Cincunri Sakia

Sabtu, 14 Mei 2022

Finland's president Niinistö tells Putin his country will apply to join Nato - Financial Times

Finland’s president has told Vladimir Putin of the Nordic country’s plans to apply for Nato membership as a top Turkish aide downplayed fears that Ankara could torpedo its bid.

Sauli Niinistö called Putin on Saturday to explain how Russia’s demand in late 2021 that Finland and Sweden not apply for Nato membership followed by its invasion of Ukraine in February had fundamentally altered the security environment.

“The conversation was direct and straightforward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important,” Niinistö said.

Putin responded that Finland would be wrong to abandon its neutrality and that seeking membership of the western defence alliance would damage relations between the two countries.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused public support for Nato membership to surge in Finland and Sweden, forcing politicians to undertake urgent security reviews.

Finland’s government will decide on Sunday to apply for Nato membership with the formal application sent some time next week after parliament debates it on Monday.

Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats will make a decision on Sunday with everything pointing to an application to join, a decision the government could take on Monday.

A joint application could be sent on Tuesday or Wednesday when Niinistö makes a state visit to Stockholm.

The first hiccup in the application process came on Friday when Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to “Scandinavian countries” as “some kind of guest house for terrorist organisations”, and said about the potential applications that Ankara could not “look positively at this”.

İbrahim Kalın, Turkey’s presidential spokesman, told Reuters on Saturday that it was seeking negotiations with Sweden and others over its concerns and that it was “not closing door” to their membership bids.

Kalın said that Sweden, in particular, needed to take action against the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), an armed militia that has waged a decades-long armed insurgency against the Turkish state and is classified as a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the US and the EU. Sweden has a large Kurdish minority.

“What needs to be done is clear: they have to stop allowing PKK outlets, activities, organisations, individuals and other types of presence to . . . exist in those countries,” Kalın said.

Niinistö told state broadcaster Yle: “I wouldn’t speculate at all that this would mean Turkey throwing a spanner in the works for good. Until now Turkey’s message to us has been completely the opposite.”

“This is sure to lead to discussion, seeing as the US appears to have reacted,” he said.

Nato foreign ministers will meet in Berlin this weekend and the US said late on Friday that it would seek to “clarify” Turkey’s position.

Niinistö spoke to Joe Biden on Friday together with Swedish prime minister Magdalena Andersson. The Finnish president said after the call: “I went through Finland’s next steps towards Nato membership. Finland deeply appreciates all the necessary support from the US.”

In his call with Putin, Niinistö said that Finland was maximising its security. “By joining Nato, Finland strengthens its own security and assumes its responsibility. It is not away from anyone else. Also in the future, Finland wants to take care of the practical questions arising from being a neighbour of Russia in a correct and professional manner,” Finland’s presidential office said.

Any application by Finland and Sweden would need to be ratified by all 30 countries, a process that could take six to 12 months. Swedish and Finnish officials said on Friday that their contacts with Turkish ministers and other officials had been positive until now.

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2022-05-14 14:31:30Z
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Ukraine war: West has declared 'total hybrid war' on Russia, claims Lavrov - as Putin warns Finland against joining NATO - Sky News

The West has declared a "total hybrid war" against Russia and it is hard to predict how long it will last, Moscow's foreign minister has said.

Sergei Lavrov said the consequences of the war in Ukraine will be felt around the world.

But speaking about sanctions on Russia, he warned: "Western politicians should understand their efforts to isolate our country are in vain."

Russia cuts electricity supply to Finland; Georgia region to vote on joining Russia - Ukraine live

And he went on to accuse Western nations of stealing other countries' assets and losing their reputation as reliable partners.

"In the future, the world economy will be de-Americanised," he said in a speech on the 80th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We did everything to avoid a direct clash - but now that the challenge has been thrown down, we of course accept it," Mr Lavrov continued.

"We are no strangers to sanctions: they were almost always there in one form or another."

His comments come after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers took place earlier on Saturday, which saw the nations sign a statement saying they will continue to put economic pressure on Russia.

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The group, which is made up of the UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy, also backed giving more aid and arms to Ukraine and expediting its efforts to "end reliance on Russian energy supplies".

"We reaffirm our determination to further increase economic and political pressure on Russia, continuing to act in unity," a joint statement read.

Other key developments:
• President Zelenskyy says talks with Russia on getting wounded defenders out of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol were "very complex"
• Russian fighter jets have taken part in Baltic Sea drills, Interfax reported
• Russia says it will take adequate precautionary measures if NATO deploys nuclear forces and infrastructure close to its border
• Ukraine is storing hundreds of dead Russian soldiers in a refrigerated train in order to send them back to their families
• American think tank believes Russia has lost the battle for Ukraine's second-largest city

Putin warns Finland it would be a 'mistake' to join NATO

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Finland's leader that abandoning neutrality would be a "mistake" but that there are no security threats to its capital, Helsinki.

