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Straits Times
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Ukraine peace talks: What are Kyiv and Moscow's positions?
Both countries have been unable to reach a consensus since the first round of direct talks held in May. PHOTO: REUTERS Ukraine peace talks: What are Kyiv and Moscow's positions? ISTANBUL - Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow will on June 2 hold a second round of direct talks on the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine, triggered by Russia's February 2022 invasion. The two sides are set to present their visions of what a peace settlement could look like at the negotiations, which will be presided over by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Despite the flurry of diplomacy urged on by US President Donald Trump, their demands have thus far been irreconcilable Territory for Russia Russia has repeatedly demanded it retain territory in southern and eastern Ukraine that it occupies and for Kyiv to cede even more land. Moscow in 2022 annexed four Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – despite not having full control over them. Russia also annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. President Vladimir Putin last year demanded Ukraine pull its forces out of parts of those regions that its army still controls as a prerequisite to any peace settlement. At a first round of talks last month, Ukraine accused Moscow of repeating those demands and threatening to accelerate a ground offensive into the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, over which Russia has made no formal claim. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said recognition of Moscow's ownership of these territories was 'imperative' for any negotiations. Ukraine has said it will never recognise its occupied territories, including Crimea, as Russian. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv may be forced to try to secure their return through diplomatic means – effectively conceding that Russia could maintain control over some land in any peace deal. Russia demands on Nato Russia has also demanded that Ukraine be barred from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) military alliance and has repeatedly said it wants Mr Zelensky removed from office. Russia had intended to topple Mr Zelensky when it launched its invasion in 2022, with Mr Putin calling in a televised address for Ukraine's generals to oust him in a coup d'etat and then open talks with Moscow. Mr Putin in March floated the idea of Ukraine being put under a United Nations-backed 'temporary administration', refreshing his call to essentially remove Mr Zelensky. Russian officials have throughout the war called for the 'de-militarisation' and 'de-Nazification' of Ukraine – casting Kyiv as a neo-Nazi 'regime'. Kyiv and the West have rejected those narratives. Russia has also sought at times to limit the size of Ukraine's army, wants Ukraine to be declared a neutral state, and for Western countries to stop supplying it with weapons. Security guarantees for Ukraine Mr Zelensky has for months been calling for 'security guarantees' for Ukraine to stop Russia invading again. His top demand would be for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato, or for Ukraine to fall under the military alliance's Article Five collective defence term. Mr Trump has however, dismissed the possibility of Ukraine joining the bloc and Russia says Nato membership would be 'unacceptable'. Instead, Kyiv is pushing for some other form of Western military commitment that would deter Moscow. Britain and France are leading discussions about a possible European troop deployment to enforce any ceasefire, among a group of countries dubbed the 'coalition of the willing'. But Kyiv still wants Washington to back up any 'security guarantee'. Moscow has said it would not accept troops from Nato countries being deployed to Ukraine in any capacity. Ceasefire Mr Zelensky wants an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to cover combat on air, sea and land. Kyiv says meaningful discussions over a long-term peace deal can only happen once fighting has paused. 'First – a full and unconditional ceasefire. Second – the release of prisoners. Third – the return of abducted children,' Mr Zelensky said on social media on June 1, outlining Kyiv's priorities for the following day's talks. Mr Putin has rejected Ukrainian and Western calls for an immediate ceasefire. The Kremlin says it does not rule out agreeing some kind of ceasefire at Istanbul, but that talks should address the 'root causes' and look to strike a 'long-term settlement.' For Mr Putin, the 'root causes' of the conflict are grievances with Kyiv but also the West and Nato over what Russia sees is their expansion into former Soviet or communist countries. Moscow has demanded strict limits on Ukrainian military activity should any truce be agreed – such as a ban on mobilisation and halt to the flow of Western weapons. AFP Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
DW
3 days ago
- Politics
- DW
Between chaos and democracy: Libya at crossroads again – DW – 05/30/2025
