Day: October 2, 2022

Ukraine’s application to join NATO is not a “fundamental issue at the moment,” according to the EU’s foreign policy chief.

 

“The important thing is to continue military support to this country and sanctions against Russia, as has been done up to now,” Josep Borrell told Spanish state television RTVE on Saturday, a day after Kyiv applied for fast-tracked NATO accession.

 

During the interview, Borrell noted that the conflict in Ukraine was the first instance that the EU used its own funds to purchase and deliver arms to a country at war.

 

Accusing Russia’s president of snuffing out prospects of ending the war, Borrell said Vladimir Putin’s threats, including of nuclear war, must be taken seriously.

 

Amid the numerous EU sanctions and restrictions imposed on Russia over the war, including curbs on tourist visas, Borrell urged the bloc to “distinguish between those fleeing the war and tourists.”

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish first lady Emine Erdogan hosted her Ukrainian counterpart Olena Zelenska in Istanbul on Sunday amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

 

“I was happy to host my dear friend Olena Zelenska, the wife of the President of Ukraine, in Istanbul,” Emine Erdogan said on Twitter.

 

On the victims of war in Ukraine, Erdogan said: “I believe that together we will heal the wounds of the Ukrainian people, particularly women and children who are victims of war.”

 

She also said that Ankara would maintain its long-time diplomatic efforts for peace.

 

The Turkish first lady also thanked Zelenska for signing a goodwill document to support Türkiye’s zero waste initiative.

 

During her visit, Zelenska gave information about the latest developments in Ukraine, as well as the work of the Olena Zelenska Foundation.

 

Expressing her thanks for Türkiye’s hosting of 1,300 orphaned Ukrainian children, Zelenska asked that the country also take in 200 children with special needs and assist in their evacuation.

 

The first lady of Ukraine also noted the strong leadership and diplomatic skills of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in securing the Black Sea maritime corridor for Ukraine to export its grain to the rest of the world, as well as a recent prisoner swap between Moscow and Kyiv.

 

She added that the grain corridor in particular saved the world from a major food crisis.

 

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed an agreement on July 22 in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, which were paused after the Russia-Ukraine war began in February. A Joint Coordination Center with officials from the three countries and the UN has been set up in Istanbul to oversee the shipments.

 

Pointing out the rise in health care needs due to the war with Russia, Zelenska also asked Emine Erdogan for support in supplying ambulances and baby incubators.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The presidents of nine countries in central and eastern Europe on Sunday condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of four breakaway Ukrainian regions.

 

“We reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We do not recognize and will never recognize Russian attempts to annex any Ukrainian territory,” said a joint statement by the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.

 

Underlining that they “cannot stay silent in the face of the blatant violation of international law by the Russian Federation,” the leaders found to “firmly stand behind the 2008 Bucharest NATO Summit decision concerning Ukraine’s future membership.”

 

In the statement, released by the Polish preisdency, they demanded that Moscow immediately withdraw from all occupied territories and encouraged allies to substantially increase their military aid to Kyiv.

 

“All those who commit crimes of aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice,” they stressed.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier on Friday announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions following highly disputed referendums that have been denounced by the West as a “sham.”

 

The territories amount to more than 90,000 square kilometers (34,749 square miles), or nearly 15% of Ukraine’s total area.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The former president of Burkina Faso, who has been unaccounted for since his overthrow on Friday, offered to resign under certain conditions, the West African nation’s religious and customary communities announced in a joint statement on Sunday.

 

“Following the mediation actions carried out by the said communities, President Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has himself proposed his resignation in order to avoid clashes with serious human and material consequences,” they said in the statement.

 

According to the statement, Lt. Col. Damiba, who was overthrown by fellow junta members, demanded that the new junta, led by Capt. Ibrahim Traore, strengthen cohesion in the defense and security forces, as well as national reconciliation, and that he continue operational activities on the ground.

 

He also demanded that the junta respects the commitments made to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), that it continues to reform the state, guarantees his security and rights, and those of his collaborators.

 

“Burkina Faso is going through moments of uncertainty. In these difficult times, there is a risk of escalation with dramatic consequences,” said community and religious leaders as mediators between the warring parties.

 

The West African country is undergoing its second coup in less than a year by members of the same junta, now led by Traore, who accuses his former leader of betraying the objectives of the previous coup and for sake of rapprochement with foreign forces.

 

People in Burkina Faso have been holding demonstrations since Thursday demanding the departure of Damiba amid accusations that he serves the interests of France, the country’s former colonial power.

