Section: Kuwait
Quartet thrash out Ukraine summit – Putin in Egypt in bid to expand Russian influence
KIEV: German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday briefed US President Barack Obama on the latest peace plan for Ukraine ahead of a four-way summit aimed at ending 10 months of bloodshed. Foreign ministry officials from Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France were due to hold a preparatory meeting in Berlin after leaders agreed to push for the key...
Merkel leads last chance Ukraine peace drive
MUNICH: German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday pushed a new peace bid to end the Ukraine conflict, warning that sending weapons to government forces fighting pro-Russian rebels would not stop the bloodshed. Fresh from overnight talks in Moscow with French President Francois Hollande to thrash out a new peace plan, Merkel said success was far...
Turkish Foreign Minister pulls out of Munich conference due to Israel
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has decided not to attend the 51st Munich Security Conference because of Israeli participation at a session on the Middle East. Cavusoglu made the announcement at a press conference in Berlin Friday after participating in Turkey’s West Europe Consul-Generals’ meeting. The foreign minister...
Merkel, Hollande take Ukraine plan to Putin – Brief truce allows civilians to leave
MOSCOW: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande arrived in Moscow yesterday to secure President Vladimir Putin’s support for a peace plan to end surging separatist violence in the east. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said talks with Merkel and Hollande late Thursday raised “hope for a...
German, French leaders float Ukraine peace plan
People pass by a tank in Kiev that has been used by pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east and then brought to the Ukrainian capital as a symbol of the current conflict PARIS: The leaders of Germany and France launched a new diplomatic initiative over Ukraine yesterday, announcing they would fly together to Kiev and Moscow with a...
13 killed in fight with Russia-backed rebels
KIEV: Russian-backed separatists kept up their assault on railway hub in eastern Ukraine, fighting that authorities said has killed 13 government troops and wounded 20 others over the last day. The separatists were attacking several villages around the town of Debaltseve, a key rail link between the two rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk,...
Russia says nuke arms to keep military edge over NATO, US
MOSCOW: Russia’s top general said yesterday a strong nuclear arsenal will ensure military superiority over the West as Moscow forges ahead with a multi-billion dollar plan to modernize its forces by 2020. Russia, facing a likely recession because of a fall in oil prices and sanctions over Ukraine, must deal with new forms of Western...
EU moves to increase sanctions on Russia – Attempt to force all sides to the negotiating table
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias (second right), speaks with, (from left) French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders and Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders during a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU Council building. — AP BRUSSELS: France says European Union sanctions against...
Suspend EU-Israel treaty, urge dozens of MEPs
A group of 63, cross-party MEPs have urged EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The Agreement is the main treaty between the EU and Israel that has facilitated trade since 2000, and allows Israel to participate in a wide range of EU initiatives. The MEPs’ letter notes how “Amnesty...
Germany halts arms exports to Saudi Arabia – World leaders pay respects on day of mourning
Jordan’s King Abdullah (left) and French President Francois Hollande (right) pay their country’s condolences to the newly enthroned King Salman (center) late Saturday BERLIN/RIYADH: Germany has decided to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia because of “instability in the region,” German daily Bild reported yesterday. Weapons...