Recent violence in western Libya brought back the specter of renewed civil war. But observers say the fighting and ensuing protests may also offer a renewed chance to break the country's political gridlock. It may be comparatively calm this week but Libya's western capital Tripoli remains in turmoil. Earlier in May, violence broke out between armed groups and pro-government forces after Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah issued a decree ordering the dismantling of armed militias, including the influential Stabilization Support Apparatus, or SSA, militia. The head of the SSA was killed. According to the UN, the resulting violence killed eight civilians in Tripoli. Later another 58 bodies were found in a hospital under the SSA's control, "The latest fighting in Tripoli that resulted in civilian casualties is a strong indication of the fragility of the situation," Hanan Salah, Libya researcher and associate director in the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, told DW. "The sheer recklessness of the warfare that Human Rights Watch documented in the middle of civilian neighborhoods shows the blatant disregard these armed groups have for the life and livelihoods of civilians," she said. Country split in half Since 2014, Libya has been split into two, with opposing governments located in the east and west of the country. A United Nations-backed administration known as the Government of National Unity is based in Tripoli in the west and headed by Dbeibah. Its rival, known as the House of Representatives, is based in the east, in Tobruk and headed by Prime Minister Ossama Hammad. He is supported by former warlord-turned-politician Khalifa Haftar. In the east, Haftar has managed to consolidate control over various armed militias under his command, ruling with an iron fist. In the west, Dbeibah has tolerated different militias competing. Observers say the recent fighting in Tripoli indicates that Dbeibah is now trying to do the same as Haftar and consolidate control over militias in the west too. In mid-May, the fighting ended after a few days with an undisclosed agreement between the militias and Dbeibah's administration. It was followed by popular protests. People demanded national elections as well as a return to the drafting of a constitution: Both were halted when a peace process under UN leadership failed in December also called for a Dbeibah's resignation. Dbeibah did not address those calls. In a televised speech he said, "we will welcome all those who choose to stand with the state… and we will sideline those who resort to blackmail and corruption. Our goal is a Libya free of militias and corruption." Observers agree that Dbeibah's key objective is likely to consolidate power and influence. In May, thousands of Libyans called for Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's resignation Image: Ayman al-Sahili/REUTERS Unsolved problems "In recent years the conflict [in Libya] has been frozen as the spoils have been divided among the various actors," Tim Eaton, a senior research fellow with the Middle East and North Africa programme at London-based think tank Chatham House, said. Over time, "these groups had been competing against one another to grab ever greater parts of the Libyan state," he told DW. In a recent piece for the think tank's website, Eaton wrote that the contest had been exacerbated this May over "a dispute over control of a state institution, the Libyan Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology Company, which operates valuable monopolies in the telecommunications sector." In his view, the current situation is very perilous. "There clearly is a threat of a slide into another bout of civil war," he told DW. But, Eaton and other experts say, there's also some hope. "There is a real shot for the UN to capitalize on this moment to make some political progress," Eaton told DW. "This set of actions also seems to present an opportunity to reinvigorate the political track. When there were other outbreaks of significant conflict in Tripoli in 2014 and 2020, political change did follow," he pointed out. In 2014, fighting in Tripoli ended with the country splitting in half. In 2020, a UN-led political process to appoint a new government was started. "So there is clearly an opportunity for such an occurrence to happen again," Eaton suggested. Libya's western Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah has rejected any calls that he resign Image: Hamza Turkia/Xinhua/imago images New UN roadmap This month's crisis could well "represent a significant opportunity to begin changing the course of events by moving toward holding parliamentary and presidential elections," agrees Mohammed al-Dairi, a former foreign minister for the Tripoli-based government in the east. "The first step in this direction is the formation of a unified government that ends the institutional division currently plaguing our country," he told DW. Meanwhile, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, or UNSMIL, first launched in 2011 to help facilitate a political process that would lead to democratic elections in Libya, has published a new report that outlines four options which could serve as a roadmap towards ending the country's difficult transitional phase. The options include conducting presidential and legislative elections simultaneously or conducting parliamentary elections first, followed by the adoption of a permanent constitution. They also include adopting a permanent constitution before elections, or alternatively establishing a political dialogue committee to finalize electoral laws and define executive authority and a permanent constitution. "Libya's parties have to come to a consensus," HRW's Salah points out. "The human rights crisis and political divisions in Libya will not be solved overnight," she told DW. "Conducting free and fair elections is elusive today but at the end of the day, what option do the competing Libyan parties really have?"
