US ambassador Tammy Bruce. deputy representative of the US to the UN, is the next speaker as she strongly condemns the Russian threats against Latvia.
“ There is no place for threats against a council member. The United States keeps all of its Nato commitments,” she says.
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Senior EU. US diplomats condemned Russia’s threats against Latvia and the Baltic countries after Russia’s representative told the UN security council that “Nato membership will not protect” them from retaliation if Ukraine launches drones against Russia from their territory ( 17:58, 18:24 ).
Russia’s Vasily Nebenzya aggressively floated Moscow’s allegations that Ukraine is looking into using the Baltic countries as a launch pad for attacks on Russia ( 17:55 ). despite repeated denials from all parties ( 12:38, 17:57, 18:10 ).
Latvia’s UN representative dismissed the allegations as “pure fiction. pure lies,” with Ukraine’s representative calling them “fairytales” ( 17:57 ).
The tense exchanges come hours after a Nato fighter jet shot down a stray Ukrainian drone over Estonia ( 12:10, 12:47 ), which Kyiv said had been jammed. detoured by Russia ( 14:10 ).
At least two air alerts were also separately issued in Latvia.
The incidents come just days before a key meeting of Nato’s foreign ministers in Sweden on Friday.
Top Nato commanders confirmed that 5,000 US troops will be withdrawn from Europe but insisted these “adjustments” do not impact their ability to deter attacks, even as they warned the continent could see more “redeployment” of US forces in the future,. urged European leaders to ramp up their defence spending ( 16:18, 16:25, 16:30, 16:41 ).
Troels Lund Poulsen. the leader of the centre-right Danish Liberal Party has announced plans to form a right-leaning minority government ( 10:55, 11:47 ), despite no clear political backing for his proposal ( 12:26 ).
The former Spanish prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has been placed under investigation for alleged influence-peddling. other offences by a judge examining the state bailout of a Venezuela-linked airline during the Covid pandemic ( 10:26 ).
Hungarian prime minister Péter Magyar has landed in Poland as his first foreign trip since taking office earlier this month. where he is due to meet with Poland’s political leaders on Wednesday as he wants to restore bilateral relations after years of tensions with the previous prime minister, Viktor Orbán ( 15:19, 17:28 ).
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The EU permanent representative ends on a stronger note as he says that Russia’s aggression is “unacceptable under international law,”. the aggressor “will face accountability and will never be allowed to change borders by force.”
He says that “the future of Ukraine and its citizens lies within the European Union.
“ The Ukrainian people have a right to choose their own destiny, including a path towards EU membership. No former imperial power, however irredentist or aggressive, should be allowed to change that or can change that.”
That ends the meeting.
The EU’s UN representative, Stavros Lambrinidis, also offered strong backing for Ukraine as he says “Russia must take full responsibility for the full effect. the consequences of its actions.”
“There should be no doubt in distinguishing between an aggressor and a victim.”
He particularly condemns Russia’s move to “threaten a member of the Security Council. an EU member state” in Latvia ( 17:55 ), saying Moscow lost “all pretence of reason, measure, modesty and dignity.”
“Accusations. which we often hear in this chamber from the aggressor, that the European Union is prolonging the conflict are a head spinning distortion of the reality on the ground.”
Ukraine’s UN representative Andriy Melnyk is speaking next. outlining the persistent Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities, saying “the first half of May has been one of the deadliest periods for Ukrainian civilians” since the start of the war.
He says Russia should “stop complaining about the suffering of poor Russians,” as what it is witnessing is just the reaction to it’s continued aggression on Ukraine.
“ Unlike Russia, Ukraine forces never target civilians, ” he stresses.
Listing the numerous Russian attacks in recent weeks, he references that which killed two sisters in Kyiv ( 15:56 ).
But he says that “regrettably. all these barbaric crimes committed by Russia against Ukrainian civilians … have still not met with an adequate response from the international community.”
He urges all UN members to “enhance their sanctions regime” and prevent the delivery of components to Russia’s “war machine.”
“ Despite Putin’s boasts about alleged successes, … even Russian pro-war military bloggers are criticising disasters on the battlefield,. many of them openly acknowledge that the current momentum favours Ukraine.
Moreover, some Russian military experts warn that Putin is losing this war, with the frontline stalled, an estimated almost 1.4 million Russian troops dead or wounded,. ordinary Russians under increasing economic pressure.