In response, President Sauli Niinisto told Mr Putin that his demands for countries to avoid joining NATO, together with the invasion of Ukraine, have changed Finland's security environment.

In a readout of a phone call between the two leaders, Finland's president said: "The conversation was direct and straight-forward and it was conducted without aggravations. Avoiding tensions was considered important."

Russia's Kremlin described the call as a "frank exchange of views" - normally a diplomatic euphemism for a difficult conversation.

Finland's NATO membership bid is expected to be followed by a similar move from Sweden.

An expansion of NATO would be a blow to Mr Putin, who undertook the war in, what he said was, a bid to thwart the alliance's easterly advance.

'We are in a different situation since Russia started its ruthless war'

Discussing Finland's bid to join the alliance, the country's European affairs minister told Sky News it is "ready to carry out its responsibilities for the security of Europe".

Asked if Finland is playing a dangerous game by going against Mr Putin's warning, Tytti Tuppurainen replied: "Absolutely not.

"We are in a different situation since Russia started its ruthless and illegal war in Ukraine."

She explained that "it is time" for Finland to "get allies and to get more partners" but it does not "intend to provoke anyone".

"It's about security," Ms Tuppurainen said. "We have a neighbour which we have seen is able to act and wage a very ruthless war.

"We are prepared for all kinds of nasty measures against us but there is absolutely no panic and we are not afraid. We have been preparing for all kinds of actions and this is about our own decisions."

"Putin is to blame and this is one of the consequences of his game," she said.

'There is no threat'

Earlier on Saturday, the operator of Finland's national grid, Finigrid, confirmed to Sky News that electricity is no longer coming into the nation from Russia.

The cut supposedly happened because payments were unable to be processed.

Speaking to Sky News, the senior vice president of Finigrid, Reima Paivinen said: "We are not worried... Russian input totals about 10% of our consumption and the lack of input can be covered by having more national production and by increasing imports from Sweden and the Baltic countries.

"There is no threat that there will be not enough electricity," he added.

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2022-05-14 14:15:00Z
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Jumat, 13 Mei 2022

Shireen Abu Akleh: Israeli security forces attack mourners at Al Jazeera journalist's funeral causing them to almost drop coffin - Sky News

Israeli police have fired tear gas and attempted to arrest mourners at the funeral in Jerusalem of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead whilst covering a raid.

Ms Abu Akleh, 51, was reporting on an Israeli raid in the city of Jenin on Wednesday when she was shot in the head whilst wearing a press vest.

Tear gas was fired outside the hospital where her body was being held in east Jerusalem, and a shrine destroyed.

An hour later, Israeli police arrested mourners chanting outside the Catholic church in Jerusalem's old city.

On Thursday, thousands of people gathered for a memorial service while her body was carried through the streets - with the bulletproof vest on top of the coffin.

At one point Israeli police even attacked the pallbearers, causing the coffin to slip and nearly crash to the ground.

Shortly before the funeral started, the IDF released preliminary findings from their investigation into the killing.

The report says it is still not possible to determine who fired the bullet that killed the journalist, but they concede it could have been an IDF soldier.

The findings will make little difference to the thousands gathered in Jerusalem to bury her - to Palestinians she was murdered and they have lost a voice that spent decades reporting on events in the West Bank

The situation remains very tense.

Reporters who were with Ms Abu Akleh, including one who was shot and wounded, said there were no clashes or militants in the immediate area when she was killed early on Wednesday.

All of them wore protective equipment that clearly identified them as reporters.

Israel has called for a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and for it to hand over the bullet for forensic analysis to determine who fired the fatal round.

The PA has refused, saying it will conduct its own investigation and send the results to the International Criminal Court, which is already investigating possible Israeli war crimes.

Ms Abu Akleh was a Palestinian-American reporter who covered the Middle East conflict for more than 25 years.

She joined Al Jazeera's Arabic-language service in 1997 and rose to prominence covering the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising against Israeli rule, in the early 2000s.

Recent days have seen an outpouring of grief from across the Palestinian territories and the wider Arab world.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera had earlier said that its managing director, Ahmad Alyafei, would travel to Jerusalem to attend the funeral.

In the UK, the shadow foreign secretary and the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson for foreign affairs said the perpetrators needed to be held accountable for the killing.

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, tweeted: "There must be accountability for the death of Shireen Abu Akleh.

"These scenes of mourners being beaten are indefensible and only heighten demands for justice and add to her family's pain."

Layla Moran, a Liberal Democrat MP of Palestinian descent, tweeted: "Shireen was loved across the entire Arab world, regardless of which community. They should be allowed to mourn.

"The Israeli army storming the funeral like this completely unacceptable and I expect a full condemnation by
[Foreign Secretary] Liz Truss. But I know I won't get it."

