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UK foreign secretary questions Russia’s ‘appetite’ for peace at tense G20 meet

UK foreign secretary questions Russia’s ‘appetite’ for peace at tense G20 meet
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said “We’ve not got anywhere near a negotiated settlement” over the war in Ukraine during the G20 Foreign Minister Meeting at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg. (AFP)
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Updated 21 February 2025

UK foreign secretary questions Russia’s ‘appetite’ for peace at tense G20 meet

UK foreign secretary questions Russia’s ‘appetite’ for peace at tense G20 meet
  • G20 gathering comes days after landmark bilateral talks between the US and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine
  • Those talks sidelined Washington’s European allies and Ukraine, who were not involved

JOHANNESBURG: UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he saw no appetite for peace from Russia in Ukraine after listening to a speech by Russia’s top diplomat at a tense Group of 20 meeting in South Africa on Thursday.
Lammy was speaking to reporters after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed other senior diplomats in a closed-door session at the G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg.
“I have to say when I listened to what the Russians and what Lavrov have just said in the chamber this afternoon, I don’t see an appetite to really get to that peace,” Lammy said.
Lammy said Lavrov left his seat in the meeting room when it was Lammy’s turn to speak. No details of Lavrov’s speech were released.
The two-day G20 gathering on Thursday and Friday comes days after landmark bilateral talks between the United States and Russia over ending the war in Ukraine. Those talks sidelined Washington’s European allies and Ukraine, who weren’t involved.
US President Donald Trump has further upended the West’s position by criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and falsely blaming Ukraine for the full-scale invasion by Russia. The war’s third anniversary is next week.
“At the moment, we’ve had talks effectively about talks,” Lammy said. “We’ve not got anywhere near a negotiated settlement.”
In his own speech, which was released by the UK Foreign Office, Lammy criticized Russia for what he called “Tsarist imperialism.”
“You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and their wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries,” Lammy said, according to the transcript from the UK Foreign Office. “But I’m afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing.”
“I was hoping to hear some sympathy for the innocent victims of the aggression. I was hoping to hear some readiness to seek a durable peace. What I heard was the logic of imperialism dressed up as a realpolitik, and I say to you all, we should not be surprised, but neither should we be fooled.”
Lammy referred to Lavrov’s speech as “the Russian gentleman’s tired fabrications.”
Tensions at the meeting were underlined when a photo opportunity for the foreign ministers to pose together for pictures was canceled with no reason given.
The United Kingdom, France, Germany and the European Union have all pledged continued support for Ukraine and were expected to reinforce that position at the G20 meeting.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led those talks with Lavrov in ֱ this week, was a high-profile absentee from the meeting. Rubio boycotted amid US tensions with host South Africa over some of its policies, which the Trump administration has labeled anti-American. The US was represented by Dana Brown, its acting ambassador to South Africa.
The G20 is made up of 19 of the world’s major economies, the European Union and the African Union. Others attending the meeting in South Africa included EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who repeated France’s condemnation of Russia in an op-ed published by several media outlets.
The Russian Foreign Ministry did release details of a bilateral meeting Lavrov held with China’s Wang. Afterwards, Lavrov said Russia’s relations with China “have become and remain an increasingly significant factor in stabilizing the international situation and preventing it from sliding into total confrontation,” according to a statement from the ministry.
The G20 is supposed to bring developed and developing countries together to foster global cooperation. But the grouping often struggles to reach any meaningful consensus because of the disparate interests of the US, Europe, Russia and China. Cooperation was further undermined by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
South Africa holds the G20’s rotating presidency this year and in a speech opening the meeting, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that it was an opportunity for the G20 “to engage in serious dialogue” against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and war, climate change, pandemics and energy and food insecurity.
“There is a lack of consensus among major powers, including in the G20, on how to respond to these issues,” Ramaphosa said.
Rubio’s decision to boycott and his pledge to also skip the main G20 summit in South Africa in November threatens to further undermine the G20’s effectiveness.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said that he won’t attend a G20 finance ministers meeting in South Africa next week because of commitments in Washington, which many saw as another indication of Trump’s indifference to international collaboration in favor of his “America First” policy.