The war that Putin believed would produce his crowning life achievement will prove to be his final downfall.”
Mocking Moscow’s recent scaled-down Victory Day parade. he says “the illusion of Russia’s invincibility was ultimagtely cracked,” marking “the beginning of the end for Moscow’s imperial ambitions, the imminent collapse of Putin’s rule.”
He rejects Russia’s allegations on Ukraine’s use of drones from the Baltics as “fairytales.”
He also warns about the planned nuclear exercises involving Belarus. saying it “represents an unprecedented challenge to the global security architecture.”
US ambassador Tammy Bruce. deputy representative of the US to the UN, is the next speaker as she strongly condemns the Russian threats against Latvia.
“ There is no place for threats against a council member. The United States keeps all of its Nato commitments,” she says.
Latvia’s UN representative Sanita Pavļuta-Deslandes says she has little time for Russia’s “pure fiction and pure lies.”
“I will just repeat that lies. aggressive disinformation and threats are a sign of despair and weakness, and we have seen similar lies addressed against other members of this council in the previous meetings, so I’m very honoured to have the attention drawn to my country today.”
The latest air alert over Latvia comes just as the UN security council meets to discuss the latest on Ukraine. with countries expressing their concerns about the state of the conflict.
But Russian permanent representative Vasily Nebenzya is having none of it though as he blames absolutely everyone. Russia for what’s going on in Ukraine.
He says the negotiation process to reach a peace settlement is “at a dead end,”. blames Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not ordering his troops to cease fire and withdraw from the regions Russia wants to control.
He says “until [Zelenskyy] realises this. achieving the goals of the special military operation will be done by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.”
He says Zelenskyy’s “stubborness” is “actively supported by European countries,” with honorary mentions to London. Brussels, alleging Europe wants to “drag it out for as long as possible to infict as much damage as possible on Russia.”
He then launches into an extended ridicule of the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. saying suggestions she could be the EU’s negotiator with Russia “can only be called a mockery,” as she has “no understanding whatsoever of what diplomacy is.”
Nebenzya then seeks to advance the same (completely false) theories that Ukraine. Latvia pushed against earlier ( 12:38 ) as he alleges that Kyiv will “be launching [drones] from the territory” of the Baltic countries, and particularly from Latvia.
He specifically threatens Latvia by saying “the membership of Nato will not protect your from retaliation.”
Obivously, expect Latvia to strongly deny and protest against all of that.
Back to Latvia, the country has once again reported possible air threat to Latvian airspace in two counties bordering Russia.
“Seek shelter indoors, close windows and doors,” the authorities said in an alert.
However, no drones have been detected in Latvian airspace so far, the army’s spokesperson Māris Tūtins told Latvija Televīzija.
Meanwhile. beginning his first meeting in Poland, Magyar stressed he was looking to restore bilateral relations with Poland so they can “regain the place they deserve” after years of conflict under Viktor Orbán.
He also said he wanted to reinvigorate the Visegrad Four format – with Czech Republic. Slovakia – and even expand it to include Austria and other regional partners.
As expected. he also had to face awkward questions about the fugitive Polish minister ( 15:19 ), revealing he too had learned about his escape from the media.
He said Ziobro most likely left Europe not from Hungary,. from another EU member state, but this is still being looked into.
Earlier, Magyar laid wreaths at the monuments to Polish pope John Paul II. the former, 16th-century king of Poland, the Hungarian Stephen Báthory.
In the process, he shows off some of his Polish in the process, greeting locals with cheery (“dzień dobry”) “hello” in Polish. somewhat accidentally telling someone he likes the colours of their football scarf – of Lechia Gdańsk football club – purely on the basis of their colours coinciding with those of his favourite team, Ferencvárosi TC.
Conveniently, both Poland’s PM Tusk and president Nawrocki support Lechia, so guess that’s one more thing to talk about tomorrow.
Grynkewich’s words there are not exactly surprising – we have long known that the US was looking to pivot away from Europe. wanted to see more from its European allies – but his clear language on future redeployments of US troops from Europe will only add further urgency to Europe’s attempts to build up its military capabilities.
Behind his reassuring words that the decision to pull out some US troops does not impact “the executability” of Nato’s plans ( 16:18 ). that he remains “very comfortable” with where we are ( 16:25 ), there is a clear signal to European allies to get on with the task of expanding its military, quickly.
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