PUTIN-ERDOGHAN TELEPHONE CONVERSATION TOOK PLACE
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his birthday on Sunday, noting that in these difficult times his best qualities as a statesman and a person are in full display. Putin’s congratulatory message to Erdogan, who turned 69 on February 26, was published on the Kremlin’s website on Sunday, TASS reports.
"You enjoy well-deserved respect among your fellow countrymen as well as abroad. In these difficult times, in such a critical situation, when Turkiye is overcoming the tragic consequences of such devastating earthquakes, your best qualities as a statesman and a person, your courage and ability to make balanced and necessary decisions are in full display," the statement reads.
Russia appreciates Erdogan’s personal contribution to strengthening friendly relations and constructive co-operation between the two countries, Putin stressed. "I am confident that moving forward we will continue to pursue mutually beneficial joint projects and to co-ordinate our efforts to address important issues on the regional and global agenda," the Russian president said.
Moreover, Putin had a telephone conversation with Erdogan, during which he congratulated his Turkish counterpart on his birthday, as well as noted his great personal contribution to the development of Russia-Turkiye relations. "The leaders touched upon some current issues from the bilateral agenda," the Kremlin’s press service said. Previously the leaders had telephone conversations on February 24.
LAVROV TO DISCUSS COOPERATION AGENDA TOPICS IN AZERBAIJAN
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will start the new week with a heavy program of the two-day visit to Baku. The visit is timed to the first anniversary of the bilateral declaration on friendly interaction signed on February 22 of the last year, TASS reports.
The Russia’s top diplomat is expected to meet President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Foreign Minister of the Republic Jeyhun Bayramov.
Lavrov will discuss the entire complex of bilateral issues, current regional and international problems during meetings with leaders of Azerbaijan and will also pay particular attention to progress in implementing trilateral agreements of leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, official spokeswomen of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said earlier.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SESSION STARTS
Today, the annual session of the UN Human Rights Council begins in Geneva, it will last six weeks. During the session, it is planned to discuss the investigation of war crimes committed in Ukraine. There are predictions that the main topic of the session will be the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
A few days ago, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on Russia to stop hostilities and withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine. During the session, UN Secretary General António Guterres, heads of more than 150 states and governments will speak. The speech of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov is also expected this week.
THERE WILL BE NO RECONCILIATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE FOR 100 YEARS: SHMYHAL
Ukraine’s prime minister said on Sunday that a reconciliation between Moscow and Kyiv is not possible within the next century.
“Reconciliation, cooperation - No, not in the next hundred years. Russia must first change, be democratized, demilitarized and denuclearized,” Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with German weekly newspaper Focus.
When asked about how Russia should be disarmed, Shmyhal listed further sanctions, refusal to cooperate with Russia, confiscation of Russian assets, and further military aid to Ukraine as prospects.
Shmyhal also said that the freezing of the conflict between Moscow and Kyiv in order to stop further bloodshed is unacceptable on the part of Ukraine, because it “will only play into Russia's hands and lead to another big war.”
Shmyhal further denied the possibility of Ukraine ceding any of its territories to Russia, saying: “Society will not allow this. Thousands of our best people died not for us to seek a compromise with a bloody terrorist and aggressor who blackmails the whole world.”
“The only compromise is the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine within the borders of 1991. Russians must stop shooting, stop aggression and leave our territory. I believe that changing the borders would be an unacceptable compromise for Europe as well,” he added.
RESTORATION OF NUCLEAR DEAL IS POSSIBLE: ABDOLLAHIAN
A deal with the United States is possible, if Washington “behaves in a realistic way”, says Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
The United States has signaled its readiness to engage with Tehran to revive the historic 2015 nuclear deal, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday, noting that any settlement must respect the agreement of the Islamic Republic. “red lines.”
Speaking to Al-Alam TV, Abdollahian said Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hossein, who recently returned from a trip to Washington, “carried the message that the American side is ready to conclude an agreement” on the Iranian nuclear deal.
“We have always welcomed the path of diplomacy and negotiation. We are and we have not walked away from the negotiations,” said the minister.
Abdollahian went on to say that Tehran is ready to work on an agreement based on the results of the Vienna Marathon talks to revive the 2015 agreement, as well as intermediary contacts between Iran and the United States.
“I imagine that if the US side behaves realistically within the message it has sent and does not repeat previous hypocritical media statements, we will not be far from a deal,” he said. added. the Iranian foreign minister said, noting that it was the US side that reneged on its obligations under the deal in the first place.
