Erdogan drives to Putin: Kremlin speaks in advance of military cooperation
Created: 2022-08-06 04:59
By: Andreas Schmid, Fabian Müller
Amnesty International has criticized Ukraine's conduct of the war.
Kyiv is outraged by the allegations made by the human rights organization.
The news ticker for the negotiations.
Russia
'ready' for
talks on Griner
: Moscow says it wants to discuss prisoner swap.
Zelenskyj
sees "
international security gaps
": The Ukrainian President criticizes the West's attitude towards Russia in recent years.
Zelenskyj
turns to
China
: The Ukrainian President hopes for China's influence to put an end to the war.
This news ticker on the negotiations in the Ukraine war is constantly
updated
.
Update from August 5, 1:20 p.m .:
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan left for his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The two presidents want to meet in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi for personal talks, according to the Turkish Presidential Office.
Accordingly, current regional and global events are on the agenda at the meeting.
According to experts, in addition to the war in Ukraine, the talks will primarily focus on Turkey's plans for a new offensive in northern Syria.
Russia and Iran, both actors in the Syrian civil war, had advised Turkey not to take such a step.
Turkey already occupies areas in northern Syria and justifies a renewed offensive with a "terrorist threat" on the part of the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG, which Ankara regards as a terrorist organization.
According to the Kremlin, military-technical cooperation will also be discussed.
Russia had recently shown interest in the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2, which was also successfully used by Kyiv during the war.
CNN quoted Turk Erdogan as saying that Putin had suggested working with Turkey on the Baykar drones.
A corresponding factory could be founded in the United Arab Emirates.
Putin and Erdogan at their recent meeting in Iran's capital, Tehran.
© Sergei Savostyanov/dpa
Ukraine-News: Three more grain ships headed for Turkey
Update from August 5, 9:25 a.m .:
According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, three other ships with grain on board started from Ukrainian ports.
The three freighters loaded with corn would call at Ireland, Britain and Turkey, the ministry said in a statement.
The ships' departure is part of agreements signed by Ukraine and Russia in July to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports.
Ankara had already announced the launches on Thursday.
The Navistar, flying the Panamanian flag, left Odessa for Ireland with a cargo of 33,000 tons of corn.
The Maltese-flagged "Rojen" began her voyage from the port of Chernomorsk towards Great Britain with 13,000 tons of cargo.
The freighter “Polarnet”, loaded with 12,000 tons, also left Chernomorsk.
Its destination is the Turkish port of Karasu.
According to Turkish information, the "Polarnet" will first be examined in Istanbul by inspectors from Turkey, the UN, Ukraine and Russia.
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Russia "ready" for talks on Griner - Moscow wants direct communication between Putin and Biden
Update from August 5, 9:20 a.m .:
According to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Russia is ready to discuss with Washington a prisoner exchange for US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was convicted on Thursday.
Moscow is "ready to talk about the issue," Lavrov said at a press conference during a visit to Cambodia.
For the talks, however, a direct communication channel between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, which had been agreed between the two, must be maintained.
There is "a special channel" agreed between the heads of state, Lavrov said.
“Despite certain public statements”, this continues to exist.
Ukraine-News: Zelenskyy attacks Amnesty International over report on Ukrainian military
Update from August 5, 7.10 a.m .:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sharply attacked Amnesty International after criticizing the tactics of the Ukrainian army.
The human rights organization wants to "issue an amnesty for the terrorist state (Russia) and shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim," Zelenskyy said in his daily speech.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is "unjustified, invasive and terroristic," the President said, adding, "If someone makes a report that sort of puts victims and attackers on an equal footing, if certain things about the victim are analyzed and... the actions of the attacker are ignored, then that cannot be tolerated.”
In a report published on Thursday, Amnesty International accused the Ukrainian army of unnecessarily endangering civilians with its military tactics.
The soldiers "repeatedly operated out of residential areas," said Janine Uhlmannsiek, an expert on Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International Germany.
The Ukrainian action is "a violation of international humanitarian law" that is not justified by the "Russian war of aggression, which violates international law".
Ukraine-News: Biden criticizes the conviction of US citizen Griner in Russia
Update from August 4, 6:15 p.m .:
US President Joe Biden sharply criticized the conviction of US basketball player Brittney Griner in Russia and called for her release.
