International
NATO summit highlights the discomfort with Orbán due to its proximity to Russia and China
Different NATO countries expressed on Thursday their discomfort over the recent trips of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, to Moscow and Beijing coinciding with the beginning of his country’s presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).
During the allied summit that concludes today in Washington, Orbán has been seen on different occasions isolated from the informal conversations between the leaders, or also during his participation in the gala dinner offered on Wednesday night at the White House by US President Joe Biden.
When asked about the possibility of Orbán traveling to Florida to meet with the Republican candidate for the U.S. Presidency. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that what he does should do as a Hungarian Prime Minister and not as a representative of the Council of the EU.
“It has to be clear that what Mr. Orbán does he does as Hungarian Prime Minister and not on behalf of the Council of the EU,” Scholz said when asked about it by a German journalist upon his arrival at the NATO summit.
In past days, Scholz had expressed himself in similar terms regarding Orbán’s trips to Beijing and Moscow.
The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, denied that there is division in the Atlantic Alliance over Ukraine and assured that Orbán is “in a frank minority.”
“But I fundamentally disagree with your approach and I will say it out loud. I don’t think it makes sense to have conversations with authoritarian regimes that violate international law,” he said.
He stressed that NATO is an alliance of values that believes in international law, fundamental rights, human rights, territorial integrity and the independence of States.
“We also believe in the prerogative of sovereign states to make their own political decisions in foreign affairs and security. What Russia is doing is promoting an imperial war. And Viktor Orbán does not have any mandate from the Alliance or the European Union to carry out any type of negotiation,” he said.
In Stubb’s opinion, Orbán can perform that task “on his own,” although he assured that he did not understand what purpose it would have.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, who also participates in the allied summit as a guest, made it clear that the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU “does not represent the EU externally.”
He stressed that the rotating presidencies have to play a role of “honest intermediary to defend European unity and help us build compromises.”
The EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Affairs, Josep Borrell, said today in an interview with EFE in Washington that “there is a deep unease in the European Union about this behavior” of the Hungarian president.
A few days after assuming the rotating presidency of the EU Council on July 1, Orbán, the member of the community club closest to the Kremlin, has visited Kiev, Moscow, Beijing and Washington in what he has described as a “peace mission” for the war in Ukraine.
These visits have generated, according to Borrell, “a regrettable confusion,” since Orbán has tried to give his trips an official air using, for example, the logo of his country as president of the Council of the EU on his trips to China and Russia, despite the fact that the community bloc has insisted that it has no competence or authority to negotiate on his behalf.
Faced with this situation, Borrell expressed his wish that the Foreign Ministers of the Twenty-Seven address this issue in the next Council, scheduled for July 22.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
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