, which resulted in years of strained relations with Israel. Other member states, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, had already done so in 1988, long before joining the EU. On the other hand, some former Eastern bloc countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, do not or no longer recognize a state of Palestine. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that "Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own" at the UN General Assembly. France said last month it intends to recognize a Palestinian state come September, while Britain said it would do the same unless Israel takes "substantive steps", including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza. Canada also plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, marking a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel. Among other countries that could also formally express recognition, Malta, Finland and Portugal have raised the possibility.
Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Zelenskyy says ‘concessions' will not make Russia end war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday warned against capitulating to the demands of President Vladimir Putin ahead of talks Friday between the Russian leader and US President Donald Trump. The US-Russia summit -- so far planned without Zelenskyy -- will be the first between a sitting US and Russian president since 2021. Kyiv is concerned that Trump and Putin could strike a deal requiring Ukraine to cede territory to Russia. 'Russia refuses to stop the killings, and therefore must not receive any rewards or benefits. And this is not just a moral position -- it is a rational one,' Zelenskyy wrote in a statement published on social media. 'Concessions do not persuade a killer,' he added. EU foreign ministers are to hold talks on Monday to discuss Friday's summit with many fearing any deal made without Ukraine could force unacceptable compromises. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in early 2022, has been making costly but steady advances across the sprawling front line, and claimed to have captured the village of Fedorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. Both sides have meanwhile stepped-up aerial assaults, with Ukraine claiming to have hit a facility that produces missile components in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region. Local authorities said one person was killed in the attack and two were wounded.
