Italy summons Russian ambassador over 'Russophobe' list naming president
"Publishing a list of so-called 'Russophobes' who supposedly incite hatred against Russia is yet another propaganda operation," said Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a statement.
On July 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a list of what it called "hate speech" against Russia by members of Western elites in which it included a statement from Mattarella at Aix-Marseille University last February.
In his speech, the Italian president drew a parallel between Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the expansionist wars of Nazi Germany.
The Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Italy has traditionally had close political and economic ties with Russia. However, after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, the relationship deteriorated, and Rome has firmly stood by Kyiv.
According to Meloni, Moscow broke international law by invading Ukraine and Western countries have condemned Russia.
Mattarella is the only Italian in the list, which also includes German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, the Secretary-General of NATO Mark Rutte, and the President of France Emmanuel Macron.
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Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
Zelenskiy speaks with Trump ahead of Putin ceasefire deadline
KYIV, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he had had a "productive" conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia and the finalisation of a U.S.-Ukraine drone deal. Trump, who has signalled frustration with Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Russian president until August 8 to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions. "President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks. Trump has threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and impose 100% tariffs on countries that buy its oil, but sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters, opens new tab that Putin was unlikely to bow to the ultimatum. Zelenskiy said Ukraine was also ready to conclude a deal with the U.S. on the purchase of Ukrainian drones that would amount to "one of the strongest agreements". He had earlier said the deal was worth around $30 billion. Ukraine is increasingly seeking financing and investment from its foreign partners to bolster its burgeoning domestic arms industry. Zelenskiy said Kyiv's European partners had so far pledged to buy more than $1 billion in U.S. weapons for Ukraine as part of a new scheme.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Lord Dannatt urged ministers to crack down on Palestine Action at request of US firm
A member of the House of Lords urged ministers to crack down on Palestine Action at the request of a US defence company that employs him as an adviser. Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, wrote privately to two separate Home Office ministers asking them to address the 'threat' posed by the group after its activists targeted a factory in 2022. The activists caused extensive damage to the factory which is run by Teledyne, a US multinational that sells technology for military, aerospace and other applications. Lord Dannatt has been a paid adviser to the company since 2022. Dannatt's involvement after the attack on the factory in Wales led to allegations heard later in court that the peer was 'seeking to influence' the criminal investigation into the Palestine Action activists. The police officer in charge of the investigation had told Teledyne executives that 'it would not be wise to have a member of the House of Lords poking around in a live criminal case', according to evidence heard in the trial of one of the activists. Dannatt said he was completely unaware of the exchanges in the trial and said the allegations were 'baseless'. His actions on behalf of the company nonetheless demonstrate the value to companies looking to affect government policy of having a member of the House of Lords as an adviser. Dannatt, 74, has sat in the Lords since 2011. He is now under investigation by the house authorities over two sets of allegations that he broke parliamentary rules that forbid lobbying. One allegation stems from undercover filming by the Guardian. He has denied the earlier allegations, saying: 'I am well aware of … the Lords code of conduct … I have always acted on my personal honour.' In July this year, ministers banned Palestine Action, claiming it was involved in terrorism. Supporters of the group countered that the ban was absurd and draconian. The group is challenging the legality of the ban in court. Two years ago, four activists were convicted of conspiring to damage Teledyne's factory in Presteigne in Wales. They had broken into the factory to protest against the sale of military equipment to Israel. They smashed windows and computer screens, drilled holes in the roof, sprayed red paint, and set off smoke grenades. Prosecutors told the court that the damage totalled more than £1m. The four activists were jailed for between 23 and 27 months. While three of the activists pleaded guilty, the fourth went to trial. Transcripts of her trial were obtained by the Guardian and reveal allegations heard in court that Dannatt sought to interfere in the police's investigation of the protest. On 19 December 2022, 10 days after the action at the Welsh factory, Sgt Alex Stuart of Dyfed-Powys police, who was in charge of the investigation, sent an email to four of his superiors. He had spoken with the general manager of the factory in the UK. She had told him that a senior Teledyne executive based in the US had 'spoken to Lord Richard Dannatt about Palestine Action'. Stuart wrote: 'Lord Dannatt was chief of the army general staff. He's now a life peer. He has an invested interest [sic] in this aspect of UK trade and investment, particularly military projects. 