International
Europe and Canada close ranks to count on Ukraine in the peace negotiation
Europe and Canada closed ranks this Wednesday to count on Ukraine and the Europeans in peace negotiations, in an informal summit held from Paris while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump were accused.
“The position of France and its partners is clear and united. We want a lasting and solid peace in Ukraine,” Macron summarized on the social network X after the meeting.
To do this, he indicated three conditions, starting with the maxim that Kiev is counted on in the negotiations and that its rights are respected.
Secondly, he mentioned that peace must be accompanied by “strong and credible guarantees” and finally stressed that “the security concerns of Europeans must be taken into account”.
Other leaders spoke in the same vein after the debate, which was the second informal summit of this type organized by the Elysée.
Last Monday, another one took place that urgently met in Paris with eight of the main powers of the Old Continent (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands), in addition to NATO leaders and the institutions of the European Union.
On this occasion, given that the reduced format of that first meeting aroused discomfort among some of the absent countries, Macron had the participation in person of the President of Romania and the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and, by videoconference, of the heads of State or Government of 18 other countries.
The guest list included, among others, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro. Also to heads of government of European countries that are members of NATO but not of the EU, such as Norway, Jonas Gahr Støre, or Iceland, Kristrún Frostadóttir.
Outside the region, only Canada was listed, which is the only non-European partner of NATO in addition to the United States.
“It is a fundamental principle of Canada and the vast majority of allies: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine,” emphasized the Prime Minister of that country, Justin Trudeau, at a press conference after participating in the Paris debate.
The message of support for Kiev and vindication of the siege of Europe in the negotiations was clear in the face of the marginalization suffered in the first contacts between Washington and Moscow, held in Saudi Arabia.
“A peace solution will not be lasting without Ukraine participating in the negotiations. And Europe must have a place at the table,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in post-press statements.
In the same vein, Finnish President Alexander Stubb spoke in his opinion, calling for a “common European line” so that the old continent can sit in the negotiations.
“Otherwise, there is a risk that the United States and Russia will negotiate above Europe and Ukraine,” Stubb emphasized, in addition to asking to keep a “cool head.”
For his part, the Swedish Prime Minister, Ulf Kristersson, warned that Europe is at a “crossroads” and that the end of this war will define security on the continent “for future generations”.
“We must arm Ukraine,” he said, “so that it can have a position of strength with which to negotiate peace and thus bring peace to our part of the world. That is why we are going to continue with broad support for Ukraine.”
While the Paris meeting was taking place, tensions between Zelenski and Trump rose a lot in decibels, to the point that the US president accused his Ukrainian counterpart of being a “dictator”, after he said that the White House tenant lives in a cloud of disinformation for having blamed Kiev for starting the war.
Faced with the upsurge of tone, Macron – who has been acting as a diplomatic conductor to try to speed up a debate that would be more complex and slow in other formats – said in his message that Europe shares the objective of ending the conflict, but emphasized that it is a “war of aggression carried out by Russia.”
He also expressed the conviction that Europe must increase “its spending and defense and security capabilities”, something demanded by Washington, and promised that “decisions will be made in the coming days and weeks.”
It will be specifically in March when the European Union defines that increase, detailed the Latvian Prime Minister, Evika Silina, who was another of the participants of the Paris meeting.
It will be done in “close cooperation with NATO,” Silina said, and will also be accompanied by an increase in military aid to Ukraine.
In parallel to the end of the meeting, it was announced that Macron will travel to Washington next week, through the mouth of the White House National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, although the Elysée has not confirmed the details.
For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a conversation on Wednesday with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he defended as a “democratically elected leader” hours after Donald Trump described him as a “dictator without elections”.
This was confirmed by Downing Street (the official residence and office of the British Prime Minister) in a statement, in which he indicated that the Labor leader expressed his support for the Ukrainian president during the call and told him that it was “perfectly reasonable to suspend elections in times of war, as the United Kingdom did in World War II.”
Starmer also insisted to Zelenski on the need to work together and supported the “efforts led by the United States to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine that deters Russia from any future aggression.”
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
International
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
The arrival of U.S. aircraft carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued regularly despite rising tensions between Washington and Caracas over President Donald Trump’s military deployment in the Caribbean.
Trump maintains that the deployment is part of an anti-narcotics operation, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insists the true objective is to remove him from power and seize the nation’s oil resources.
Venezuela’s aviation authority has “received a request from the United States government to resume repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants from that country to Venezuela,” the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement .
“Under the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, authorization has been granted for these aircraft to enter our airspace,” it added.
Caracas will permit two Eastern Airlines flights to land on Wednesday and Friday.
Migration remains one of the Trump administration’s flagship issues. On Monday, the U.S. president held a meeting with his National Security Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela, a day after confirming he had spoken with Maduro by phone, without offering further details.
According to the Venezuelan government, roughly 75 deportation flights have been carried out this year, returning at least 13,956 Venezuelans from the United States.
International
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
The German army confirmed the theft of a shipment of ammunition that occurred a week ago while it was being transported by a civilian delivery driver, a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming earlier media reports.
According to Der Spiegel and the regional broadcaster MDR, around 20,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from an unguarded parking lot near Magdeburg, in eastern Germany, while the driver was asleep in a nearby hotel. No information has been released regarding the identity of the suspects, and the military declined to specify the exact type or amount of ammunition taken.
Authorities have also not indicated how the perpetrators knew the cargo would be left unattended.
“The theft was discovered upon delivery at the barracks,” the German army spokesperson said.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that an investigation has been opened but refused to provide further details “for tactical reasons.”
Sources close to the German military, cited by Der Spiegel, believe it is unlikely the theft was a coincidence. They suspect the thieves waited for the driver to stop for the night before striking.
Der Spiegel also reported that the Defense Ministry normally requires two drivers for this type of transport to ensure the cargo is constantly monitored. However, in this case only one driver was assigned, meaning the civilian transport company failed to comply with the security protocols.
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