The date celebrated by Putin and Zelensky in the opposite way
Russia attends the Victory Parade. Ukraine celebrates Europe Day. The date of May 9 divides Moscow and Kiev, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
RUSSIA – The parade celebrating the Nazi surrender to the USSR at the end of World War II takes place in Moscow’s Red Square. Putin, who built his political speech on the May 9 holiday, will be ‘accompanied’ by the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym Jomart Tokayev, by the president of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, and by the premier of Armenia, Nikol Pashynian. Putin also tried to co-opt the president of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedow with a phone call yesterday morning. But the official Ashgabat newspaper “Neutral Turkmenistan” which reported the news of the talks between the two presidents did not specify whether the invitation was accepted or not. The same goes for the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, also invited by Putin. There should be Aleksandar Lukashenko, president of Belarus, announced in Moscow for a ‘working visit’.
UKRAINE – Kiev goes in a totally opposite direction. President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed to celebrate Europe Day on 9 May in Ukraine as well as in the rest of Europe, as reported by the Ukrinform website on the eve of the visit to Kiev by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
In the document Zelensky proposes to establish Europe Day in Ukraine, “which will be celebrated every year on May 9 together with the member states of the European Union”, considered “the European identity of the Ukrainian people”. This celebration, he added, has “the objective of strengthening the unity of the peoples of Europe and ensuring peace, security and stability on the European continent”.
THE MEETING WITH VON DER LEYEN – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Kiev. During her visit to Kiev, the president of the Commission “will reaffirm her support for Ukraine – says EU executive chief spokesman Eric Mamer – while it is waging a defensive war against Russia. The object of the visit is cooperation between the ‘EU and Ukraine’. The “enlargement process” of the EU to include Ukraine will also be on the table.
EUROPEAN UNION – The European Commission is working on the eleventh package of sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine, which “focuses on the implementation of sanctions, their effectiveness, on how to prevent them from being circumvented”, preventing goods produced in the EU, whose export to Russia is prohibited, “find a way to get to Russia and its military-industrial complex”. This was stated by the chief spokesman of the EU executive, Eric Mamer, during the press briefing in Brussels.
The Commission’s proposal, explains an EU diplomatic source, would contain seven Chinese companies, suspected of aiding the Russian war effort against Ukraine. Subjects from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Central Asian countries and the Caucasus would also be targeted, all suspected of helping Moscow. The package is expected to be discussed by the permanent representatives of the member states at the Coreper meeting the day after tomorrow in Brussels.
CHINA – “We urge the EU not to take this wrong path. Otherwise, China will take resolute action to safeguard our legitimate and lawful rights and interests.” Thus expressed the spokesman for the Beijing Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, after the article in the Financial Times according to which for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, from February 24 last year, Brussels has proposed sanctions against companies Chinese to support the Russian war machine. “We strongly oppose illegal sanctions or long-range jurisdiction against China for China-Russia cooperation,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “The economic and trade cooperation between China and Russia is fully transparent.” It is never against a third party nor does it tolerate interference or coercion from a third party.”
The Asian giant has maintained that it has not supplied weapons to support Russia in the conflict in Ukraine and Wang reiterated that Beijing maintains an “objective and impartial position” on the conflict and supports peace talks. “If this is real news, the EU’s move will erode mutual trust and cooperation with China and sharpen divisions and confrontation in the world, an extremely dangerous fact”.
Türkiye – Turkey will not join US and EU sanctions against Russia. This was announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “We will not join the unilateral sanctions that the US and the EU have imposed on Russia. We decide it in our own interests,” he told Turkish TV channel Lider Haber.
Source-www.adnkronos.com