RT News - January 27th 2023 Late

Battle for Donetsk: RT follows Russian troops in their fierce battle for a stronghold of Ukrainian forces in a Donetsk suburb.
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Press "more" below for expanded news detail.
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Criminal Hypocrisy: Celebration of Nord Stream pipeline blasts and bragging about foreign interference. These are just some of the achievements US diplomat Victoria Nuland claims to be proud of at a recent Senate hearing. Rachel Marsden reports.
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"Foreign policy is not a joke": African Union officials respond to Germany's criticism of the Russian Foreign Minister's Africa tour, as Moscow builds closer ties on the continent. Karabo Letlhathla reports.
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TIK-TOK: Leaked emails reveal that the F.B.I. failed to find any concrete evidence to justify the TIKTOK ban and that reports to the contrary from U.S. officials were entire fabrication. Report from Caleb Maupin
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Russia/Africa space cooperation: In Kinshasa a bust to Russian cosmonaut Uri Gagarin was unveiled
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Guam military base Camp Blaz: The U.S. will reopen the marine base in Guam to "bolster military defence" in the region. (QS - the flight from Guam to it's closest airport is 14 hours 10 minutes around 9,800 kms away) Nelson Wong discusses.

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Via RT website **** A) --- Russian foreign ministry puts question to Stoltenberg
B) --- Top US official hails Nord Stream 2 blast

1) --- Kremlin responds to Nuland’s sanctions offer
2) --- Russian media watchdog takes on CIA website
3) --- Hungarian FM accuses Germany of hampering major project
3a) --- EU member to block sanctions on Russian nuclear industry – PM
4) --- Thousands of Italians sign up against Zelensky speech
5) --- Urgent health warning issued in Australia
6) --- Ukraine threatens Olympic boycott
6a) ---- this tweet upset a lot of Africans (and me)
7) EU has second thoughts on duty-free food from Ukraine – media

11) --- US should ‘liberate Canada from Trudeau’ – Tucker Carlson

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27 Jan, 2023 14:03

A) --- Russian foreign ministry puts question to Stoltenberg

Did the NATO chief take people for “morons” when he claimed the bloc is not party to the Ukraine conflict, Moscow asked

NATO is fully engaged in the Ukrainian conflict, and people in its member states should see through the deception, when the bloc's leadership claims otherwise, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. She cited recent remarks made by its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to German media, in which he reiterated the non-involvement claim.

“Do you actually consider the citizens of the EU and NATO total morons?” she wondered, during a media briefing on Friday. “Do you believe that as you send tanks, which require maintenance … you still are not party to the conflict? Who are you, then? Explain. Just invent some new term to identify yourself.”

"...Citizens of NATO states should know: their bloc is fully engaged in confrontation with our nation, and this confrontation is escalating...."

Stoltenberg and others who deny Western participation are at odds with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who this week shared her assessment that the EU was “at war with Russia,” Zakharova observed. Berlin’s foreign policy chief has “crossed out” all assurances to the contrary made by the NATO chief, she added.

Baerbock’s remark faced pushback from other members of the EU, who rejected the German official’s narrative. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic commented that his nation’s being at war with Russia was news to him and wished Berlin “good luck this time” unlike during World War II.

Zakharova accused Stoltenberg of “lying to the people of Ukraine for many years” to incite hostilities with Russia. Western leaders also lied when they negotiated the Minsk Agreements, she added, referring to the 2014-2015 deal that was supposed to resolve the conflict in Donbass.

Those agreements were mediated by then-Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel and then-President of France Francois Hollande, who co-signed a declaration of their endorsement with then-Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Poroshenko, Merkel and Hollande acknowledged last year that, in reality, the process was meant to afford Ukraine time for a military build-up.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570568-stoltenberg-zakharova-nato-lies/
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27 Jan, 2023 14:03

B) --- Top US official hails Nord Stream 2 blast

The Biden administration is very happy to know the pipeline is “a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea,” Victoria Nuland said

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland has expressed joy over the destruction of Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. She also argued that, even if the US had sanctioned the infrastructure weeks before the Ukraine conflict broke out, this would not have prevented hostilities.

During a Senate hearing on Thursday, Nuland was asked by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) whether his legislation aimed at sanctioning the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was voted down in January 2022, could have stopped the conflict before it began.