Russia says Ukrainian drone targets Kursk nuclear site under construction

Updated 2 sec ago

Russia says Ukrainian drone targets Kursk nuclear site under construction

Russia says Ukrainian drone targets Kursk nuclear site under construction
The drone crashed into one of the buildings at the construction site, Khinshtein said

MOSCOW: A Ukrainian drone attempted to attack the Kursk-2 nuclear power plant, which is currently under construction in the town of Kurchatov, local governor Alexander Khinshtein said on Thursday.
The drone crashed into one of the buildings at the construction site, Khinshtein said, adding that there were no casualties and that the station continues to operate normally.

Polish PM warns against ‘illusions’ over Trump’s Ukraine rhetoric

Polish PM warns against ‘illusions’ over Trump’s Ukraine rhetoric
Updated 42 min 44 sec ago

Polish PM warns against ‘illusions’ over Trump’s Ukraine rhetoric

Polish PM warns against ‘illusions’ over Trump’s Ukraine rhetoric
  • Trump’s comments on Tuesday prompted relief among some but also suspicion among others that he is ready to leave Europe more to its own devices in supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion

WARSAW: Poland’s prime minister cautioned on Thursday against having any “illusions” about Donald Trump’s stance on Ukraine, after the US president said in a rhetorical shift that he believed Kyiv could retake all its land occupied by Russia.
Trump’s comments on Tuesday prompted relief among some but also suspicion among others that he is ready to leave Europe more to its own devices in supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
“President Trump stated that Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, could reclaim its entire territory,” Tusk wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.
“Behind this surprising optimism lies a promise of reduced US involvement and a shift of responsibility for ending the war to Europe. Better truth than illusions.”
Poland’s nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, said on Wednesday that Trump’s remarks were “great.”
Nawrocki and Tusk agree on the need to help Ukraine in the war. But Nawrocki prioritizes relations with the White House and believes the EU should not get involved in defense, while Tusk says the bloc should play a role alongside NATO and the United States.


Russia ‘firmly rejects’ involvement in Denmark airport drones

Russia ‘firmly rejects’ involvement in Denmark airport drones
Updated 38 min 13 sec ago

Russia ‘firmly rejects’ involvement in Denmark airport drones

Russia ‘firmly rejects’ involvement in Denmark airport drones
  • Drones flew over multiple airports across Denmark and caused one of them to close for hours, police said Thursday after a similar incident this week prompted Copenhagen airport to shut

COPENHAGEN: The Russian embassy in Denmark said Thursday that Russia “firmly rejects” speculation that it was involved in drone flights that caused Danish airports to close twice this week, calling the incidents a “staged provocation.”

“It is evident that the incidents involving reported disruptions at Danish airports are a staged provocation,” the embassy said in post to social media.

“The Russian side firmly rejects the absurd speculations of involvement in the incidents,” it added.

Drones flew over multiple airports across Denmark and caused one of them to close for hours, police said Thursday after a similar incident this week prompted Copenhagen airport to shut.

The latest incidents in Danish skies follow similar events in Poland and Romania and the violation by Russian fighter jets of Estonia’s airspace, which have raised tensions in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Drones were spotted at Denmark’s airports in Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sonderborg and at the Skrydstrup air base before leaving on their own, police said.

Aalborg airport, located in northern Denmark and one of the country’s biggest after Copenhagen, was shut down before reopening several hours later.

“It was not possible to take down the drones, which flew over a very large area over a couple of hours,” North Jutland chief police inspector Jesper Bojgaard Madsen said about the incident in Aalborg.

“At this time, we have not apprehended the drone operators either,” he added in a statement.

South Jutland police said they had “received several reports of drone activity at the airports in Esbjerg, Sonderborg and Skrydstrup,” late Wednesday evening.

The Esbjerg and Sonderborg airports were not closed because no flights were scheduled there until Thursday morning.

Police there said the drones “flew with lights and were observed from the ground, but it has not yet been clarified what type of drones they are... or what the motive is.”

An investigation was underway with the Danish intelligence service and the armed forces to “clarify the circumstances,” police said.

The probe comes days after police said several large drones flew over Copenhagen airport, shutting the facility for hours.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday described the Copenhagen incident as the “most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure” to date.

“This is part of the development we have recently observed with other drone attacks, airspace violations, and cyberattacks targeting European airports,” Frederiksen said.

This week’s drone incidents follow Denmark announcing it will acquire long-range precision weapons for the first time, citing the need to be able to hit distant targets as Russia would pose a threat “for years to come.”

