The North Korean leader continues his Russian tour. Kim Jong-un arrived this Saturday, September 16 in Vladivostok, where he was welcomed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The two men are to attend a “demonstration” of the Russian fleet in the Pacific.
In addition, the European Commission announced on Friday that it was ending the ban imposed by five European Union (EU) states – Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia – on imports of Ukrainian grain to protect their farmers. Brussels made this decision in exchange for a commitment from kyiv to control the influx of grain into neighboring countries.
Kim Jong-un visits Vladivostok
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un arrived this Saturday in Vladivostok, in the Russian Far East, where he was welcomed by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the state news agency Tass announced . On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Kim Jong-un would attend a “demonstration” of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok. At the Knevichi air base, Sergei Shoigu presented him with a Mig-31 fighter and its Kinjal hypersonic missile system, according to the same source.
In this large city on the borders of Russia, located near the Chinese and North Korean borders, Kim Jong-un must also “visit the Far Eastern Federal University and certain facilities of the Russian Academy of Sciences, including the laboratories work on marine biology,” Vladimir Putin detailed on Russian television. The Russian president and the North Korean leader met Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome, nearly 8,000 kilometers east of Moscow. On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no agreement had been signed on the matter. [de vente d’armes] nor on any other subject” between the two leaders.
Two Russians and an American arrive on the ISS
The space sector is one of the rare areas where cooperation between Russia and the United States remains, in a context of high tensions due to the conflict in Ukraine. Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday aboard a Soyuz capsule, a rare piece of cooperation in the midst of a period of tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Ukrainian cereals: the EU wants to end restrictions but some countries are resisting
Brussels announced on Friday the end of the ban imposed by five EU states on the import of Ukrainian grain, in return for a commitment from kyiv to control the influx of grain. At the end of April, the European Commission concluded an agreement with five member states (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania) allowing them to block the marketing of Ukrainian wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower on their soil in order to protect their farmers.
Following the lifting of EU customs duties in May 2022, these countries saw an influx of cereals from Ukraine at cut-off prices, but blocked on their soil due to logistical problems instead of reaching Africa and the Middle East. Several had unilaterally banned imports, to stem the saturation of their silos and the collapse of local prices.
“Thanks to these temporary measures, market distortions in these five states have disappeared”, and the improvement in logistical conditions has made it possible to increase the delivery of cereals to other countries, welcomed the Commission. “As a result, the existing measures will expire today.” kyiv, fiercely opposed to restrictions, welcomed “respect for the rules of free trade”. Not enough to convince Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, who immediately announced that they would unilaterally maintain their ban. And this in violation of the decision taken by the Commission, which has sole jurisdiction over EU trade policy, at the risk, as in the spring, of a political and legal standoff with Brussels.
British police end investigation into Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman
An ongoing investigation against Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, under European and British sanctions, had to be abandoned, the British Crime Agency (NCA) confirmed to AFP on Friday. “The NCA can confirm that it will not take further action against Mikhail Fridman based on the warrant executed at Athlone House (north London) in December 2022,” the agency said in a statement sent to AFP . “Investigations continue into the associated suspects who are part of the wider investigation,” she added.
Mikhail Fridman, 59 years old and of Russian-Israeli nationality, has made his fortune since the end of the USSR, owning an empire ranging from hydrocarbons to banking, including telecoms and distribution. In particular, he was one of the co-founders in 1991 of Alfa Bank, one of the largest Russian banks. He was placed on the list of figures sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom for their proximity to Moscow, despite his criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Biden will receive Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House on Thursday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be received at the White House next Thursday for new discussions with President Joe Biden on supporting Kiev against the Russian invasion, a senior American official announced on Friday. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky, the second at the White House since the war began in February 2022, would come at a “critical time” as Ukraine seeks to progress in its counter-offensive against Russian forces. “It comes at a critical time, when Russia is desperately seeking help from countries like North Korea to wage its brutal war in Ukraine,” Jake Sullivan told reporters.
He also said he expected the United States and its allies to announce new military aid to Ukraine “during the next week”. The Ukraine contact group, which is responsible for coordinating aid to kyiv, is due to meet in Ramstein, Germany, next week.