“Like you, I am, and I think the administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea,” Nuland said. She noted that she had been involved in negotiations with Russia prior to the conflict in a bid to “prevent this war.”

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were heavily damaged by underwater explosions in September, in what were widely thought to be sabotage attacks. Moscow has consistently denied involvement and denounced the incident as a “terrorist attack.”

Nuland insisted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “bound and determined to go into Ukraine” and that cutting Nord Stream 2 off in January would not have been “decisive” for him.

Nord Stream 2 was to be a route for the delivery of natural gas from Russia directly to Germany. Berlin suspended certification of the pipeline following Moscow’s recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics in February. With the conflict raging in Ukraine in March, Nuland claimed that the project is currently “dead” and is unlikely to be revived.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev also claimed that Moscow had obtained “certain materials, which point to a Western trace in organizing and executing” the blasts.

While nobody has claimed responsibility for the Nord Stream explosions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the incident as a “tremendous opportunity,” which would enable EU countries to become less dependent on Russian energy.

Moscow officials have repeatedly said the US was the primary beneficiary of the blasts, with Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov arguing last month that, by weaning itself of Russian energy, the EU would conveniently become “addicted” to American energy instead.
https://www.rt.com/news/570572-nuland-celebrates-nord-stream-blast/
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27 Jan, 2023 14:45

1) --- Kremlin responds to Nuland’s sanctions offer

The controversial US diplomat has rehashed old talking points that are unacceptable for Moscow, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

The US is leaving no room for compromise on sanctions and potential negotiations with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

His statement came after US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland suggested that restrictions on Moscow could be eased if it hands back its newly incorporated territories to Ukraine.

“We still don’t see anything [new] in Madame Nuland’s words. We are absolutely not inclined to exaggerate their importance,” Peskov told reporters.

The spokesman added that Nuland “has practically repeated the set of theses that show… the lack of flexibility in the position of the US, which, in turn, is completely different from our position.”

During a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, Nuland suggested that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would “favor sanctions relief” if Moscow decides to “negotiate seriously and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and return territory.”

In December 2013, Nuland openly backed the anti-government protests in Kiev. She toured the capital’s main square, the Maidan, offering loaves of bread and other snacks to protesters and police officers. Two months later, a leaked phonecall revealed that Nuland was discussing who should be included in Ukraine’s new government with Geoffrey Pyatt, the US ambassador to the country at the time.

Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in late February last year, citing the need to protect the people of Donbass, and Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk 2014-15 peace accords. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, together with two other former Ukrainian territories – the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions – became parts of Russia after referendums on the matter in September. Crimea did the same shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev.

Ukrainian officials have insisted on the surrender of the territories by Russia as a precondition for future negotiations. In addition, President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree last year stating “the impossibility” of holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelensky told Sky News on Wednesday that he was not interested in a meeting with Putin, who he said was “a nobody” to him.

Moscow has previously stressed that demands to give up land are unacceptable. Peskov said on Thursday that Zelensky was untrustworthy as “he did not intend to implement the [Minsk] agreements and was preparing for war.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed last month that the Ukrainian leadership was dominated by “brazen Russophobes” incapable of negotiating.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570569-peskov-nuland-ukraine-sanctions/
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27 Jan, 2023 15:34

2) --- Russian media watchdog takes on CIA website

Roskomnadzor has blocked access to the webpage along with those of FBI and US State Department

The official websites of US intelligence agencies have been blocked in Russia after state media watchdog Roskomnadzor put them on a blacklist on Friday for spreading misinformation and discrediting Russia’s armed forces.

The block affected the websites of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as well as the US State Department counterintelligence and counterterrorism platform.

When trying to access cia.gov, fbi.gov or rewardsforjustice.net from Russia, the browser returns a message stating that “the resource at this IP address has been blocked by decision of the state authorities” or simply informs the user that it is “unable to access the site.”

In a statement to the TASS news agency, Roskomnadzor explained that the websites were found to be in violation of Russian Federal laws pertaining to information, information technologies and information protection.

"On the basis of Federal Law No. 149-FZ, Roskomnadzor restricted access to a number of resources belonging to state structures of hostile countries for the distribution of materials aimed at destabilizing the social and political situation in the Russian Federation," the agency said.