"Russia is wrongly holding Brittney," Biden said in a written statement Thursday.
"This is unacceptable and I urge Russia to release her immediately to be with her wife, family, friends and teammates." Biden said the US government is continuing to work tirelessly to secure Griner as soon as possible to bring home.
A Russian court on Thursday sentenced Griner to nine years in prison for illegal drug possession.
She has been in custody for five and a half months.
The athlete is said to have had so-called vape cartridges and hashish oil with her when her luggage was checked at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February.
It is said to have been 0.5 grams.
Griner has pleaded guilty.
Washington accuses Moscow of a politically motivated process.
The US government has been trying to get Griner released for months.
A phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Russian colleague Sergey Lavrov at the end of July also discussed the possibility of a prisoner exchange.
US basketball player Griner found guilty in Russia - Amnesty criticizes warfare in Ukraine
Update from August 4, 5:35 p.m .:
A Russian court found US basketball player Brittney Griner guilty of drug smuggling.
The court in the Moscow suburb of Khimki found the accused guilty of smuggling and possession of a "substantial amount" of drugs, Judge Anna Sotnikova said on Thursday.
Prosecutors had previously demanded that Griner be sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.
The process is considered politically motivated and is seen by observers in connection with the Ukraine war.
US President Joe Biden had supported Griner in the past.
Due to the currently tense relations between the USA and Russia, Biden's attempt now seems to be failing.
Brittney Griner (r) is led to the courtroom.
© Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Reuters/AP/dpa
Update from August 4, 4:45 p.m .:
The human rights organization Amnesty International has criticized the Ukrainian military leadership.
This violated international law and would endanger civilians.
Amnesty said Kyiv would also build military bases in populated residential areas.
This would also put civilians in the crosshairs of Russian attacks.
However, martial law requires parties to a conflict to place military objects as far away from civilian facilities as possible, the organization warned.
However, the organization reiterated that these measures in no way justify Russia's indiscriminate attacks, which have injured and killed scores of civilians.
Kyiv reacted with outrage to the reports.
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak accused Amnesty of involvement in a Russian propaganda campaign aimed at stopping Western arms supplies.
"The only danger for Ukrainians is the Russian army of executioners and rapists coming to Ukraine and committing genocide," Podoliak wrote on Twitter.
He also pointed out that residents from cities close to the front were repeatedly evacuated - precisely because the lives of the civilian population were a priority for Ukraine.
Zelenskyj sees "international security gaps" - was the West too lax towards Putin?
Update from August 4,
11:01 a.m.: "The global security architecture did not work," said Volodymyr Zelenskyj in his daily video speech.
The Ukrainian President placed the Ukraine war in a series of international conflicts.
There are currently headlines about conflicts in the Balkans, around Taiwan and the Caucasus, which are one factor: gaps in the international security system, according to Zelenskyj.
The problem is that the world has long let the Kremlin get away with its violations - be it the annexation of Crimea or the downing of the Boeing over the Donbass.
The fragile freedom "can only be protected through collective action," Zelenskyj appealed.
Ukraine-Russia negotiations: Kuleba comments on the grain deal
Update from August 4, 8:48 a.m .:
After the first grain carrier from Ukraine passed its inspection in Turkey on Wednesday, the next ships are already ready to leave the port.
"If Russia honors its commitments under the UN-brokered Grains Initiative, they will reach foreign customers and help bring down food prices and avert hunger," Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, tweeted.
The EU also continues to work on alternative trade routes.
This includes transport via goods wagons and barges.
This is necessary because it will be difficult to immediately bring the export volume via the Black Sea ports back to the pre-war level, an official from the responsible EU Commission explained to the dpa.
Zelenskyy turns to China: Knockout for Russia's economy would be 'safe'
Update from August 4, 7:03 a.m .:
President Zelenskyj is apparently aiming for increasing support from China.
The
South China Morning Post
reports that Zelenskyy is seeking direct talks with Beijing.
The Ukrainian President hopes China will use its political and economic influence over Russia to put an end to the attacks.
"I am sure that without the Chinese market for the Russian Federation, Russia would feel completely isolated economically," Zelenskyj said in an interview.
Meanwhile, the US Senate has ratified the NATO accession of Finland and Sweden.
The Chamber of Congress voted Wednesday to expand the defense alliance with an overwhelming majority: 95 votes in favor and only one against.
