G7 Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Illegal Annexation of Sovereign Ukrainian Territory

US STATE DEPARTMENT

MEDIA NOTE

OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON

SEPTEMBER 30, 2022

The text of the following statement was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union.

Begin Text

We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation in the strongest possible terms of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its continued violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and Independence.

President Putin’s efforts to incorporate Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions into the territory of the Russian Federation constitute a new low point in Russia’s blatant flouting of international law, and yet another example of Russia’s unacceptable violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the UN Charter, and the commonly agreed principles and commitments of the Helsinki Final Act and the Paris Charter.

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Council on Foreign Relations – The World This Week September 30, 2022

Waiting for Thermidor: America’s Iran Foreign Policy Ray Takeyh and Reuel Marc Gerecht

A member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps waves the Iranian flag during a rally in downtown Tehran. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto/Getty ImagesThe Islamic Republic of Iran may be on an accelerated schedule for revolutionary decay, at least if compared to the USSR. Read the opinion
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Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Sept. 29, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Putin Announces Plan to Annex Four Ukrainian Regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin will sign a decree to annex (FT) the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia tomorrow, a Kremlin spokesperson said. This major escalation in the war in Ukraine comes after Moscow orchestrated votes, widely denounced as a sham, for the regions to join Russia. The regions compose some 15 percent of Ukrainian territory.
Russia’s annexation will be the largest forceful takeover of European territory since World War II, according to the Financial Times. The United States and European Union plan to impose new sanctions over the annexation, Reuters reported. Yesterday, military leaders from over forty countries met in Brussels (NYT) to plan long-term military support for Ukraine. 
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Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Sept. 27, 2022

Top of the Agenda  

Moscow Admits to Problems in Military Mobilization as Russians Protest, Flee Draft

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has admitted to errors (NYT) in Russia’s ongoing military draft as protests against it erupt nationwide and men flee the country by the tens of thousands. While Moscow originally said only men with military experience would be required to fight in Ukraine, draft officers have attempted to conscript (FT) a broader group. Peskov blamed local officials for the problems. 
Ethnic minorities appear to be disproportionately targeted (Moscow Times) in the draft. Yesterday, a man shot and wounded a recruitment officer at a draft office in Siberia. Since last Wednesday, an estimated 261,000 men have fled the country, independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported, citing official sources. 
Tiếp tục đọc “Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Sept. 27, 2022”

The long history of the Sultanate of Sulu & why Malaysia ‘owes’ it US$15 billion – 15 tỉ đô la và những di chứng thuộc địa

The long history of the Sultanate of Sulu & why Malaysia ‘owes’ it US$15 billion

That’s a lot.

By Danial Martinus  July 18, 2022 sea.mashable.com/

The long history of the Sultanate of Sulu & why Malaysia 'owes' it US$15 billion

 

When we dive into the colonial history of Southeast Asia, things can get rather messy in terms of the way important events and the stories of significant figures are retold.

Looking at Malaysia, for example, brings about a whole library’s worth of history that simply can’t be told in one sitting. However, one such remnant of Malaysia’s past has come back to haunt the Southeast Asian nation.

More specifically, arbitration awards allegedly owed to the heirs of the last Sultan of Sulu, who in the 19th century reigned over parts of what is today the Philippines, the state of Sabah (Malaysia), as well as North and East Kalimantan (Indonesia).

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The Role of the International Criminal Court

The ICC was created to bring justice to the world’s worst war criminals, but debate over the court still rages.

Judges are pictured in the courtroom during the trial of Bosco Ntaganda.
Judges are pictured in the courtroom during the trial of Bosco Ntaganda. Bas Czerwinski/Reuters

WRITTEN BY

Claire Klobucista, CFR

UPDATED

Last updated March 28, 2022 2:00 pm (EST)

Summary

  • The ICC seeks to investigate and prosecute those responsible for grave offenses such as genocide and war crimes.
  • Dozens of countries are not ICC members, including China, India, Russia, and the United States.
  • The court has angered nonmembers by launching probes into possible war crimes in Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, and Ukraine.

Introduction

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Council on Foreign Relations – Daily Brief Sept. 26, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Right-Wing Alliance Wins Sweeping Victory in Italian Elections 

A right-wing coalition headed by Giorgia Meloni of the Brothers of Italy party won a resounding victory (FT) in Italy’s parliamentary elections yesterday, earning over 44 percent of votes. Meloni’s far-right party won over a quarter of votes, putting her on track to become Italy’s first female prime minister and its first far-right head of government since World War II.
Meloni’s win was celebrated (Politico) by populist European leaders who have sought to distance themselves from Brussels. Still, Meloni has signaled (The Economist) that her government would seek to work with the European Union (EU), and unlike her coalition allies Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi, she is a vocal supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. 
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Council on Foreign Relations – The world this week

The World This WeekSeptember 23, 2022
Putin’s Gamble

Thomas GrahamDestroyed Russian military equipment in the center of Izyum, Ukraine, which was liberated after months of occupation. Wojciech Grzedzinski/Washington Post/Getty ImagesRussia’s moves to mobilize thousands more troops and to annex more of Ukraine’s territory signal a new, potentially more dangerous phase of the war. Get the quick take
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Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Sept. 22, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Iran Curbs Internet Access as Protests Over Woman’s Death Spread

Protests in support of women’s rights and Iran’s political opposition have spread to dozens of cities (NYT) in the country following a woman’s death after being detained by police last week. Authorities have deployed security forces and disrupted internet and cellular services to contain the demonstrations, Iran’s largest since 2019. Many of those protesting are women. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called on the judiciary to prosecute (Reuters) anyone spreading “false news and rumors” related to the protests. 