The US has been playing an active role in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and has supplied Kiev with billions of dollars worth of military aid, and has also provided logistical and intelligence support.

Last week it was revealed that CIA chief William Burns had personally traveled to Ukraine to hold a classified meeting with President Vladimir Zelensky where he reportedly briefed the Ukrainian leader on “Russia’s next steps,” according to Reuters. Burns also made similar trips to Ukraine last November and in January 2022 – weeks before Moscow launched its offensive.

In November of last year, the CIA’s espionage chief David Marlowe also announced that his agency was “open for business” and hoping to capitalize on Russians disaffected by the ongoing military conflict between Moscow and Kiev, and to recruit them for counterintelligence efforts.
https://www.rt.com/russia/570578-roskomnadzor-blocks-cia-website/
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27 Jan, 2023 15:30

3) --- Hungarian FM accuses Germany of hampering major project

Berlin’s behavior is “unacceptable,” Peter Szijjarto said

Green Party ministers in Germany’s coalition government are blocking work to modernize Hungary’s Paks nuclear power plant, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. Upgrades at the plant, which account for half of the country’s electricity production, are being carried out by Russian nuclear agency Rosatom and a number of European firms.

France’s Framatome and Germany’s Siemens Energy were contracted to supply control systems for new reactors at the facility in central Hungary, but haven’t done so yet due to opposition from Berlin, Szijjarto said during a press conference on Friday.

“The French export authority has granted Framatome permission to supply the control systems, but two Green ministers in the German government – the economy and foreign minister (Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck) – are blocking the issue of similar permits to Siemens Energy for the time being. This is unacceptable,” he said.

Szijjarto stressed that sanctions imposed on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine do not currently restrict EU cooperation with Moscow in the area of civil use of atomic energy. According to the minister, Baerbock and Habeck are throwing roadblocks in front of the Paks 2 project purely out of “political or ideological reasons” with “no legal basis.”

He also pointed out that Hungary does not possess rich oil and gas deposits, which makes the nuclear power plant essential for its energy security.

“We have been using nuclear energy for four decades. We signed a contract with Rosatom to build new reactors nine years ago, and the Hungarian people have already paid the price for the war next door,” Szijjarto said, referring to the conflict in Ukraine.

Also on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that Budapest “will not allow the [EU’s] plan to include nuclear energy in the sanctions to be implemented.” Any attempts by Brussels to impose restrictions on cooperation with Russia in the area “must obviously be vetoed,” Orban insisted.

Earlier this week, Szijjarto said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba had called upon the EU to include the Russian nuclear sector in its next sanctions package. The Hungarian foreign minister said that, while some of the bloc’s members support the idea, it would never be accepted by Budapest.
https://www.rt.com/news/570571-hungary-nuclear-germany-ukraine/
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27 Jan, 2023 09:57

3a) --- EU member to block sanctions on Russian nuclear industry – PM

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said new penalties will only accelerate inflation

Hungary will veto any EU sanctions that may affect collaboration with Russia’s nuclear energy sector, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday in an interview with state radio.

Kiev has repeatedly called on the 27-nation bloc to include the Russian nuclear industry on its list of sanctions, with some member states supporting the idea.

Hungarian authorities had previously said that cooperation with Russia on nuclear energy is essential for Budapest, which is planning to expand a Russian-built nuclear power plant.

“We will not allow the [EU's] plan to include nuclear energy in the sanctions to be implemented,” the premier said, stressing that penalties against nuclear energy “must obviously be vetoed.”

The new punitive measures are “out of the question,” Orban said, adding that they would accelerate inflation in the landlocked country.

The Paks nuclear power plant, which is the only one of its kind in Hungary, was commissioned in the early 1980s and uses Soviet nuclear technology. Hungary wants to more than double its capacity with two new reactors, built by Russian state-run nuclear firm Rosatom. Generating nearly half of the country's power, the plant also gets its nuclear fuel from Russia.

Budapest’s uncompromising position on the issue was previously voiced by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The targets that the European Commission is expected to include in its tenth package of anti-Russia sanctions have yet to be shared with EU member states.

