WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a video call on Tuesday to deal with military tensions over Ukraine other topics.

Biden wants to discuss US concerns about Russia's military buildup on the Ukraine border, a US source said on Saturday, as well as strategic stability, cyber and regional issues.

He said "we're aware of Russia's actions for a long time and my expectation is we're going to have a long discussion with Putin."

Biden told reporters on Friday as he departed for a weekend trip to Camp David. "I don't accept anybody's red lines.”

The Kremlin said “the two will also talk about bilateral ties and the implementation of agreements reached at their Geneva summit in June.”

He said "the conversation will indeed take place on Tuesday."

He said "Bilateral relations, of course Ukraine and the realisation of the agreements reached in Geneva are the main (items) on the agenda.”

More than 94,000 Russian troops are massed near Ukraine's borders. Ukraine Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Friday that Moscow may be planning a large-scale military offensive for the end of January, citing intelligence reports.

WARSAW (TASS): Poland’s ruling Law and Justice Party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, organized a meeting of the largest European right-wing conservative parties in Warsaw to discuss deepening cooperation and preferred directions for the development of the European Union.

The details of this meeting were reported to journalists by the Polish deputy of the European Parliament Tomasz Poreba.

He said “this meeting is intended primarily to serve to deepen cooperation at the European level between different parties, and also takes place in order to put a new diagnosis of the functioning of the EU and identify areas that clearly require changes.”

The MEP, quoted by the Polish Press Agency said “according to the MP, there are currently no plans to create a new group of conservative parties in the EU. “We’ll see in the future, but so far there is no such topic.”

Poremba said “a very good discussion [demonstrating] the conviction that the current direction of the EU’s development, consistent attempts to assign the competence of nation states by European institutions, the European Parliament, the European Commission, is absolutely not the path that should serve the development of the EU, EU citizens, the future of all of Europe.”

ANKARA: Turkey tentatively supports the withdrawal of all mercenaries from Libya, but negotiations with Ankara are complicated by the fact that it demands that this process be coordinated with both the West and the East of the country.

This was announced by media sources by a source close to the ongoing meetings of the country’s leadership and members of the Libyan Joint Military Committee in Turkey.

“Turkey, in principle, supports the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries from Libya, said the agency’s interlocutor. However, the negotiations are difficult, she insists that everyone should determine a clear time frame for the start of their withdrawal.”

The source said “now this is complicated by the fact that Ankara wants to establish a timetable for all, understandable for all, for the withdrawal of both Syrian mercenaries and fighters from the eastern part of the country [Libya].”

December presidential and parliamentary elections as part of a comprehensive plan that was approved by the [Libya Joint Military Committee].

VIENNA (AFP): Diplomats paused international talks in Vienna Friday aiming at the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, with European participants “disappointment and concern” after five days of negotiation.

Senior diplomats from the so-called E3 (Britain, France and Germany), said “Tehran is walking back almost all of the difficult compromises crafted after many months of hard work.”

Delegations from the talks will now return to their national capitals before talks restart in Vienna in the middle of next week “to see whether gaps can be closed or not”, the diplomats said.

The E3 “remain fully committed to a diplomatic way forward,” they added, but stressed that “time is running out”.

The talks are aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, which was initially agreed between Britain, China, France, Germany Iran, Russia and the United States.

The accord aimed at putting curbs on Iran s nuclear programme to ensure it couldn t develop an atomic weapon, in exchange for sanctions relief for Tehran.

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron said “several European countries are working on opening up a joint diplomatic mission in Afghanistan that would enable their ambassadors to return to the country.”

Western countries have been grappling with how to engage with the Taliban after they took over Afghanistan in a lightning advance in August as U.S.-led forces were completing their pullout.

The United States and other Western countries shut their embassies and withdrew their diplomats as the Taliban seized Kabul, following which the militants declared an interim government whose top members are under U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

Macron told reporters in Doha before heading to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia “we are thinking of an organisation between several European countries, a common location for several Europeans, which would allow our ambassadors to be present.”

The United States, European countries and others are reluctant to formally recognize the Pashtun-dominated Taliban, accusing them of backtracking on pledges of political and ethnic inclusivity and to uphold the rights of women and minorities.

ISLAMABAD, 05 December 2021, (TON): The Foreign Office said “Pakistan has been re-elected to the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for the term 2022–2024.”

According to the press release, the elections were held during the recently concluded 26th session of the Conference of States Parties held in The Hague from 29 November to 2 Decembe, 2021.

It stated “the re-election of Pakistan to the 41-member Executive Council of the OPCW is a testament to Pakistan’s positive role in the OPCW.”

The statement said “the re-election reaffirms the confidence of the Member States in Pakistan’s ability to provide effective leadership and impetus to the work of the OPCW.”

Pakistan has been an active member of the OPCW and has served on the Executive Council since its ratification of the CWC in 1997.

It stated “Pakistan has been contributing constructively towards the fulfilment of the objectives of the CWC and regularly hosts OPCW routine inspections at its relevant facilities.”

ISLAMABAD, 05 December 2021, (TON): The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) received $3 billion from Saudi Arabia under a support package signed between Pakistan and the Kingdom.

In a tweet, Shaukat Tarin confirmed that the Kingdom has deposited the loan amount with the country’s central bank.

Shaukat Tarin also thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the kind gesture.

The deposit follows after Saudi Funds approved an agreement of $3 billion with the State Bank.

The SBP had earlier this week signed an agreement with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to receive $3 billion to shore up its depleting foreign exchange reserves.

NAYPYITAW, 05 December 2021, (TON): The Karen National Union (KNU) announced on December 3 that more than 100 troops of the Military Council were killed during a series of clashes in November in the Mutraw District (Hpapun) area of the Karen National Union (KNU) Brigade (5) territory.

According to the KNU, there were 151 clashes, killing 103 troops of the military council and injuring 88 others.

The statement said “the dead included a battalion commander and a company commander, and the wounded included a battalion commander and a company commander.”

The KNU also said that six horses belonging to the military council were killed and six others were injured in the fighting, and seven military vehicles were destroyed in a blaze.

It was said in the statement that three troops of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) were killed and seven others were injured in the clashes between November 1 and 30.

MOSCOW: Movement to and from the border is meant to make any tactical moves murky and cause uncertainty

Russia is orchestrating a multi-front offensive involving up to 175,000 troops as soon as next year, US media reported, as Ukraine warned that a large-scale attack may be planned for next month.

Moscow's plans "involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment," a US administration official told media on condition of anonymity.

While the Pentagon told media it would not comment on intelligence matters, it said it was "deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for aggressive actions against Ukraine."

Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Tony Semelroth said "we continue to support de-escalation in the region and a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.”

Russian forces are currently massing at four points, with 50 battlefield tactical groups deployed in addition to the fresh arrival of tanks and artillery, the Post said, citing an unclassified US intelligence document.

RIYADH: French President Emmanuel Macron met Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler in Jeddah to discuss regional stability, in particular crisis-hit Lebanon, after insisting he has not ignored Riyadh's rights record.

Macron landed in the kingdom's Red Sea city after visits to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar as part of a short Gulf tour.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shook hands with Macron, who wore a face mask, welcoming him at the royal palace before talks and a lunch together.

He becomes one of the first Western leaders to meet with Prince Mohammed in the kingdom since Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside Riyadh's Istanbul consulate in 2018.

Dialogue with Saudi Arabia was necessary to "work for stability in the region", Macron said.