She called for the UK government to "ensure a full, independent investigation is carried out".

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2022-05-13 15:33:45Z
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Turkey's president objects to Finland and Sweden's Nato applications - Financial Times

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has come out against allowing Sweden and Finland to join Nato, putting the two Nordic countries’ hopes of joining the western military alliance in jeopardy.

In a move that risks striking a blow to Turkey’s efforts to strengthen its ties with the US and Europe in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Erdoğan — whose country has been a Nato member since 1952 — said on Friday that he could not take a “positive view” of the two nations’ potential bids for membership.

The obstacle was their support for the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long armed insurgency against the Turkish state, he said. It is classified as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and the EU. The Turkish president also named a far-left extremist group.

“Scandinavian countries are like some kind of guest house for terrorist organisations,” Erdoğan told reporters, referring to the Nordic countries. “They are even in parliament.”

He added: “At this point, it’s not possible for us to look positively at this.”

Some Swedish officials and MPs have been worried that Turkey could pose the most dangerous opposition to a potential Nato bid, which appears to be backed by most of the alliance’s other 29 members but requires unanimous support.

“There are a lot of Kurds in Sweden, there are a lot of MPs with Kurdish background, Sweden has been active on the Kurdish issue — I’m afraid there could be a backlash,” one senior Swedish official said earlier this month.

Finnish and Swedish diplomats have been crossing Europe and the Atlantic to curry favour with Nato members, whose ratification is necessary for them to become members.

Ann Linde, Sweden’s foreign minister, told Swedish radio on Friday that Turkey could be trying to use the situation to gain something it wanted. “We know that ratification processes always involve uncertainties, not least that the ratification could be used for domestic politics,” she added.

Finnish officials have focused particularly on Hungary, which they feared could seek concessions to approve their membership.

Finnish president Sauli Niinistö spoke with Erdoğan on April 4, describing the phone call as “positive” on Twitter and adding: “Turkey supports Finland’s objectives.”

Nato officials have said they expect both Finland and Sweden to become formal invitees within “a couple of weeks” but that it could take six to 12 months for all 30 existing members to ratify their applications.

Finland’s government will meet on Sunday with president Niinistö set to finalise the country’s application. On the same day, Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats will make their position known before an announcement by the government next week. The countries could choose to send their applications to Nato jointly next week during a state visit of Niinistö to Stockholm.

Turkey had suffered from strained relations with Nato allies in recent years. The US imposed sanctions in 2020 in retaliation for Erdoğan’s decision to buy and take delivery of a Russian-made S-400 air defence system.

Western nations had been buoyed by Turkey’s support for Ukraine in the aftermath of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion, with Ankara supplying armed drones to Kyiv and taking steps to limit the transit of Russian warships and military planes through its airspace — although it has refused to sign up to western sanctions against Moscow.

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2022-05-13 13:20:31Z
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North Korea announces first COVID death with 350,000 treated for fever spreading 'explosively', state media says - Sky News

North Korea has announced its first COVID death, a day after the country confirmed its first official coronavirus case since the pandemic began.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said 350,000 people have been treated for a fever that has spread "explosively" across the country.

KCNA said five other people have died, but it wasn't immediately clear how many of the total illnesses were from COVID-19.

On Thursday, the country's leader ordered a strict national lockdown, after state media confirmed the first official COVID outbreak from an unspecified number of people in the capital Pyongyang, who contracted Omicron.

KCNA said of the 350,000 people who developed fevers since late April, 162,200 have recovered.

It added that 18,000 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Thursday alone, and 187,800 people are being isolated for treatment.

Mr Kim visited the emergency epidemic prevention headquarters on Thursday and criticised officials for failing to prevent "a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system".

He said the spread of the fever has been centered around the capital and underscored the importance of isolating all work and residential units from one another while providing convenience during the lockdown.

It is possible that the spread of the virus was accelerated by a massive military parade in the capital on 25 April, where Mr Kim showcased the most powerful missiles of his military in front of tens of thousands.

An analyst at South Korea's Sejong Institute, Cheong Seong-Chang, said the pace of the fever's spread suggests the crisis could last months and possibly into 2023, causing major disruption in the poorly equipped country.

Yesterday's announcement of the virus outbreak posed concerns over the country's poor health care system and its 26 million people who are believed to be mostly unvaccinated.

North Korea has so far shunned vaccines offered by the UN-backed COVAX distribution scheme, possibly because those have international monitoring requirements.

The country has also closed its border to nearly all trade and visitors for two years, which shocked an economy already damaged by crippling US-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programme.

Some experts say the announcement of the outbreak may signal a willingness to receive outside aid.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Thursday that Beijing was offering North Korea help in dealing with the outbreak.

South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the South was willing to provide medical assistance and other help to North Korea based on humanitarian considerations.