Twenty-two-year-old Mahsa Amini died after being detained by Iran’s morality police, who accused her of dressing immodestly and violating the country’s headscarf law. Iranian state television reported today that seventeen people, including demonstrators and police, had died (AFP) in the protests.
Tiếp tục đọc “Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Sept. 22, 2022”

Khmer Rouge tribunal ends work after 16 years, 3 judgments

By SOPHENG CHEANG and GRANT PECK September 22, 2022 GMT Associate Press

In this photo released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Khieu Samphan, right, the former head of state for the Khmer Rouge, sits in a courtroom during a hearing at the U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. The international court convened in Cambodia to judge the brutalities of the Khmer Rouge regime that caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people in the 1970s ends its work Thursday after spending $337 million and 16 years to convict just three men of crimes. (Nhet Sok Heng/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia via AP)

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The international court convened in Cambodia to judge the Khmer Rouge for its brutal 1970s rule ended its work Thursday after spending $337 million and 16 years to convict just three men of crimes after the regime caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people.

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Thailand and Vietnam emerge as ASEAN crypto trading hot spots

Nikkei

Each country logs over $100bn transactions in a year, topping Singapore

Chainalysis said Thailand and Vietnam saw high web traffic to marketplaces for non-fungible tokens.   © Reuters

DYLAN LOH, Nikkei staff writerSeptember 21, 2022 19:00 JST

SINGAPORE — Thailand and Vietnam have become the top crypto trading hubs among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, beating even financial center Singapore, which has been grappling with new legislation to control the nascent sector.

The two ASEAN members recorded over $100 billion each in crypto buying and selling values from July 2021 to June 2022, according to numbers published on Wednesday by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.

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Council on Foreign Relations – Daily news brief Sept. 21, 2022

Top of the Agenda

Putin Escalates Russian War Efforts With New Troop Mobilization ”

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new mobilization of troops (FT) to fight in Ukraine in a televised address today. Three hundred thousand reservists will be called up to fight, Russia’s defense minister said. Putin also hinted at his willingness to use nuclear weapons, saying Russia “will use all the means at its disposal” if its territorial integrity is threatened. 

In addition, Putin voiced support for referendums that would let Russia illegally annex four occupied regions of Ukraine. The votes could happen as soon as this weekend. Yesterday, the Russian parliament increased penalties (RFE/RL) for soldiers who surrender or refuse to fight and used the words “mobilization” and “martial law” to describe the conflict in Ukraine for the first time. 
Analysis

“Mobilization…would radically upset the Kremlin’s careful management of the war at home. Dramatically increasing Russia’s manpower might seem a logical choice for a country with a population that is three times the size of Ukraine’s, but the war’s popularity has depended on it being far away,” the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ Liana Fix and Michael Kimmage write for Foreign Affairs. 

“If the Kremlin’s annexation gambit fails to stop the fighting and support to Ukraine, the Kremlin will need to lash out to show it is serious. That means escalation that could come in different forms,” the RAND Corporation’s Dara Massicot tweets. 
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Europe turns on China

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian
Illustration of the EU stars arranged as a no sign over a map of China.

Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

Illustration of the EU stars arranged as a no sign over a map of China.
Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios

Once skeptical of America’s increasingly hostile stance toward China, the EU and its member states are adopting a cascade of new measures that bring their policies closer in line with those of the United States.

Why it matters: Beijing’s push for Europe to adopt “strategic autonomy” from the United States — in the hope the EU would maintain warmer ties with China — now looks like a moot point.

What’s happening: Last week, the European Commission unveiled a proposed ban on products made with forced labor, after intense pressure from lawmakers and human rights activists concerned about forced labor in Xinjiang.

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China to Latin America: All your fish belong to us

The Manila Times

The Manila Times

Opinion by Ben Kritz – Monday

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AS if communist China was not already doing enough to degrade the rest of the world’s quality of life for its own gain, recent news from South and Central America further reinforces the impression that its rapaciousness knows no bounds. China’s Southeast Asian neighbors, particularly the Philippines, are already familiar with the Red Menace’s greediness when it comes to marine resources, but on the other side of the world, a massive, well-organized, industrial-scale effort to carry out illegal fishing on both sides of Latin America is threatening to wipe out fish stocks for a dozen countries.

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Council on Foreign Relations -Daily news brief Sept. 20, 2022

Image
Top of the Agenda

UN General Assembly Weighs ‘Interconnected Crises’

World leaders begin their annual addresses (NYT) to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York today amid what the United Nations has described (Al Jazeera) as time of “complex and interconnected crises.” This year’s session will focus on the war in Ukraine and climate change. In addition, Western governments are expected to urge Iran to commit to rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal. The leaders of China, India, Ethiopia, and Russia will not attend. U.S. President Joe Biden will speak tomorrow. 

The United States, African Union, and European Union (EU) will hold a conference today to discuss food insecurity and rising prices. On Thursday, the UN Security Council is due to hold a session on the topic of Ukraine and impunity. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said last week that he doesn’t expect dialogue (NPR) between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
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