The Hungarian government has repeatedly criticized the EU’s Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia, noting the penalties have failed to weaken the country in a meaningful way but risk destroying the European economy.
https://www.rt.com/business/570549-hungary-veto-sanctions-russia-energy/
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27 Jan, 2023 15:51

11) --- US should ‘liberate Canada from Trudeau’ – Tucker Carlson

The Canadian prime minister leads an “authoritarian government,” the Fox News host declared

The US should send troops across its northern border to “liberate” Canada from under the yoke of Justin Trudeau, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his daytime show. Trudeau, who ordered a draconian crackdown on anti-lockdown protesters last year, is letting his country “become Cuba,” Carlson added.

“I’m completely in favor of a Bay of Pigs operation to liberate that country,” he said on Thursday’s episode of ‘Tucker Carlson Today’, referring to the failed CIA-backed attempt to overthrow Cuba’s communist government in 1961.

“Why should we stand back and let our biggest trading partner, the country with which we share the longest border… why should we let it become Cuba?” Carlson continued. “Like, why don’t we liberate it?”

see tweet https://twitter.com/br00t4c/status/1618787499458936833

“We’re spending all this money to liberate Ukraine from the Russians, why are we not sending an armed force north to liberate Canada from Trudeau?” he asked, before laughing and saying that he had talked himself “into a frenzy.”

Carlson is noted for his deadpan humor, but the Fox host is also a fierce critic of Canada’s liberal leader. He slated Trudeau for introducing emergency powers last February enabling him to – among other things – seize the bank accounts of truckers protesting against his government’s hugely controversial vaccine mandate.

“Justin Trudeau is the dictator of Canada,” he said at the time. “If you think that’s an overstatement, try to think of another way to describe what Justin Trudeau is now doing.”

Carlson has also been a persistent critic of the Biden administration’s Ukraine policy – which has seen Washington spend more than $110 billion propping up Vladimir Zelensky’s economy and military with bailouts and progressively heavier armaments. The conservative pundit has insisted that American money would be better spent fixing the US economy and border, and that Zelensky is attempting to drag the US into an open war with Russia.
https://www.rt.com/news/570580-tucker-carlson-liberate-canada/
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27 Jan, 2023 14:50

4) --- Thousands of Italians sign up against Zelensky speech

The actor-turned-president is due to speak at the country’s largest song competition

Tens of thousands of Italians have signed a petition protesting Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s planned address at a Eurovision-style song contest. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told reporters that the event “should remain the festival of Italian song and nothing else.”

The petition, which blames the Ukrainian conflict on NATO and on Kiev’s “brutal repression” of Russian-speakers in Donbass, has gained around 33,000 signatures, Reuters reported on Friday morning.

It calls on the organizers of the Sanremo Music Festival – a Eurovision-style contest held every year since the 1950s – to withdraw their invitation to Zelensky, who is set to speak via video link on the final night of the contest on February 11.

“Zelensky? I don’t know how he sings,” Salvini told journalists on Thursday. “If I have time to watch [state television] it will be to listen to songs, not to listen to anything else.”

Salvini said that while he supports the “Western position” on the conflict, the stage at Sanremo should “remain reserved for music.”

Former lawmaker Alessandro Di Battista is organizing a “counter-festival” to protest Zelensky’s appearance, Italy’s Il Post newspaper reported, while Gianni Cuperlo of the center-left Democratic Party declared that the organizers of the Sanremo festival shouldn’t “confuse” politics with entertainment.

In the 11 months since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, Zelensky has been on a PR blitz in the West. The former actor and comedian has addressed the Glastonbury music festival in the UK, spoken at the Cannes and Venice film festivals, and earlier this month appeared at the Golden Globes, all via video link from Kiev.

Zelensky himself requested permission to speak at Sanremo, Il Post reported.

Support for Zelensky and NATO’s efforts in Ukraine is lower in Italy than in most Western European countries. According to a poll published earlier this month, 50% of Italians oppose their country’s arms shipments to Kiev, while around the same number favor a quick end to the conflict, even if that involves Ukraine conceding lost territory.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged her “full commitment to supporting the Ukrainian cause.”
https://www.rt.com/news/570574-zelensky-italy-speech-salvini/
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27 Jan, 2023 16:01

5) --- Urgent health warning issued in Australia

A tiny capsule containing radioactive material capable of causing acute radiation sickness has been lost in west of the country

Authorities in Western Australia issued an emergency health alert on Friday, warning people about a tiny capsule emitting a "reasonable" amount of radiation that has been lost in the area. The WA chief health officer, Andy Robertson, urged people to stay away from the object if they find it.