This means that 23 of the 30 NATO member states have approved the admission of Finland and Sweden - including Germany, France and Italy.
The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership in May.
President Zelenskyy seeks China's support against Russian attacks (stock image July 2022).
© Ukrainian Presidential Press Off/dpa
Ukrainian foreign minister reacts to Schröder statements: "There is nothing more cynical"
Update from August 3, 10:30 p.m.:
After Selenskyj’s confidante Mykhailo Podolyak, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kubela has now also commented on the statements made by former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder.
"There is nothing more cynical than the claims by Putin supporters that Russia is ready to negotiate," the 41-year-old wrote on Twitter, referring to Schröder.
The Ukrainian chief diplomat referred to heavy artillery fire and rocket attacks against civilian objects.
In addition, he once again accused the Russian military of serious war crimes.
"Russia remains focused on the war - everything else is a cloud of smoke," added Kuleba.
Selenskyj confidant contradicts Schröder - Russia has no interest in peace negotiations
Update from August 3, 8:35 p.m .:
The adviser and close confidante of Ukrainian President Selenskyj, Mykhailo Podolyak, doubts Russia’s interest in peace negotiations.
"Moscow raise terror level with one hand and invite submission with the other hand," Podolyak yelled on his Twitter account.
If Moscow is interested in a dialogue, it is up to them.
"First a ceasefire and troop withdrawal, then constructive talks," said the presidential adviser.
With his statement, Podolyak shared a picture of a hug between former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and Vladimir Putin.
Schröder had previously said in an interview with Stern that the war in Ukraine would end “not without talks.” The former chancellor also claimed that Moscow was interested in a negotiated solution.
Podolyak contradicts the representation of the 78-year-old.
With a view to the relationship between Schröder and Putin, Podoyak wrote that the former chancellor was a "well-known herald of the Reich and a voice at the court of the Russian tsar."
Mykhailo Podolyak, Volodymyr Zelensky's advisor, has contradicted former Chancellor Schröder's statements about possible peace negotiations.
© YASIN AKGUL/AFP
Nuclear weapons dispute between Russia and the USA: Lavrov contradicts Biden
First report from August 3rd:
Moscow/Washington, DC - US President Joe Biden urges Russia and China to hold talks on nuclear weapons control.
On Monday (1 August) he reiterated that his administration was ready to negotiate "expeditiously" on a replacement for New Start - the US-Russia Strategic Nuclear Weapons Limitation Treaty.
This expires in 2026.
Nuclear Weapons Control Treaty: Biden sees Russian “attack on international order”
Russia's "brutal and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine" has "shattered the peace in Europe" and represents "an attack on the fundamental pillars of the international order," Biden said.
He stressed that Russia and the US in particular, as nuclear superpowers, have a responsibility to set the tone and ensure the viability of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons technology around the world.
The New Start disarmament treaty
The treaty is the only remaining major arms control agreement between the US and Russia.
The agreement limits the nuclear arsenals of both countries to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 operational warheads.
In February 2021, Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to extend New Start.
Russia-US negotiations: Lavrov contradicts Biden
Biden did not comment on a specific time of the exchange.
The Kremlin even declared that the US had not yet offered any new talks.
"They didn't even suggest resuming these talks," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, according to the TASS news agency.
The US government has a habit of "announcing some things over the microphone and then forgetting about them."
Asked whether Russia is also ready to invite China to the talks if the process resumes, Lavrov said Beijing would then make its own decision.
China is playing an important role in the Ukraine war - especially after the renewed tensions with the USA over the visit of US top politician Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.
Nuclear Weapons Treaty: 50-year-old treaty
In addition to the New Start Treaty, there is also the more than 50-year-old Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
The treaty forms the basis for nuclear disarmament and has been signed by 191 countries.
The NPT states that only the US, Russia, China, France and the UK can possess nuclear weapons.
The four other suspected nuclear powers India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have either not joined the treaty or have withdrawn from it.
The aim of the treaty is to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, promote nuclear disarmament and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
It is currently being evaluated in New York.
Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tochytskyi said on the sidelines of the talks: "The world is witnessing how nuclear terrorism, sponsored by a nuclear-weapon state, is becoming a reality." The Ukraine war means that the agreement is more relevant than ever.
After all, the Kremlin has repeatedly threatened nuclear war.
(as with dpa material)
