MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday the Israel-Gaza conflict showed the “failure” of Washington’s Middle East policy and called the creation of “an independent sovereign Palestinian state” a “necessity.”
The Russian leader made the comments while meeting Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani in Moscow, days after Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel.
“I think many people would agree with me that it’s a clear example of the failure of US politics in the Middle East,” Putin said.
He spoke of the “necessity to implement the decisions of the UN Security Council on the creation of an independent sovereign Palestinian state.”
Putin said the US had “tried to monopolize regulating (the conflict) but, unfortunately, were not preoccupied with looking for compromises that would be acceptable for both sides.”
The West had “not taken into account the fundamental interests of the Palestinian people,” he said.
A day earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the creation of a Palestinian state was the “most reliable” solution for peace in Israel.
The Kremlin said earlier on Tuesday that a visit by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, planned before the Hamas attack on Israel, to Moscow was in preparation but did not give a date.
Moscow has said it was concerned that a foreign player could enter the conflict after the US moved warships closer to its ally Israel.
Russia’s Putin says Israel-Gaza conflict shows US ‘failure’ in Middle East
https://arab.news/v6pe4
Russia’s Putin says Israel-Gaza conflict shows US ‘failure’ in Middle East
- Russian leader: US had ‘tried to monopolize regulating (the conflict) but, unfortunately, were not preoccupied with looking for compromises that would be acceptable for both sides’
Gabon’s constitutional court confirms Nguema’s victory
- The Constitutional Court announced a turnout of 70 percent in the election in which some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to participate across more than 3,000 polling stations
DAKAR: Gabon’s constitutional court has confirmed that Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s interim president who staged a 2023 coup, won the Central African nation’s April 12 presidential election.
According to the final results announced by the Constitutional Court, Oligui Nguema won the election with 58,074 votes, which accounts for 94.85 percent.
Oligui Nguema’s tally increased by almost 5 percent compared to the provisional results announced the day after the April 12 vote by the Ministry of the Interior.
He defeated seven other candidates, including the immediate past Prime Minister Alain Claude Bilie-By-Nze, who came in a distant second with 3 percent of votes cast. None of the other six candidates crossed the 1 percent mark.
Bilie-By-Nze recently said that Oligui Nguema took advantage of state resources to support his campaign. The government denies this.
Local observers deemed the conduct of the election satisfactory in nearly all the polling stations monitored.
The Constitutional Court announced a turnout of 70 percent in the election in which some 920,000 voters, including over 28,000 overseas, were registered to participate across more than 3,000 polling stations.
The Interior Ministry had previously announced a higher turnout of 87.21 percent in its provisional results announced the day after the vote.
Gabon’s first election since the 2023 military coup ended a political dynasty that lasted over 50 years.
It was seen as a crucial election for the central African nation’s 2.3 million people, a third of whom live in poverty despite its vast oil wealth.
Oligui Nguema, the former head of the country’s Republican Guard, toppled President Ali Bongo Ondimba nearly two years ago.
He hopes to consolidate his grip on power for a seven-year term in office and is set to be inaugurated on May 3.
African peacekeeping mission in Somalia ‘needs 8,000 more troops’
- Envoys hold a three-day meeting to discuss the security situation and the progress of ‘stabilization mission’
NAIROBI: The African peacekeeping mission in Somalia requires an additional 8,000 troops, even as Burundi is expected to withdraw its contingent, a statement from military heads from troop-contributing countries said.
The African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, or AUSSOM, is tasked with combating the Al-Shabab group, whose attacks are stoking fears of a terrorist resurgence in the Horn of Africa nation.
But Burundi’s planned pullout, which diplomatic sources said was triggered by a spat with Mogadishu over the state of its soldiers’ equipment, would deprive the mission of around one-fifth of its current manpower.
BACKGROUND
Officials say insufficient troops have created security gaps ‘resulting in the resurgence of Al-Shabab taking control of significant territory in both Middle and Lower Shabelle.’
Envoys from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, the African Union, and multilateral organizations held a three-day meeting in Uganda this week to discuss the security situation in Somalia and the progress of AUSSOM.
In a statement, the officials said insufficient troops had created security gaps “resulting in the resurgence of Al-Shabab taking control of significant territory in both Middle and Lower Shabelle.”
“As a consequence, both Jowhar and Mogadishu are under imminent threat by Al-Shabab,” the statement said.
Somalia has long struggled with the violent Islamist insurgency.
However, the Al-Qaeda-linked group had been forced onto the defensive in 2022 and 2023 by Somali forces backed by African Union-led peacekeepers.
Recent attacks in key towns have provoked worries of the organization’s resurgence, with the militants targeting President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s convoy in the capital, Mogadishu, in March.
The security representatives recommended “an additional 8,000 to AUSSOM Troops to address the current security situation in Somalia so as not to roll back the hard-earned gains.”
The mission, which replaced the previous ATMIS deployment, has 11,146 soldiers.
But the withdrawal of Burundi troops with no prospect of replacement “will create more gaps and exacerbate the already deteriorating situation,” the statement added.