Moscow’s ambassador to Copenhagen, Vladimir Barbin, had called the statement “pure madness.”


Indian authorities impose security restrictions in remote Ladakh after deadly clashes

Indian authorities impose security restrictions in remote Ladakh after deadly clashes
Updated 25 September 2025

Indian authorities impose security restrictions in remote Ladakh after deadly clashes

Indian authorities impose security restrictions in remote Ladakh after deadly clashes
  • Officials banned assembly of more than five people in Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil districts following the violent clashes Wednesday
  • Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled streets Thursday and enforced a curfew in Leh

SRINAGAR, India: Authorities in India enforced security restrictions in two main districts in the remote Ladakh region on Thursday. The restrictions came a day after four people were killed and dozens injured when police clashed with hundreds of protesters demanding greater autonomy from the Indian government for the Himalayan territory.
Officials banned assembly of more than five people in Ladakh’s Leh and Kargil districts following the violent clashes Wednesday. Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers patrolled streets Thursday and enforced a curfew in Leh. Police detained at least 40 people overnight in Leh following the clashes, officials said.
Shops and businesses shut in Kargil as a local group called for a strike against Wednesday’s killings.
Sajjad Kargili, a local leader, urged the government to “act with wisdom, resume dialogue at the earliest and address people’s aspirations.”
Lt. Gov. Kavinder Gupta, New Delhi’s top administrator in Ladakh, called Wednesday’s violence “heart-wrenching.”
“Curfew has been imposed as a precautionary measure to prevent more casualties,” Gupta said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
Wednesday’s clashes erupted after protesters threw stones at officers trying to stop them from marching in the high-altitude town of Leh. Others set ablaze police and paramilitary vehicles and the local office of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and some other government buildings, police said.
Police fired bullets and tear gas and swung batons at demonstrators, killing four people and injuring dozens more, police and residents said.
Nestled between India, Pakistan and China, Ladakh was split from Indian-controlled Kashmir after New Delhi removed the disputed region’s statehood and semiautonomy in 2019. While Kashmir has largely been silenced through a crackdown on dissent and a slew of new laws, demands for political rights in Ladakh have intensified in recent years.
The protests are part of a larger movement in the federally governed region seeking statehood and constitutional provisions from the Indian government to gain autonomy over land and agriculture decisions.
The protests Wednesday were sparked by a local group’s call for a strike after two residents collapsed while participating in a hunger strike with more than a dozen residents who were making statehood demands.
India’s Home Ministry said in a statement late Wednesday that police fired in “self-defense” and blamed the violence on “provocative speeches” by a top climate activist, Sonam Wangchuk, who had led the hunger strike since Sept. 10. Wangchuk called off the strike after the clashes.
Shortly after the clashes, Wangchuk appealed for calm. He told reporters that their movement was peaceful and that they did not want instability in Ladakh.
“We held hunger strikes on five occasions and walked from Leh to Delhi, but today we are seeing our message of peace failing because of the incidents of violence and arson,” Wangchuk said.
Wednesday’s violence was the deadliest civil unrest in the Ladakh region in decades and signaled residents’ growing frustration with Indian authorities over the self-rule issue. Residents initially welcomed New Delhi’s 2019 changes, but their joy soon gave way to fears of land grabs, a loss of trade and damage to the fragile ecosystem of the region’s high-altitude deserts.
Ladakh representatives have held several unsuccessful rounds of talks with Indian officials. Another meeting is scheduled Oct. 6.
Roughly half of Ladakh’s residents are Muslim who are mainly concentrated in the Kargil district while around 40 percent are Buddhist, predominantly residing in the Leh district.
Ladakh’s sparsely populated villages have faced territorial disputes and suffered from the effects of climate change, including floods, landslides and droughts.
The rugged region’s thousands of glaciers have receded at an alarming rate, threatening the water supply of millions of people. Pollution contributing to the melting has worsened due to the region’s militarization, which has intensified since 2020 in a deadly military standoff between India and China.


Ukraine’s Zelensky says he is ready to leave office after war

Ukraine’s Zelensky says he is ready to leave office after war
Updated 25 September 2025

Ukraine’s Zelensky says he is ready to leave office after war

Ukraine’s Zelensky says he is ready to leave office after war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Axios news website that he would be ready to step down after the war with Russia is over.
“My goal is to finish the war,” not to continue running for office, Axios quoted Zelenksiy as saying.