Global Courant 2023-04-21 10:36:41
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is now on its 422th day.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is urging Western allies to send more warplanes and long-range missiles. (Reuters)
Friday, April 21, 2023
The United States will host a meeting in Germany to discuss further support for Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy forced Western allies to send more warplanes and long-range missiles.
Representatives from around 50 countries will gather at the US Ramstein Air Base to coordinate their support for Kiev, as there are fierce clashes with Russia in the east of the country.
Joining the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was in the Ukrainian capital on Thursday for his first visit to Russia since the start of the invasion in February 2022.
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0319 GMT — Australian prime minister to attend NATO summit in July
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will attend the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, in July, his office said on Friday, days after his New Zealand counterpart, Chris Hipkins, confirmed his participation.
Australia and New Zealand are not members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but they have a decades-old relationship with the Western alliance.
The Albanese’s office said in a statement that Australia shares its “commitment to promote democracy, peace and security and uphold the rule of law” with NATO members, seeking to expand and strengthen group ties.
“The Prime Minister’s participation … will be an important opportunity to reinforce Australia’s support for these global norms, to show solidarity against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, and to defend Australia’s economic, climate and trade agenda,” the statement said. it was said. .
0051 GMT — Ukraine ‘deserves place’ is alliance – NATO chief
NATO chief Stoltenberg defiantly declared Ukraine’s “deserved place” a military alliance, and pledged greater support for the country during his first visit to Kiev since Russia’s invasion a year ago.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy urged Stoltenberg, who was instrumental in garnering support from NATO members, to push them even harder, including with warplanes, artillery and armored equipment.
The Kremlin offered various justifications for entering the war, but reiterated that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO was the main target of its invasion, arguing that Kiev’s membership in the alliance would pose an existential threat to Russia.
NATO leaders said in 2008 that Ukraine would one day join the alliance, and Stoltenberg reiterated this promise throughout the war, but the organization did not set any path or timetable for membership.
The Group of Seven Countries is considering almost completely banning exports to Russia in response to its military offensive in Ukraine, Kyodo news agency citing Japanese government sources. pic.twitter.com/Av6297Ljne
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) 21 April 2023
2302 GMT – Germany: Now is not the time to discuss Ukraine’s NATO membership
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has rejected a swift decision on Ukraine’s membership in NATO, the Western alliance that supported Ukraine throughout its war with Russia and whose member states provided it with weapons.
“The door is slightly open, but now is not the time to decide,” Pistorius said late on ZDF’s Maybrit Illner programme. He added that he is aware of the decision-making situation of Ukraine.
Pistorius said that Ukraine’s decision to join the alliance could not be taken only out of solidarity, but “with composure and a warm heart. Not the other way around.”
2052 GMT — Zelenskyy calls neutral leaders populist
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy described the leaders who took a neutral stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine as populists.
Zelenskyy’s comments in a video link before a committee of Mexican lawmakers were a clear reference to leaders like Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The Brazilian leader refused to supply Ukraine with weapons, appeared to blame both sides, and proposed a club of nations, including Brazil and China, to mediate for peace.
Mexico, under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, voted to condemn the invasion, despite refusing to impose economic sanctions on Russia.
Click here for our live updates from Thursday, April 20.
Source: TRTWorld and its agencies