Somalia and Burundi have been at loggerheads over the number of troops Burundi should contribute to the mission, with Mogadishu requesting only around 1,000 Burundian soldiers — far below Burundi’s proposal of 2,000.
According to an African diplomat, Somalia “felt that Burundi was not sufficiently equipped for such a large number of soldiers.”
“Our government saw the Somali proposal as a lack of consideration, a lack of respect when you consider the sacrifices Burundi has made to bring peace back to Somalia,” a senior Burundian official said.
A statement by the AU dated April 15 instructed the UN office in Somalia to facilitate the repatriation of Burundi’s contingent.
The envoys also addressed the mission’s significant financial challenges, urging international partners to address the deficit of $96 million for ATMIS and $60 million to cover four months of AUSSOM — which has been in operation since January.
Trump expresses doubts Putin is willing to end the Ukraine war, a day after saying a deal was close
- “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said
- “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?”
ROME: President Donald Trump said Saturday that he doubts Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants to end his war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were ” very close to a deal.”
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in a social media post as he flew back to the United States after attending Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican, where he met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through “Banking” or “Secondary Sanctions?” Too many people are dying!!!” Trump wrote.
The new doubts aired by Trump come as the president and top aides intensify their push to come to a deal to end the war that began in February 2022 when Russian invaded Ukraine.
The comments also sharply contrasted with Trump’s positive assessment that the two sides were “very close to a deal” after his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, had met with Putin in Moscow on Friday.
The Trump-Zelensky conversation on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral was first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February. That confrontation led to the White House to briefly pause US military assistance and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Days after ordering the pause, Trump also announced he was “strongly considering” imposing new sanctions and tariffs on Russia to try to prod Putin to negotiate in earnest. Trump has not yet followed through on the threat — something even some of his staunch Republican allies are now pressuring him to do.
It’s the second time a matter of days that Trump has rebuked Putin, whom the American president rarely publicly criticizes.
On Thursday, Trump publicly urged the Russian leader to “STOP!” after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
After their brief meeting Saturday, Zelensky’s office had said the US and Ukrainian teams were making arrangements for the leaders to talk again Saturday. But Trump went directly to the Rome airport after the funeral and boarded Air Force One for the 10-hour flight back to the United States.
Zelensky’s spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, said Trump and Zelensky did not meet again in person because of their tight schedules.
Zelensky called it a “good meeting” on social media after the funeral.
“We discussed a lot one on one. Hoping for results on everything we covered. Protecting lives of our people. Full and unconditional ceasefire. Reliable and lasting peace that will prevent another war from breaking out,” he said on X. “Very symbolic meeting that has potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results. Thank you.”
The White House called the discussion “very productive” and said it would release more details later. The meeting lasted about 15 minutes inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, where Francis often preached the need for a peaceful end to the war, just before Trump and Zelensky took their seats at the outdoor funeral service.
The Vatican long ago had offered to help facilitate peace talks and Francis had regularly called for peace and dialogue from the altar of the basilica. That Trump and Zelensky spoke privately, face to face and hunched over on chairs on the marbled floors of the pope’s home, on the day of his funeral, was perhaps a fitting way to honor his wishes.
Trump said on social media, after he arrived in Italy late Friday, that Russia and Ukraine should meet for “very high level talks” on ending the war.
Neither Putin nor Zelensky have commented Trump’s calls for direct talks.
Trump has pressed both sides to quickly come to an agreement to end the war, but while Zelensky agreed to an American plan for an initial 30-day halt to hostilities, Russia has not signed on and has continued to strike at targets inside Ukraine.
Putin did not attend Francis’ funeral. He faces an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court, which has accused him of war crimes stemming from Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in a statement Friday night, Zelensky said “very significant meetings may take place” in the coming days, and that an unconditional ceasefire was needed.
“Real pressure on Russia is needed so that they accept either the American proposal to cease fire and move toward peace, or our proposal — whichever one can truly work and ensure a reliable, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire, and then — a dignified peace and security guarantees,” he said.
“Diplomacy must succeed. And we are doing everything to make diplomacy truly meaningful and finally effective.”
The meeting Saturday also came shortly after Trump had issued his most definitive statement to date about the need for Ukraine to give up territory to Russia to bring the war to a close. He said in a Time magazine interview published Friday that “Crimea will stay with Russia.”
Russia seized the strategic peninsula along the Black Sea in southern Ukraine in 2014, years before the full-scale invasion that began in 2022. Zelensky wants to regain Crimea and other Ukrainian territory seized by Russia, but Trump considers that demand to be unrealistic.
Referring to Crimea during the interview, which was conducted at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said, “everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time,” meaning Russia.
Trump and Zelensky meet one-on-one to seek peace
- After talks at Vatican, Trump takes tough tone in post about Putin
KYIV: US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Zelensky said the meeting could prove historic if it delivers the kind of peace he is hoping for, and a White House spokesman called it “very productive.”
