International
Zelenski asks for “guarantees” from the US, the EU and Turkey for a possible peace agreement with Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky advanced this Tuesday in Ankara, moments before his meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who will ask for “security guarantees” from the United States, the European Union and Turkey for any peace agreement reached with Russia.
“As a country, we want peace, we want the war to end. But we want the end of the war to be based on certain security guarantees,” Zelenski said in an interview with the Turkish agency Anadolu.
“We hope that these security guarantees will be offered by the United States, the European Union, Turkey and the whole of Europe,” specified the Ukrainian president, whose meeting with Erdogan is simultaneous to the beginning of the United States’ negotiations with Russia in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
By also referring to “all of Europe”, Zelenski also seems to ask for guarantees from other countries such as the United Kingdom or Norway, which have given great support to Ukraine but are not partners of the EU.
The Ukrainian president said he would like to “see Turkey involved” in the peace process “if Turkey can offer Ukraine the necessary security guarantees,” and stressed Ankara’s role as a mediator with Moscow in the past
At the same time, Zelenski ruled out officially ceding parts of Ukrainian territory to Russia.
“We will never, under any circumstances, recognize that our temporarily occupied territories are part of Russia. They are part of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president told the aforementioned agency.
He also insisted that neither in past negotiations had he accepted an “ultimatum” and that he would not accept it now.
The president stressed that, as the French president, Emmanuel Macron, had told him in a telephone conversation held yesterday, the current negotiations do not deal with the issue of prisoners of war, which he considered fundamental.
“If a truce is negotiated, first of all, our people must be allowed to return,” Zelenski said.
The president made these statements during an inauguration ceremony of a new building of the Ukrainian embassy in Ankara, moments before starting his meeting with Erdogan at the presidential palace.
He stressed the presence at the event of a delegation of Crimean Tatars, a Turkish-speaking ethnic group that Ankara considers persecuted by the Russian authorities, and thanked Turkey and Qatar for their help in promoting the release of Tatar political prisoners in Crimea.
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
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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