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2022-05-13 05:50:28Z
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Baltic states hail Finland and Sweden's expected Nato accession - Financial Times

The three Baltic states have hailed Sweden and Finland’s expected accession to Nato as dramatically improving their own security and ability to repel any attack from Russia.

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania told the Financial Times they would seek to ratify any membership application from Finland and Sweden as quickly as possible.

Finland’s president and prime minister said on Thursday that the country “must apply” within days. It is expected to do so, along with Sweden, as the Nordic nations draw conclusions from Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, which is not a member of the western defence alliance.

“The Baltic Sea becomes a Nato sea,” said Edgars Rinkēvičs, Latvia’s foreign minister. His Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a separate interview: “It’s a very clear message that the northern part of Europe is Nato territory. For all practical, political and security perspectives, it would be safer.”

The Baltics have long worried about Finnish and Swedish islands in the Baltic Sea potentially being used as bases to attack them. Russian TV has periodically shown an invasion starting on the Swedish island of Gotland, dubbed by many military analysts as an “aircraft carrier in the middle of the Baltic Sea”.

The Baltic ministers said both they and Nato would benefit from Finland and Sweden’s strong militaries and Finland’s fleet of US fighter jets, as well as the alliance’s collective defence pledge for both nations.

“Finland is fully interoperable with Nato armed forces, as we have experienced in joint international missions. This accession means that Nato itself will be significantly strengthened and, at the same time, it would also reinforce the security environment in northern Europe and the Baltic Sea region,” said Eva-Maria Liimets, Estonia’s foreign minister.

However, the Baltic leaders stressed that their welcome for the Nordic nations’ expected applications did not undercut their demands for Nato to increase its presence in their own countries. Rinkēvičs and Landsbergis agreed with Kaja Kallas, Estonia’s prime minister, who on Thursday said Nato’s current proposals for reinforcing the defence of the Baltics were not enough.

All three nations want Nato to boost its multinational battle groups in each from battalions of about 1,000 troops to brigades of 3,000-5,000. They also want the Baltic air policing mission to be upgraded to air defence, giving it the capability to shoot down any potential Russian intruders in their airspace.

The latest development “does not change our demand for Nato increase in Baltic region,” Rinkēvičs said. “There are still issues to be addressed. The current security situation requires bolder plans by the alliance.”

Landsbergis said Nato must ensure there was “a very clear consensus that every inch of Nato territory will be defended”, as opposed to the alliance’s previous plan based on potentially losing the Baltics and repelling Russia from Poland and the rest of Europe.

Lithuania’s foreign minister noted that to come close to matching Russia’s strength in the region, Nato needed to deploy more troops in the Baltics.

But, he added: “For quite a while there was a discussion on how the Baltic region would be defended in case of a Russian attack. It was agreed it was not that easy. From a strategic standpoint the accession of Sweden and Finland changes the situation.”

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2022-05-13 04:00:43Z
1423582373

Live news: Failed Russian river crossing illustrates pressure on commanders in Ukraine, UK says - Financial Times

Toshiba has said it has received interest from ten potential partners, paving the way for a heated battle between Bain Capital, KKR, Blackstone and other investors to take the scandal-ridden Japanese conglomerate private.

The group, which has a market value of $18.3bn, on Friday said it was inviting non-binding proposals, which bidders had until May 30 to submit. The company recently set up a special committee to explore a buyout option to resolve its longstanding deadlock with activist shareholders.

The number of approaches underlines the intense interest in a potential deal, which would be Japan’s biggest ever and a historic moment for private equity.

But analysts say the main challenge for the bidders is forming a consortium that would be acceptable to Japanese regulators. Toshiba’s businesses stretch across sensitive areas including nuclear power, defence and semiconductors.

While the company has sought to move beyond its long period of turmoil and financial trouble, there were signs of lingering division within Toshiba.

Just hours before it was set to announce its slate of board directors, the company cancelled its news conference, saying it needed more time to come up with the candidates ahead of the annual general meeting next month.

Investors are awaiting Toshiba’s nominee for the new chair of the board to replace Satoshi Tsunakawa, who has held the post on an interim basis.

Toshiba also said on Friday that it had hired JPMorgan and Mizuho as financial advisers in addition to Nomura. It has provided detailed information on its business and finance to the ten candidates who submitted a confidentiality pledge.

Multiple investors have shown interest in taking the 140-year-old conglomerate private. In April, Bain secured qualified support for a buyout deal from Toshiba’s largest shareholder, Singaporean investment fund Effissimo, although it remains unclear who its Japanese partner would be.

In addition to Bain, KKR, another US private equity group, is discussing a joint bid with Blackstone.

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2022-05-13 08:23:44Z
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Sabtu, 14 Mei 2022

Jumat, 13 Mei 2022

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