The two leaders, leaning in close to each other with no aides around them while seated in St. Peter’s Basilica, spoke for about 15 minutes.
The meeting at the Vatican, their first since an angry encounter in the Oval Office in Washington in February, comes at a critical time in negotiations aimed at bringing an end to fighting between Ukraine and Russia.
HIGHLIGHT
All Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general claims.
After leaving Rome, Trump published a social media post in which he took a tough tone on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Twelve people were killed on Thursday when a missile fired by Russia hit a Kyiv apartment block.
“It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” Trump wrote.
Trump’s post was a departure from his usual rhetoric, which has seen the toughest criticism directed at Zelensky, while he has spoken positively about Putin.
In a post on social media platform Telegram, Zelensky wrote: “Good meeting. One-on-one, we managed to discuss a lot. We hope for a result from all the things that were spoken about.”
He said those topics included: “The protection of the lives of our people. A complete and unconditional ceasefire. A reliable and lasting peace that will prevent a recurrence of war.”
Zelensky added: “It was a very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic if we achieve joint results. Thank you, President Donald Trump!“
Meanwhile, all Ukrainian troops have been forced from parts of Russia’s Kursk region, which Moscow lost control of last year to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia’s top general said in a Kremlin meeting. Ukrainian officials denied the claim.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff for Russia’s Armed Forces, gave Russian President Putin the news in a meeting, Peskov told Russian state news outlet Interfax.
In a statement, Putin congratulated the Russian soldiers and commanders and said that Kyiv’s incursion had “completely failed”.
“The complete defeat of our enemy along Kursk’s border region creates the right conditions for further successes for our troops and in other important areas of the front,” he said.
Ukrainian officials, however, said the fighting was still continuing. “The statements of representatives of the high command of the aggressor country about the alleged end of hostilities in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation are not true,” a Ukrainian government statement said.
“The defensive operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in certain areas in the Kursk region continues. The operational situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold designated positions and carry out assigned tasks, while inflicting effective fire damage on the enemy with all types of weapons, including using active defense tactics,” it added.
Pakistan PM calls for ‘neutral’ probe into Kashmir attack as he vows to defend sovereignty
- Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks came as Indian, Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire for a second successive day on Saturday
- Ties have plummeted between the nuclear-armed neighbors over this week’s attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said Pakistan’s armed forces were fully prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and called for a “neutral” investigation into a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that has brought Pakistan and India close to the brink of another conflict.
Sharif’s remarks came as Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire for a second straight day on Saturday as ties plummeted between the two nuclear-armed neighbors over the attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists on Tuesday.
Indian police have identified three suspects, including two Pakistani nationals, who carried out the April 22 attack. Pakistan has denied any involvement. Since the attack, both nations have unleashed a raft of measures against each other, with Pakistan closing its airspace to Indian airlines and India suspending the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty that regulates water-sharing from the Indus river and its tributaries.
Sharif said the tragic incident in Pahalgam was yet another example of New Delhi’s “perpetual blame game” that must come to a halt, adding that Islamabad was “open to participate in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation” into the attack.
“Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan ... any attempt to stop, reduce or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan under the Indus Water Treaty would be responded to with full force and might and nobody should remain under any kind of false impression and confusion,” Sharif said during a passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy in Abbottabad.
“Our valiant armed forces remain fully capable and prepared to defend the country’s sovereignty and its territorial integrity against any misadventure as clearly demonstrated by its measured yet resolute response to India’s reckless incursion in February 2019.”
Sharif’s comment was a reference to the downing of an Indian fighter jet in 2019 in response to Indian airstrikes in Pakistan, following a militant attack in Pulwama in Indian-administered Kashmir in which at least 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed. India had also blamed the Pulwama attack on Pakistan, while Islamabad denied any complicity.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, with both claiming the territory in full but governing separate portions of it.
Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Tuesday’s assault happened as tourists enjoyed tranquil mountain views at the popular site at Pahalgam, when gunmen burst from the cover of the forest and raked crowds with automatic weapons. Survivors told Indian media the gunmen targeted men and spared those who could give the Islamic declaration of faith.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his country would “track and punish every terrorist and their backer,” vowing to “pursue them to the ends of the Earth.” There has been growing concern since Tuesday’s attack that India could conduct a military strike on Pakistani territory as it did in 2019.
The UN has urged the neighbors to show “maximum restraint,” while US President Donald Trump has downplayed the tensions, saying that the dispute will get “figured out, one way or another.”
Rapidly deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan over the deadly shooting in Indian-administered Kashmir are also starting to have small but prickly economic consequences for both nations.
While India unveiled a series of mostly symbolic diplomatic measures against Pakistan, Islamabad responded on Thursday with similar tit-for-tat measures but upped the ante by halting trade with New Delhi and closing its airspace to Indian airlines.
Experts say that while the retaliatory moves will not have an immediate or far-reaching impact, they will likely result in longer and more expensive flights for Indians, while forcing Pakistan to increase pharmaceutical imports from other countries.