Epoch Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Epoch Times
US, Argentina Suggest Alternative to WHO After Both Countries Withdraw
Health officials in the U.S. and Argentine governments announced on Tuesday that they want other countries to join the two nations after both withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier this year. A joint 'The WHO's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed serious structural and operational shortcomings that undermined global trust and highlighted the urgent need for independent, science-based leadership in global health,' their statement reads. The statement said they have concerns 'regarding the early management of the pandemic and the risks associated with certain types of research' and that the WHO had 'failed to provide critical access to information, impairing countries' ability to act swiftly and effectively, with devastating global consequences.' The two health officials said that both the United States and Argentina will invite other nations 'to join us in shaping a new era of global health cooperation,' which is focused on what they say are 'results, sovereignty, and a safer future for all.' It comes as Kennedy Related Stories 5/27/2025 5/27/2025 Neither the joint statement nor Kennedy's post indicated whether the joint initiative would be specifically an alternative to the WHO, nor did it provide a name for it. Other details were not provided. On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump Trump's order said that the WHO's 'mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises' were sufficient reasons to remove the United States from the United Nations-backed health body. 'China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO,' the White House said. Weeks later, the WHO Last week, Kennedy In 2020, Trump attempted to withdraw the United States from the WHO in response to what U.S. officials have said is the Chinese regime's attempt to cover up the spread of COVID-19 in late 2019. That decision was rescinded by President Joe Biden after he took office in 2021.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dozens killed overnight in Gaza by IDF strikes amid deal breakdown
May 26 (UPI) -- Dozens of Palestinians were killed overnight by further Israeli air strikes on the war-torn enclave amid a breakdown in a new cease-fire agreement. An estimated 54 Palestinians sheltering at Fahmi Al-Jargawi School in Gaza City have been killed by airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces, the BBC reported Monday. The scores of dead refugees included children from Beit Lahia after fires were seen engulfing two classrooms fixed as living quarters in the school, which was housing hundreds of people, according to the Hamas-run civil defense authority. At least 35 were reported to be killed when the school was hit. Video footage depicted fire engulfing parts of the school and graphic images of severely burned victims, including kids. On Monday morning, the IDF said it hit 200 "terrorist organizations" across the Gaza Strip in 28 hours as military ops carried on. The IDF claimed it targeted a "Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control center" in an area used by "terrorists" to presumably "plan" attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, accusing Hamas of using the Gaza population "as human shields." Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the terror syndicate agreed to the latest cease-fire deal. The proposal permitted the release in two phases of 10 Israel hostages in exchange for a 70-day truce, a gradual withdrawal of IDF troops out of the territory and release of an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas further demanded the entrance of 1,000 humanitarian aid trucks a day to aid the ailing population in Gaza. However, a senior Israeli official said Monday that it had rejected the cease-fire proposal after reports that Israel had agreed to it in principle. "The proposal received by Israel cannot be accepted by any responsible government," the official told The Times of Israel without providing further detail, claiming that Hamas was setting "impossible conditions that mean a complete failure to meet the war goals, and an inability to release the hostages." On Sunday, IDF officials claimed that since its war began, Israel has "facilitated" the entry of over 1.7 million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza. On Monday, Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories office -- a unit of its Ministry of Defense -- claimed that 107 humanitarian aid trucks transporting flour and food were transferred into Gaza "following inspection" via the Kerem Shalom Crossing. But according to international human rights organizations, Gaza is at a "breaking point" while the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has warned of imminent famine on top of reputable accusations of genocide by Israel against Palestinians. Nearly 54,000 people, including at least 16,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its invasion, according to the territory's health ministry.
UPI
26-05-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Dozens killed overnight in Gaza by IDF strikes amid deal breakdown
1 of 3 | An displaced Palestinian woman stands among the rubble of her destroyed family shelter after an Israeli airstrike in Al Jerjawi school in the Al Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City onMonday. Photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE May 26 (UPI) -- Dozens of Palestinians were killed overnight by further Israeli air strikes on the war-torn enclave amid a breakdown in a new cease-fire agreement. An estimated 54 Palestinians sheltering at Fahmi Al-Jargawi School in Gaza City have been killed by airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Defense Forces, the BBC reported Monday. The scores of dead refugees included children from Beit Lahia after fires were seen engulfing two classrooms fixed as living quarters in the school, which was housing hundreds of people, according to the Hamas-run civil defense authority. At least 35 were reported to be killed when the school was hit. Video footage depicted fire engulfing parts of the school and graphic images of severely burned victims, including kids. On Monday morning, the IDF said it hit 200 "terrorist organizations" across the Gaza Strip in 28 hours as military ops carried on. The IDF claimed it targeted a "Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control center" in an area used by "terrorists" to presumably "plan" attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops, accusing Hamas of using the Gaza population "as human shields." Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official told the BBC that the terror syndicate agreed to the latest cease-fire deal. The proposal permitted the release in two phases of 10 Israel hostages in exchange for a 70-day truce, a gradual withdrawal of IDF troops out of the territory and release of an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas further demanded the entrance of 1,000 humanitarian aid trucks a day to aid the ailing population in Gaza. However, a senior Israeli official said Monday that it had rejected the cease-fire proposal after reports that Israel had agreed to it in principle. "The proposal received by Israel cannot be accepted by any responsible government," the official told The Times of Israel without providing further detail, claiming that Hamas was setting "impossible conditions that mean a complete failure to meet the war goals, and an inability to release the hostages." On Sunday, IDF officials claimed that since its war began, Israel has "facilitated" the entry of over 1.7 million tons of humanitarian aid into Gaza. On Monday, Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories office -- a unit of its Ministry of Defense -- claimed that 107 humanitarian aid trucks transporting flour and food were transferred into Gaza "following inspection" via the Kerem Shalom Crossing. But according to international human rights organizations, Gaza is at a "breaking point" while the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has warned of imminent famine on top of reputable accusations of genocide by Israel against Palestinians. Nearly 54,000 people, including at least 16,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its invasion, according to the territory's health ministry.