"As a source, it emits both beta rays and gamma rays. So if you have contact or have it close to you, you could either end up with skin damage, including skin burns, over a period of time," Robertson said, adding that "one of the long-term risks if exposed to a source like this is cancer."

The capsule in question is a tiny object that is six millimeters long and eight millimeters high, or smaller than Australia’s ten-cent coin. It is believed to have fallen from a truck traveling along the 1,400-kilometer-long highway between a mine site near the city of Newman in the northern part of Western Australia and a depot in the northern suburb of the south-western city of Perth. The exact location where the capsule might have fallen from the vehicle is unknown.

The capsule emits an amount of radiation equivalent to ten X-rays in an hour if a person is within one meter of it. That is roughly the amount of natural radiation a person is exposed to over the course of a year. The capsule is said to have been lost on January 10.

Now, authorities are urging all motorists who traveled along the relevant highway after January 10 to check their tires in case the capsule has become lodged in one of them. Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said that the item cannot be weaponized but still urged caution.

The DFES told people to stay at least five meters away from anything that resembles the capsule and to immediately contact the service instead. It is now leading the search effort it launched together with the Health Department, the police, and some other specialists.

"The capsule remains unfound," DFES Country North chief superintendent David Gill said on Friday, adding that searching for such a tiny object in an area spanning over 1,400 kilometers does pose "challenges."
https://www.rt.com/news/570581-urgent-health-alert-australia-radioactive/
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27 Jan, 2023 14:32

6) --- Ukraine threatens Olympic boycott

Russia and Belarus may be permitted to send neutral delegations to the 2024 Olympics

Ukraine may opt to boycott the Paris Olympics in 2024 if Russian and Belarusian athletes are permitted to compete, the country’s Sports Minister Vadim Guttsait has warned.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week said it was exploring options to reintegrate athletes from both countries into the Olympic fold, 11 months on from the IOC imposing sanctions actions Russia and Belarus following the onset of military action in Ukraine.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) extended an invitation to Russia and Belarus to potentially compete in the Asian Games in September, which could provide a platform for athletes to participate in Olympic qualification events.

Russia has traditionally competed in the European qualification network but has been restricted from doing so as a result of the sanctions imposed by the IOC.

But the Ukrainian sports minister, who is also the President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU), said he will lobby to ensure that Russian and Belarusian isolation from international sporting events continues.

“For the whole Ukrainian sports community, this is a question of principle!” he wrote on Facebook, via translation.

“In this, we are supported by both the President of our state, and all society.

“Part of the International Federations are outraged by the IOC’s efforts to promote the return of Russians and Belarusians.

“We have addressed and will address all international organizations that can influence the situation and whose opinions the IOC members can listen to.

“Our position is unchanged: as long as there is a war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes should not be in international competitions!!!

“If we are not heard, I do not rule out the possibility that we will boycott and refuse participation in the Olympics.”

(QS there's a link to Telegram which I can't make work - maybe you can? https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn2IjwRPFSE/ )

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky detailed this week in a message on Telegram that he held a telephone call with French president Emmanuel Macron, in which he stressed that Russian and Belarusian athletes have “no place” in the French capital next year.

However, in a subsequent statement the IOC insisted that penalizing individual athletes due to their nationalities is contrary to the Olympic Charter.

Among the term outlined by the IOC for the eligibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes included a strict adherence to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, as well as a declaration that athletes must maintain a stance of neutrality amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The IOC also stated that the sanctions against both governments must continue.

Following the IOC’s statement, figures in Moscow said that moves to reinstate Russian and Belarusian competitors was a step in the right direction – but again noted opposition to the sanctions as a whole.

“I perceive the information from the IOC as an attempt to take a step towards the athletes,” Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) President Stanislav Pozdnyakov said.

“But at the same time, unfortunately, it is also two steps in the opposite direction.

“In fact, [the] statement is an attempt to correct a mistake that has already resulted in groundless restrictions for Russian and Belarusian sports for almost a year and has caused great damage to all international sports.”
https://www.rt.com/sport/570567-olympics-paris-ukraine-boycott/
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6a) ---- this tweet upset a lot of Africans (and me)

https://twitter.com/EbbaKalondo/status/1618357199990063105

27 Jan, 2023 11:44

Berlin apologizes after African Union accuses it of insult

The German Foreign Office made a botched joke about Russia’s foreign minister visiting the continent “not to see leopards”

Germany’s attempt to mock the trip of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Africa has backfired after the African Union chided Berlin over the use of a stereotypical emoji. The criticism prompted Berlin to issue a hasty apology.