'Essentially there have been an indication that he wants this case to be explained and he wants to have some input on it. They haven't explained exactly what he wants, however I have told them that it would not be wise to have a member of the House of Lords poking around in a live criminal case.' He added: 'I have explained that they need to establish what Lord Dannatt wants.' He wrote that if the peer was concerned in general about Palestine Action's tactics, he should talk to senior police officers at a national level. 'It's not best placed for him to actively speak with an investigation team about the matter in the way that I think he wants to.' Later that day, a DCI replied to Stuart: 'The chief constable is aware of the case and has received an update. Whilst Lord Dannatt has every right to communicate with the force regarding matters of concern, it does not mean that the matters he raises receive the response that he may want.' At the criminal trial in May 2023, James Manning, the barrister for one of the defendants, asked Stuart whether he was concerned that Dannatt was seeking to have some input into the case which at that stage was being investigated by the police as a live criminal investigation. Stuart replied: 'Yeah, to a certain extent, yes.' Manning then asked: 'And you thought that that was inappropriate … and you told [Teledyne] as much?' Stuart replied: 'Yes.' Elen Owen, the prosecutor, told the court there was 'absolutely no evidence' that Dannatt had tried to 'influence' the investigation. 'He was just asking for information and the email … chain makes it quite clear that the decision was made by the police that it would be inappropriate to, to make any contact with him and, and that was the end of the matter.' The judge hearing the case, Rhys Rowlands, agreed with the prosecution that Dannatt was not relevant to the trial and that there was no evidence to suggest he had tried to interfere. His opinion was based on a decision about whether the police officer could be questioned about his concerns. He allowed the questioning to go ahead, though ruled Dannatt could not be named. Dannatt described the officer's allegations as 'unfounded' and pointed to the judge's view that he 'had nothing to do with the trial'. He suggested the general manager may have sought to use his name to help present their case. Teledyne and the general manager did not respond to a request for comment. On 22 December 2022, Dannatt had an online call with the factory's general manager and another senior member of Teledyne. Dannatt told the Guardian that Teledyne had 'contacted me to seek my assistance in raising concerns by the company to the government with regard to attacks on their premises'. He added: 'They briefed me on the Palestine Action attacks, and I then agreed to write to the home secretary.' In his letter, Dannatt declared his role 'at the outset' as a paid adviser to the company, but said he believed 'the threat from Palestine Action has more widespread implications for security and the economy within the United Kingdom'. The letter to Suella Braverman was headed 'General The Lord Dannatt GCB CBE MC DL', addressed from the House of Lords. He outlined the details of Palestine Action's activities at Teledyne's factory and at another factory run by a different arms company in Edinburgh. Dannatt wrote: 'The slow pace at which the British legal system has been working to take action against those involved in the trespass and criminal damage resulting from such 'direct action' has served to embolden Palestine Action and their continued recruitment drive for individuals who are prepared to commit arrestable offences.' He told Braverman he would be 'very grateful to receive assurance that the threat from Palestine Action is fully recognised by our security services and appropriate action [is] either planned or being taken'. He said he had 'undertaken to brief the Teledyne main board in the United States that the threat from Palestine Action in the UK is being suitably addressed'. Dannatt contacted the government again in September 2024 after 'attacks on Teledyne facilities continued and the company asked [him] to raise their concerns again'. In a letter to Dan Jarvis, the Labour security minister, Dannatt once again disclosed his role. Under the same letterhead, he said he would be 'very grateful to receive assurance from the current government that the threat posed by Palestine Action continues to be fully recognised by our security services and that appropriate action is being taken.' The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know. If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods. Secure Messaging in the Guardian app The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said. If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select 'Secure Messaging'. SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post See our guide at for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Poland is sliding back towards populism. Democrats elsewhere should heed our mistakes
