Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Russia
Newsline: Chinese diplomat says Ukraine peace talks should include Russia
Beijing supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with Russia’s RIA state news agency in remarks published on Tuesday. “China supports a timely convening of an international peace conference, approved by the Russian and Ukrainian sides, with equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all options for peace,” RIA cited the ambassador as saying. (https://neuters.de/world/europe/ukraine-peace-talks-should-include-russia-chinese-diplomat-says-2024-05-07/) Switzerland will host talks during a two-day high-level conference on June 15-16 aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, to which Moscow has not been invited. On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a visit to France, appeared to be lukewarm on the Swiss conference. Moscow has said it sees no point in Ukraine peace talks in Switzerland, while Kyiv has said it sees no place at the summit, held near the Swiss city of Lucerne, for Russia. Beijing put forward a 12-point paper more than a year ago that set out general principles for ending the war but did not get into specifics.
Newsline: Russia expels Slovenian diplomat in retaliatory move
Russia expelled a Slovenian diplomat in a tit-for-tat retaliatory move after Ljubljana ordered a Russian diplomat to leave, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday. (https://neuters.de/world/europe/russia-expels-slovenian-diplomat-retaliatory-move-2024-04-12/) In a statement, the ministry said it had also told Slovenia’s top envoy that Ljubljana was responsible for what it called the “destruction of bilateral relations” between the two countries.
Newsline: Russia expels Moldovan embassy employee in tit-for-tat move
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Friday it had summoned Moldova’s ambassador in Moscow and declared one Moldovan embassy official ‘persona non grata’. The ministry said it acted in response to what it said was the “unmotivated” designation of an employee of Russia’s embassy in Moldova as ‘persona non grata’ on March 19. (https://neuters.de/world/europe/russia-declares-moldovan-embassy-employee-persona-non-grata-2024-03-29/) Moldova, a small ex-Soviet republic which lies between Ukraine and NATO member Romania, expelled a Russian diplomat over the opening of polling stations for Russia’s presidential election in its breakaway region of Transdniestria. Earlier government statements called Russia’s move disrespectful to Moldova’s sovereignty. Transdniestria, heavily dependent on Russia for financial support, has no international recognition, not even from Moscow. Moldova’s foreign ministry said on the Telegram messaging app on Friday that it regretted Moscow’s decision to expel its embassy employee.
Newsline: US embassy in Russia warned Americans about imminent attack by ‘extremists’ weeks ago
The US embassy had warned Americans that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow weeks ahead of the deadly strike on concertgoers by Islamic State militants on Friday that resulted in the deaths of 93 people. In the deadliest attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege, gunmen sprayed civilians with bullets just before Soviet-era rock group “Picnic” was to perform to a full house at the 6,200-seat the Crocus City Hall just west of the capital. The US embassy on 7 March repeatedly urged all American citizens to leave Russia immediately, giving no further details about the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings. “The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the embassy said on its website at that time. (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-embassy-russia-warning-attack-theatre-b2517462.html) Camouflage-clad gunmen on Friday opened fire with automatic weapons at concertgoers, killing 93 people and injuring 145.
Newsline: Website for U.S. Embassy in Russia Goes Down After Cryptic Warning of Terrorist Threat
The U.S. embassy in Russia issued a warning on Thursday that Americans should avoid large gatherings in Moscow for the next 48 hours. The embassy said it was over a potential terrorist threat in the city, but didn’t elaborate beyond mentioning concerts as a potential target. “The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the alert reads, which was also made on X by the U.S. State Department. (https://gizmodo.com/russia-american-isis-terrorist-threat-alert-state-dept-1851318328) And then the embassy’s website appeared to be down. It’s not immediately clear if the embassy website was down because it was flooded with too many people trying to access the site all at once, given the interest in the warning. But that seems like a logical assumption. The U.S. State Department didn’t immediately respond to questions emailed.
