Putin praises China: "Genuine desire" to resolve the war
Russian President Vladimir Putin pays tribute to China and the country's President Xi Jinping ahead of his visit to Beijing on Thursday. In an interview with state-controlled Xinhua, Putin says China has shown a "genuine desire" to resolve the war, reports AFP.
- We praise China's attempt to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, Putin says in the interview, which was also published on the Kremlin's website.
Thursday's visit to China will be Putin's first trip abroad since he was re-elected president in March.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin and Xi Jinping have expanded the countries' cooperation, both economically and militarily.
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The Russian invasion|The world's response
Blink in Kyiv: Two billion in military aid to Ukraine
The US will send another military aid package to Ukraine worth two billion dollars. This is confirmed by Foreign Minister Antony Blinken at a press conference in Kyiv today, writes Reuters.
Blinken also promises that the US will deliver ammunition, armored vehicles, robots and air defenses to the front in Ukraine as soon as possible.
In April, the United States approved military aid of $61 billion to Ukraine after months of delays, writes AFP.
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Global arms exports
Switzerland wants to relax neutrality – opens arms exports
The government in Switzerland wants to be able to depart from the country's principle of neutrality under "exceptional circumstances", reports Bloomberg. The reason is that they want to be able to allow the export of the country's weapons production, but not to Ukraine.
According to one proposal, the country should be able to set aside the harsh restrictions for a limited period, as long as it is in line with the country's "foreign policy and national security interests".
Switzerland has previously allowed arms exports to countries under the UN flag, but not to countries at war.
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Political situation in Georgia
The EU urges Georgia to repeal the new agent law
The new agent law negatively affects Georgia's chances of future EU entry. This is what EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell says in a statement on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Borrell is also calling on Georgia to withdraw the new law that was voted through on Tuesday.
The agent law has received strong criticism and has led to large protests in Georgia. The law means that organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad must be classified as "foreign agents".
Georgia applied for EU membership in 2022, and was granted candidate status in 2023.
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The situation in Afghanistan
Representatives of the Taliban on a visit to Norway
Representatives of the Taliban in Afghanistan have visited Norway. This is confirmed by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for VG on Wednesday. The delegation is participating in a dialogue forum on the future of Afghanistan. The talks are about, among other things, women's representation.
- We have no intention of giving up on the Afghan people, even if the Taliban rule, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide to the newspaper.
The dialogue forum Afghanistan Future Thought Forum, AFTF, began on Monday and will end on Wednesday.
Rysslands president Vladimir Putin hyllar Kina och landets president Xi Jinping inför besöket i Peking under torsdagen. I en intervju med statligt kontrollerade Xinhua säger Putin att Kina har visat en ”genuin önskan” att lösa kriget, rapporterar AFP.
– Vi berömmer Kinas försök att lösa krisen i Ukraina, säger Putin i intervjun som även publicerats på Kremls hemsida.
Torsdagens besök i Kina blir Putins första utlandsresa sedan han blev omvald till president i mars.
Sedan Rysslands invasion av Ukraina 2022 har Putin och Xi Jinping utökat ländernas samarbete, både ekonomiskt och militärt.
Schweiz vill lätta på neutraliteten – öppnar för vapenexport
Regeringen i Schweiz vill under ”exceptionella omständigheter” kunna frångå landets neutralitetsprincip, rapporterar Bloomberg. Orsaken är att man vill kunna tillåta export av landets vapentillverkning, dock inte till Ukraina.
Enligt ett förslag ska landet under en begränsad period kunna sätta de hårda restriktionerna åt sidan, så länge det ligger i linje med landets ”utrikespolitiska och nationella säkerhetsintressen”.
Schweiz tillåter sedan tidigare vapenexport till länder som står under FN:s flagg, men inte till länder i krig.
Den nya agentlagen påverkar Georgiens chanser till ett framtida EU-inträde negativt. Det säger EU:s utrikeschef Josep Borrell i ett uttalande på onsdagen, rapporterar Reuters.
Borrell uppmanar också Georgien att dra tillbaka den nya lagen som röstades igenom på tisdagen.
Agentlagen har fått stark kritik och har lett till stora protester i Georgien. Lagen innebär att organisationer som får mer än 20 procent av sin finansiering från utlandet ska klassas som ”utländska agenter”.
Georgien ansökte om medlemskap i EU 2022, och beviljades kandidatstatus 2023.
Företrädare för talibanerna på besök i Norge
Representanter för talibanerna i Afghanistan har varit på besök i Norge. Det bekräftar norska utrikesdepartementet för VG under onsdagen. Delegationen deltar i ett dialogforum om framtiden för Afghanistan. Samtalen handlar bland annat om kvinnors representation.
– Vi har inte för avsikt att ge upp på det afghanska folket, även om talibanerna styr, säger utrikesminister Espen Barth Eide till tidningen.
Dialogforumet Afghanistan Future Thought Forum, AFTF, inleddes i måndags och avslutas under onsdagen.
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