ARMENIANS AND AZERBAIJANIS ARE CLOSE TO US: LUKASHENKO
The resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be beneficial to both sides – as stated by Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko as he met with the secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states in Minsk on June 8th.
The President noted, “Azerbaijanis and Armenians are like relatives, they are like two fingers on one hand. Anything could be done with this, but it’s true.”
Speaking about this, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled how much effort he had made to settle the conflict between the parties in recent years, trying to establish co-operation between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, “Everything has become more complicated now, but we need to take it calmly and sort out this situation. In this case, of course, I support Nikola Vovaevich [Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia]. I understand that all these problems have fallen on this government, on him. Therefore, [we need] patience and attempts to find a solution to the issue – so that it would be beneficial to both Armenia and Azerbaijan.”
Belarus is chairing the CSTO in 2023, and Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the country will strive to help Armenia and Azerbaijan settle the disputed issues. The President added that conflicts in the CSTO space, especially armed ones, must be resolved. “We cannot look calmly at conflicts in our CSTO space, especially when they are armed ones. They should not be neglected. They are complicated. Our brothers are there, we once lived in the same country,” he said.
According to the Belarusian leader, the secretaries of the Security Councils of the CSTO member states should also make their proposals as chief assistants to the heads of state on defence and security issues. “The President of Russia and I will meet in the near future. I will definitely inform on our meeting. He knows that I am meeting with you today. He will meet with the prime ministers tomorrow [Sochi is hosting a meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government these days]. We will discuss all these issues and try, maybe, to offer something appropriate to you. Meanwhile, I repeat once again: there should be reasonable, sensible initiatives from you. For God's sake, do not quarrel with each other. We will still have the opportunity to quarrel with many parties: you see how they are trying to pull us apart. I will rather not speak in detail,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN AND IRAN TALKED BY PHONE
The foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan reviewed the latest state of bilateral relations in a telephone conversation on Thursday evening, Mehr News reports.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Jeyhun Bayramov, the foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan, reviewed the latest state of bilateral relations in a telephone conversation on Thursday night.
In the long conversation, the parties emphasized the necessity of continuing consultations and exchanging technical and specialized delegations in different fields with the aim of resolving problems.
The two sides considered the proper handling of the media by the two countries as constructive.
They also reviewed the latest issues between the sides and emphasized the need to resolve misunderstandings and put the relations between the two countries on a natural route in line with the good neighborliness principle and the two nations' shared interests.
ZELENSKY SPOKE ABOUT CATASTROPHIC SITUATION CREATED IN Kherson
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the flooded southern region of Kherson on Thursday (June 8) to discuss emergency operations after flooding caused by the destruction of a huge dam, Reuters reports.
Zelenskiy visited a road crossing in Kherson where people were being evacuated.
He also met local authorities to discuss "the operational situation in the region as a result of the disaster, evacuation of the population from potential flood zones, elimination of the emergency caused by the dam explosion, organization of life support for the flooded areas," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app.
"Also, the prospects for restoring the region's ecosystem and the operational military situation in the man-made disaster area, " he added.
Kherson lies on the Dnipro, about 60 km (37 miles) downstream from the Kakhovka dam.
In a separate post, also accompanied by video footage, the president said he had visited a road crossing where people were being evacuated.
Kherson's governor had said earlier on Thursday that 600 square kilometres, or 230 square miles, of the region was under water - most of it on the Russian-occupied side of the river - and that nearly 2,000 people had already left affected areas.
"It is important to calculate the damage and allocate funds to compensate residents affected by the disaster and develop a programme to compensate for losses or relocate businesses within the Kherson region," Zelenskiy said.
NETANYAHU AND BLINKEN DISCUSSED TOPIC OF IRAN BY PHONE
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone earlier this evening with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently in Saudi Arabia where he’s been discussing a potential Israel normalization agreement with Saudi leaders, the premier’s office says, The Times of Israel reports.
The call was ostensibly scheduled by Blinken’s office in order for the secretary to update Netanyahu on his talks in the Gulf kingdom, but the readout from the Prime Minister’s Office makes no direct mention of the normalization issue.
Instead, the Israeli readout states that Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the military and intelligence cooperation Israel has with the US, “which is at an all-time high.”
He also thanked Blinken for the “candid discussions” that took place last week in Washington between Netanyahu’s aides and senior officials in the Biden administration about the Iran nuclear file and expanding the Abraham Accords.
In addition, Netanyahu proposed promoting joint Israeli-American cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence, which has been on the premier’s mind lately following discussions with ChatGPT founder Sam Altman and Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
Netanyahu and Blinken talked extensively about Iran amid growing speculation that the Biden administration is closing in on an interim agreement with Tehran that would see the Islamic Republic freeze its enrichment of uranium in exchange for some sanctions relief from the US.
Netanyahu reiterated his position that Iran will not stop advancing its nuclear program, even if it agrees to revive the nuclear deal with the US, his office says he told Blinken. “No deal with Iran will oblige Israel, which will do everything to defend itself.”