Newsline: U.S. embassy warns of imminent attack in Moscow by ‘extremists’
The U.S. embassy in Russia warned that “extremists” had imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State. The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all U.S. citizens to leave Russia immediately, gave no further details about the nature of the threat, but said people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings. “The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the embassy said on its website. (https://neuters.de/world/us-embassy-warns-imminent-extremist-attack-moscow-2024-03-08/) It issued its warning several hours after Russia’s Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a cell of the militant Sunni Muslim group Islamic State. It was unclear if the two statements were linked.
Newsline: Russia warns U.S. ambassador diplomats may be expelled
The Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday it had summoned Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, to warn her it would expel U.S. diplomats it deems to be interfering in its internal affairs. Moscow issued the warning ahead of a March 15-17 presidential election, which President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount leader for over 20 years, is certain to win bar an unexpected development. The foreign ministry said in a statement it would look out for what it called “subversive actions and the spread of information” related to the election. It said such behaviour would be “firmly and resolutely suppressed, up to and including the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of United States Embassy staff involved in such actions.” The foreign ministry also demanded that the U.S. Embassy cease supporting three American nonprofits that it said were running “anti-Russian programmes” in the country aimed at “recruiting ‘agents of influence’ under the guise of educational and cultural exchanges.” (https://neuters.de/world/europe/russia-warns-us-ambassador-it-will-expel-diplomats-who-meddle-its-internal-2024-03-07/) A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said they had no immediate comment.
Newsline: Russia’s foreign ministry summons German ambassador
Russia’s foreign ministry summoned the German ambassador on Monday, the TASS news agency reported, citing an unidentified source, after Russian media published an audio recording of a meeting of senior German military officials. (https://neuters.de/world/europe/russias-foreign-ministry-summons-german-ambassador-tass-reports-2024-03-04/) In the purported call, German officers were heard discussing weapons for Ukraine and a potential strike by Kyiv on a bridge in Crimea, prompting Russian officials to demand an explanation.
Newsline: Russia to summon Israeli ambassador over ‘unacceptable’ comments
Russia’s foreign ministry will summon Israeli ambassador Simona Halperin over “unacceptable comments” she made in an interview, the TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying on Monday. Halperin, according to the ministry, misrepresented Russia’s foreign policy stance in the interview with Russia’s Kommersant daily, published on Sunday. The ministry described her comments as “an extremely unsuccessful start” to her diplomatic posting, which began last December. (https://neuters.de/world/russia-summon-israeli-ambassador-over-unacceptable-comments-tass-2024-02-05/) In the interview, Halperin criticised Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for playing down the importance of the Holocaust and said Russia was being too friendly with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Newsline: Russia’s foreign ministry says it pressed Hamas to free hostages during Moscow visit
The Russian foreign ministry said on Friday it had received a delegation from the Hamas movement and had urged it to release hostages the group is holding in the Gaza strip, including three Russian nationals. The ministry said in a statement that Mikhail Bogdanov, a deputy foreign minister, had received Hamas Politburo member Abu Marzouk. “During the conversation, the focus was on the ongoing confrontation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone, against the backdrop of which the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached catastrophic proportions,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The Russian side stressed the need for the speedy release of civilians captured during the attacks of 7 October 2023 and held by Palestinian factions, including three Russian citizens – A. Kozlov, A. Lobanov and A. Trufanov.” In a separate statement, issued later on Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Bogdanov also held talks with Israel’s ambassador to Russia, Simona Halperin. The Israeli ambassador, it said, “was also informed about the purposeful efforts of Russian diplomacy in the interests of the immediate and unconditional release of civilians held in the Gaza Strip, including Russians”. (https://neuters.de/world/europe/russia-says-it-pressed-hamas-free-hostages-during-moscow-delegation-visit-2024-01-19/) The ministry said Russia supported a comprehensive Middle East settlement based on U.N. Security Council decisions.
Diplomatic Briefing 