We were travelling across Poland by train the day after the country's sensational parliamentary elections in autumn 2023. When news of the results came through, passengers in our compartment fell into each other's arms, rejoicing as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders. Hard as it was to believe after eight years, the national populists of the Law and Justice party had been ousted from power on a record turnout of 75% of voters. We felt the potential of democracy to change things for the better as a physical sensation. Less than two years have passed but this enthusiasm has disappeared without trace. The Law and Justice-backed candidate Karol Nawrocki won the presidential election run off in June with 50.89% of the vote, securing the admiration of Donald Trump in the process. Days before Nawrocki's swearing in on Wednesday [6 August] a new poll suggested that almost half of voters would like the prime minister, Donald Tusk out. The ruling coalition is wobbling. Tusk's liberal democratic government may turn out to be nothing more than an intermezzo, a pause between rightwing populist governments. After more than a decade of living, in a global sense, with the new wave of populism, we can see a pattern of missed opportunities of which Poland is just one example. In countries ruled by new populists, voters often come to feel disappointment and anger. In recent years, liberal candidates, carried by a tide of opposition, have ousted the populists: before Tusk managed it in Poland there was Joe Biden in the US, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil and Zuzana Čaputová in Slovakia. The victories of these politicians seemed briefly like beacons of hope for the post-cold war liberal democratic consensus. But rebuilding after populists vacate office can resemble a daily struggle in the political mud. A victorious election campaign is not the same as a definitive victory. The war against populists is a permanent one, and a global one, amplified by digital media. Post-populist rule is all the more difficult because populist governments leave behind a legal minefield. In Poland, countless legal decisions and acts in force were intended to undermine liberal democratic institutions. Dismantling them constitutionally and restoring the rule of law takes time and energy. It also requires looking back to the past rather than focusing on the future as the new government addresses its predecessors' mistakes. In Poland and Brazil, this has stifled any ambitions to offer an exciting roadmap for the years ahead. Inevitably, any initial euphoria is quickly followed by public frustration and the rise of another challenge from the rightwing populists. Since the anti-communist Solidarity movement in the 1980s, Poland has been a crucial laboratory in the battle for democracy. After returning to power in 2023, Tusk faced a dilemma: should he completely distance himself from his predecessors' agenda or flirt with their legacy? Tusk chose the second option. He maintained the populists' programme of direct financial support for families with children. He continued with the construction of a mega transport hub, a flagship project for the previous government that he had previously attacked as wasteful. It is especially striking that he has failed to liberalise Poland's abortion laws, which were tightened by the populists. Echoing the nationalists' rhetoric about migration and defence of national borders has led to Poland reimposing checks at its borders with EU neighbours Germany and Lithuania, despite all three countries being in the Schengen area. Letting the national populists set the political tone for him is driving Tusk's failure. The defeat of his presidential candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski was followed by a collapse of support in the polls. The absence of an inspiring vision, or even a sense of what Tusk stands for, is painful to witness. If parliamentary elections were held today, Poland's rightwing populists would be emphatically returned to power, probably with an even more radical nationalist programme. Abroad, Tusk may be admired as a staunch defender of democracy. At home, he has become one of the most unpopular politicians in the country. Call it the Gorbachev syndrome: beloved internationally, but reviled domestically. Tusk's ratings slump can be blamed on a whole set of unfulfilled promises, poor messaging and a poor presidential campaign. He is also affected by the global tendency to reject establishment politicians. To many Polish voters, especially younger ones, Tusk, who has been active in Polish politics for more than 25 years and was prime minister from 2007 to 2014, seems like part of a tired old elite whose time has come to step aside. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Safeguarding democracy requires something liberal democrats have so far lacked: an imaginative conception of what the future should look like. Here, Tusk and Lula disappoint, just as Čaputová and Biden did before them. The message is lacking, but the medium is challenging too. So far, rightwing populists are winning on the battleground of new and social media. It is not the only example, but the Polish case clearly demonstrates the folly of fighting elections purely on the defensive. It is too little and too narrow. Liberal ambitions must extend further than preventing populists from coming to power or removing them from it. Elections have to be understood as a chance to rebuild democracy, and to do so in tune with the new media environment. Without a forward-thinking approach, the liberal intermezzo will remain just that: a brief interval between acts in a longer populist play. Democrats must learn this lesson – contending with populism means not only confronting the past, but also offering a compelling vision for the future. Karolina Wigura is a Polish historian and co-author of Post-Traumatic Sovereignty: An Essay (Why the Eastern European Mentality is Different). Jarosław Kuisz is editor-in-chief of the Polish weekly Kultura Liberalna and the author of The New Politics of Poland: A Case of Post-Traumatic Sovereignty
