The Russian invasion

Putin and Kim during a meeting in 2019. Yuri Kadobnov / AP 

Russian invasionVoices about the war  

Analysis: Are guns just the beginning for the Axis of Evil?

Russia's isolation has sent the country in a troubling new direction. That's what Justin McCurry writes in The Guardian about the information that Putin will receive North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un in Russia.  

"Russia's decision to turn to North Korea for weapons is a sign of a rapidly changing dynamic in the countries' relationship," he writes.  

In 2011, Russia was behind the UN sanctions against North Korea regarding robots and nuclear weapons. Now the situation is different. McCurry notes that some experts warn that the two countries may eventually enter into a deeper alliance.  

Such a form of "Axis powers of evil", which could also include China, would be a problem for the West, says military analyst Sean Bell to Sky News. That the US is now spreading intelligence that Kim may travel to Russia is an attempt to stop the meeting, given Kim's well-known paranoia about leaving the country, he says. 

Nicola Smith focuses on the same paranoia in her analysis in The Telegraph: 

"If Kim personally makes the trip to Vladivostok, it suggests that the meeting with Putin goes far beyond an arms deal and creates a deeper alliance between two. 

Sergei Shoigu and Kim Jong-Un during their meeting at the end of July. AP  

The Russian invasion|The response of the outside world  

Kremlin does not confirm meeting with Kim: "Nothing to say"  

The Kremlin refuses to confirm reports that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un will visit Russia later this month. Yesterday, the New York Times reported on the matter, citing sources, and later in the evening, the US National Security Council said it had received information that Kim expects further arms negotiations. 

- We have nothing to say about this, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov according to AFP.  

Yesterday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu opened joint military exercises with North Korea.  

- Why not? They are our neighbors, Shoigu said, according to state Russian media.

  

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, talk to each other during their talks at Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) XAZ119 Mikhail Klimentyev / AP  

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

Erdogan: In close contact with the UN on grain agreements  

 

Russia demands access to the international Swift system to renew the grain agreement. This is what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says after Monday's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Sochi.  

 

According to Erdogan, the latest UN proposal opens the door to accommodate some of Russia's demands. However, he does not specify which one or which ones. 

 

The Turkish president further says that he will discuss the agreement with UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the General Assembly later in September. As recently as last week, Guterres said that the UN had sent concrete proposals to Russia.