Updated on December 6, 2023 at 5:21 pm IST
Russian President Vladimir Putin kicked off a trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, hoping to bolster himself in the Middle East with two major oil producers allied with the United States as he continues his war against Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin began a vacation in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, hoping to bolster two major U. S. -allied oil producers in the Middle East as he continues his war against Ukraine. Putin landed in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms that is now hosting the United Nations’ COP28 climate talks. It was his first vacation in the region before the coronavirus pandemic and war, and while facing an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. because of the war in Ukraine.
Neither Saudi Arabia nor the United Arab Emirates have signed the ICC’s founding treaty, meaning they have no legal responsibility to arrest Putin over the warrant accusing him of being personally guilty of the kidnappings of young people in Ukraine, his war against the country. Putin did not attend a summit in South Africa for fear of being arrested when he got there.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s foreign minister, met a smiling Putin after he bounded down the stairs of his presidential plane. As he arrived at Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al-Watan palace to meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the country’s ruler, the UAE’s military acrobatics team flew in formation with red, white and blue smoke trailing them in the colours of the Russian flag.
Soldiers on horseback and camels covered their arrival route, and Russian and Emirati flags also hung from the masts. The spectacle in the Emirates, which counts the United States as its main security partner, highlights the UAE’s extensive industrial ties with Russia, which have soared since then. Western sanctions targeted Moscow. Ukrainians on the occasion expressed outrage at Putin’s presence in the country, while describing him as if he had committed environmental crimes in their country.
“It’s incredibly provocative to see how the world treats war criminals, because that’s what it is, in my opinion,” said Marharyta Bohdanova, a worker at the Ukrainian pavilion at the United Nations COP28 in Dubai, wiping away tears. how other people allow other people like him to participate in big events (. . . ) Treating him like an expensive guest is, in my opinion, very hypocritical. “Officials at the Russian pavilion participating in the talks declined to speak to The Associated Press.
Putin last visited the United Arab Emirates in 2019, where he received a warm welcome from Sheikh Mohammed, then crown prince of Abu Dhabi. But since then, the world has changed dramatically. The Russian president has been isolating himself from the coronavirus pandemic. It introduced a targeted invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a bitter war that continues today and was the topic of COP28 negotiations for Ukrainian diplomats.
Meanwhile, the war between Israel and Hamas remains a primary fear for the Middle East, especially the United Arab Emirates, which gained diplomatic popularity with Israel in 2020. Recent attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen also threaten the sending of advertising in the red zone. Mar, as Iran’s nuclear program continues its advance since the collapse of the 2016 nuclear deal.
Putin is scheduled to meet Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday for what Ushakov described as “a long conversation. “The two countries are discussing tactics to circumvent Western sanctions that oppose them.
Putin will travel onto Saudi Arabia and meet with powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the one-day trip, Ushakov said. Those discussions likely will focus on Moscow’s other major concern in the Middle East — oil.
Russia is part of OPEC+, which is a group of cartel members and other nations that have managed production to try and boost crude oil prices. Last week, the group expanded some output cuts into next year and brought up-and-coming oil supplier Brazil into the fold. Benchmark Brent crude traded Wednesday around USD 77 a barrel, down from nearly USD 100 in September, over concerns about a weakening economy worldwide.
The stopover comes after COP28 saw a parade of Western leaders, joined by the march to the summit by U. S. Vice President Kamala Harris, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and others who support Ukraine. The same applies to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime best friend of Putin.
A report on Putin published through the official Tass news agency, published on Wednesday morning, did not recommend that Putin could simply come to the COP28 site, but quoted the Russian president’s assistant, Yuri Ushakov, as saying that he would land and have a “meeting at the palace” and one-on-one conversations with Sheikh Mohammed. Still, some reports recommend that Putin could appear at climate talks.
U. N. Framework Convention on Climate Change spokesman Alexander Saier told a news conference that he “didn’t know that Mr. Putin would attend the convention, but he would also have to consult the host country with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “”He refused to answer whether the U. N. police would be forced to make an arrest.
The Emirati organising committee of COP28 put questions to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which did not respond without delay. The United Arab Emirates has celebrated the now-ousted Sudanese leader, Omar al-Bashir, despite an ICC arrest warrant for his arrest. on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
“I’m talking about their crimes and this user is literally here, somewhere close to me,” said Alina Abramenko, another worker at the Ukrainian pavilion who highlights the environmental damage caused by the war. “You know, it’s strange. “
Posted on December 6, 2023 at 05:20 PM IST
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Updated on December 6, 2023 at 5:21 p. m. IST
Former Prime Minister and chairman of the opposition CPN-UML party, KP Sharma Oli, was the target of an attempted physical assault. The incident sparked a popularity campaign in the Dhankuta district of eastern Nepal. The attacker, known as Mahesh Rai through local police, attempted to slap Oli as he was greeted and presented with flowers at the opposition UML’s Mid-Hill East-West Crusade.
Addressing X, formerly known as Twitter, ANI wrote: “Koshi Province, DIG police Rajeshnath Bastola said: “A user attempted to physically attack former Prime Minister and opposition leader KP Sharma Oli during an advertising campaign earlier today.
#REGENERACIÓN | Dhankuta, Nepal | Koshi Province DIG police Rajeshnath Bastola said: “A user attempted to physically attack former Prime Minister and opposition leader KP Sharma Oli in an advertising campaign earlier today. (Video source: social media, shown via police) pic. twitter. com/VQhYwavCoi
“After examination it was determined that he was intoxicated in the incident. There was no political reason behind the attempted aggression. He was arrested,” Rajeshnath Bastola, chief of the Koshi state police, told DIG, ANI reported. A viral video of the incident circulating on social media and verified by police shows the attacker, Rai, being arrested by the former Nepalese prime minister’s security escorts and dragged through a crowd of supporters. Rai stands out among others who gave flowers and garlands to the leader of the opposition component. Former Prime Minister Oli arrived in Dhankuta on Thursday as part of the UML’s campaign, focused on the Mid-Hill Highway.
Posted on December 14, 2023 at 11:42 pm IST
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