 

Traore said Saturday that his predecessor had taken refuge in a French military base in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, from where he planned to launch a counter-offensive.

 

The ousted military leader later denied this in a statement published on the social networks of the presidency, as French authorities also denied any involvement of its army in the events in Burkina Faso.

 

Protests damage French Embassy

 

Local media and observers reported on Saturday and Sunday that the people had vandalized several French installations in the country, including the French Embassy.

 

Urging calm and calling on people to desist from these acts, Traore assured national television on Sunday that “the situation is under control and that things are gradually returning to order.”

 

He also ordered the reopening of the land and air borders that were shut during the putsch.

 

“The President of the Patriotic Movement for the Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), informs national and international opinion that the air borders are open as of today, 02 October 2022,” he said in a statement.

 

Traore is currently in charge of the day-to-day running of the state until he is sworn in, according to the junta.

 

Several regional and African communities and the international community have condemned this new putsch in a country that has experienced several since its independence.

 

ECOWAS, in a new statement issued on Sunday, reiterated “its firm condemnation of the seizure of power by force.”

 

It asked the defense and security forces to avoid escalation and, in all circumstances, protect civilians.

 

Source: Anadolu Agency

The High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced on Sunday that he had enacted the controversial electoral law reform, using his “Bonn powers.”

 

After polls closed in the Balkan country’s presidential and parliamentary votes, Christian Schmidt claimed that he signed two decisions for the functionality and timely implementation of the election results in the document that he called the “functionality package” and added that the decisions were related to the government and coalition building processes.

 

“To the voters, to you, I want to say that, while you were at the polls and voted, I made decisions to ensure that your vote counted and that your democratic will was respected. You have shown your responsibility by voting democratically. Now, your voting will must be respected,” Schmidt said in a letter to the public.

 

Voters in Bosnia and Herzegovina headed to the polls on Sunday to choose lawmakers at the canton, entity, and national levels, as well as the three members of the Presidential Council.

 

About 3.3 million people are estimated to have voted for members of parliament in the country’s two entities — the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska — as well as 10 cantons within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

Voters are also choosing representatives for the Presidential Council and the national parliament.

 

Bosnia Herzegovina’s political structure is often dubbed as one of the most complicated in the world.

 

In his letter, Schmidt said the legal changes would not affect Sunday’s elections.

 

Schmidt said the changes he enacted were necessary for Bosnia to progress on its way to EU candidate status.

 

“Necessary legislative or executive decisions lack transparency or they are simply blocked and not implemented. It is crucial for the fate of this country that there are no more blockages.

 

“That is why I have imposed measures that will improve the functionality of the institutions in the Federation of Bosnia Herzegovina. They will enable all citizens to their voices are heard and to ensure that they are truly represented by those they have elected,” he alleged.

 

According to Schmidt, the measures are aimed at improving the functionality of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and ensuring timely implementation of the results of the October 2022 elections.

 

While the US Embassy in the capital Sarajevo supported Schmidt’s decision, it remains unclear how politicians will react.

 

Allegations of new election law

 

Even before Schmidt’s announcement, reports were circulating in the country that the high representative would impose a new election law.

 

Media reports in July reported that by Aug. 1, the German politician would impose such measures on the functioning of Bosnia’s federation.

 

The expected new law would determine how delegates are chosen from the House of Peoples, the upper chamber of the Bosniak-Croat Federation entity’s parliament.

 

If the law would be put in place, the founding nations of Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs will lose representatives of their ethnic community in a federation canton if their population there is less than 3%.

 

Under the current election law, at least one Bosniak, one Croat, and one Serb delegate are elected from each canton.

 

This would be the third time Schmidt uses the so-called “Bonn powers” after assuming office in August 2021.

 

The first time he did it was to annul a law on immovable property in Republika Srpska, the Serb-dominated entity.

 

The second time, Schmidt used his “Bonn powers” to finance the country’s general elections on Oct. 2, allocating €6.5 million ($6.97 million) for the Central Election Commission.

 

The Office of the High Representative was established with the Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia Herzegovina.

 

The office oversees the implementation of the peace agreement on behalf of the international community. The high representative also coordinates the activities of international institutions operating in the country.

 

The high representative has the authority to dismiss anyone who interferes with the implementation of peace in the country, including members of the Presidential Council, and to pass laws as necessary.

 

The powers are dubbed “Bonn powers.”

 

Source: Anadolu Agency