On Tuesday, the German Foreign Office tweeted that Lavrov had embarked on a tour of Africa “not to see leopards, but to bluntly claim that Ukraine’s partners ‘want to destroy everything Russian’.” The word ‘leopards’ was depicted in the form of an emoji.

Local officials, including Ebba Kalondo, spokeswoman for African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki, were unimpressed by the pun.

On Thursday, she noted that German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recently visited the organization, which “is based in one of the more than 20 African countries that Germany enjoys reciprocal diplomatic relations with”.

“Did she come to see animals? Or is the Continent of Africa, its people and wildlife just a joke to you?” she asked.

The rebuke prompted Berlin to backtrack on its comments. “Point taken and sorry. We value our African partners. Our tweet was in no way intended to mean offense,” the ministry wrote. It explained that the leopard emoji referred to the Leopard 2 tanks Berlin recently promised to send Kiev to help it in the conflict with Moscow.

“We wanted to call out the lies that Russia uses to justify its imperialist war of aggression against Ukraine,” it added.

In response, Kalondo advised Berlin not to apologize, but to “be careful” and treat its partners with respect. “Foreign policy is not a joke nor should it be used to score cheap geopolitical points by illustrating an entire Continent with colonial tropes on any issue.”

Established in 2002, the African Union is a 55-member international organization which seeks to promote unity and solidarity in the region.

During his Africa trip, Sergey Lavrov has visited South Africa, Eswatini, Angola, and Eritrea. On Friday, the diplomat accused Western media of biased coverage of his foreign tour, claiming that some reporters working in African countries “were openly presenting the interests of the Western information machine” and “distorting” the real picture of the events.
https://www.rt.com/news/570548-african-union-germany-colonial-trope/
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27 Jan, 2023 14:18

7) EU has second thoughts on duty-free food from Ukraine – media

The bloc claims that the influx of goods from the country undermines regional trade

The European Commission (EC) may reconsider its special suspension of all tariffs and quotas on Ukrainian agricultural food exports in the coming weeks after some EU states complained that duty-free supplies put their farmers at a disadvantage, Euractiv reported on Wednesday.

Last May, Brussels swiftly approved a one-year temporary trade liberalization scheme which suspended import duties on all agri-food deliveries from Ukraine shortly after the outbreak of military hostilities in the country.

The measure, meant to boost Ukraine’s economy and contribute to the country’s gradual integration into the EU’s internal market, is up for review in June 2023.

But the bloc is already rushing to reconsider the arrangement, in response to “growing pressure” from Poland, Hungary and Romania, Euractiv said, citing a source familiar with the matter. They are reportedly urging Brussels to “tackle the negative impact” of duty-free imports from Ukraine which have disrupted competitiveness in the region and put EU farmers at risk.

Some agricultural producers have been calling for compensation, while others, such as grain growers in Romania and Poland, warn that an influx of Ukrainian grain via so-called solidarity lanes was pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy.

The EU initiative of the solidarity lanes was launched last May to help Kiev export agricultural goods via all possible routes – including rail, road and river transport – and has turned out to be more popular than the lawmakers initially expected.

“Nobody predicted this level of success when the solidarity lanes were launched, but, of course, it comes at a cost, in terms of the disruption to local trade in the neighboring countries,” EC deputy director-general Michael Scannell told lawmakers during a meeting of the EU Parliament’s agriculture committee in early January.

Countries bordering Ukraine have also urged Brussels to reconsider the customs agreement for some cereals imported from the country. In particular they have called for tighter control of sanitary measures, highlighting the potential risk of importing contaminated grains.

EU data shows Kiev exported a total of three million tons of grain in December. And, while insisting on the importance of agricultural imports from Ukraine, European officials admit that the initiative presents a “challenge for our farmers.” The bloc’s executives are set to debate the arrangement during the upcoming meeting of EU agriculture ministers.
https://www.rt.com/business/570480-eu-ukraine-agricultural-exports/
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