BRUSSELS, 15 March 2022, (TON): North Macedonia is the first stop in my trip to the Western Balkans and I want to start thanking President  of North Marcedonia, Stevo, Penderovski, whom I met this morning, and let me thank you Prime Minister, dear Dimitar and the members of your government for receiving me at this crucial moment.

In fact, my visit comes against the backdrop of the barbaric aggression by [President of Russia, Vladimir] Putin against the people of Ukraine.

I am repeating, barbaric attack by Putin, that is Putin’s war on the people of Ukraine. Not only the military, but the civilians.

The Russian armed forces continue to carry out air missile and artillery strikes targeting civilians, peaceful neighbourhoods, assaulting food reserves, hospitals and schools. In Mariupol, they have trapped civilians, who are being bombed, starved and dehydrated as Russia has cut off water.

You could live without heating, but you cannot live without water. They have cut food and gas at temperatures below zero. More than 2.400 civilians have died in Mariupol since 24 February, when dear Prime Minister, we held a phone call about the situation.

CAIRO, 15 March 2022, (TON): Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, Egypt’s minister of state for military production, held talks with Raymond Piselli, vice president of Lockheed Martin and Joseph Rank, CEO of the American defense company in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Africa, on ways to enhance cooperation.

Morsi stressed the ministry’s primary role, which is to meet the needs of the armed forces and police in terms of ammunition, weapons and equipment.

He also reviewed the manufacturing, technological and human capabilities of the military production companies and units that can be a point of cooperation with the American company.

Morsi noted the Ministry of Military Production’s interest in benefiting from the expertise of Lockheed Martin, stressing the ministry’s eagerness to localize the latest global technologies in military industries and conclude a strategic partnership in advance defense systems that would benefit both sides.

WASHINGTON, 15 March 2022, (TON): Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with French MFA Secretary General Francois Delattre, German MFA State Secretary Andreas Michaelis, Italian MFA Secretary General Ettore Sequi, and UK Minister of State for Europe and North America James Cleverly.  

The participants discussed further measures to hold Russia accountable for a war of Moscow’s choosing, including by imposing further economic costs.

They discussed the provision of additional coordinated security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. 

They also emphasized their continuing support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and their resolve to stand with Ukraine.

CAIRO, 15 March 2022, (TON): Egypt has bought about 126,000 tons of wheat from Russia and Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

The Ministry of Supply and Internal Trade said “the shipments, comprising about 63,000 tons from each side, are expected to arrive at Egyptian ports in the coming days.”

It added “the country has also bought about 63,000 tons of wheat from Romania and recently received a further shipment of the grain from France.”

The announcement came after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi recently met with the government to approve new incentives encouraging local wheat growers to increase their output during the current season.

PARIS, 15 March 2022, (TON): Speaker of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Tiny Cox claims that the Russian Federation is on the way out of the assembly, as it did not react to the decision to suspend its powers.

Cox said “by violating the Ukrainian border, Russia crossed the red line of our organization.”

“Russia is on its way out of the organization because it did not react in any way to the decision to suspend the powers of its delegation.”

According to the speaker “Russia has not sent any statements about its withdrawal from PACE yet”.

At the same time, Cox recalled that, in accordance with the decision adopted in 2019, membership in the Council of Europe is two-stage.

NEW YORK, 15 March 2022, (TON): The work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in the future will be determined based on the situation on the ground.

Zbigniew Rau, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Poland chairing the OSCE, stated this on Monday at a briefing in the UN Security Council.

He said “the changing situation on the ground will likely determine the scope and nature of the future work of the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.”

Recognizing the experience gained over the eight years of the mission, I will work with OSCE structures and Member States to use the potential of the mission in the future. I hope that the staff of the mission, as well as the OSCE Project Coordinator in Ukraine, can continue their important mission.

Rau reiterated that the door for diplomacy on the situation around Ukraine remains open, but expressed the opinion that the possibility of a settlement depends on Russia’s willingness to work in this direction, and a sustainable solution must respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine in the international recognized boundaries.

RIYADH, 15 March 2022, (TON): Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met China’s special envoy for Middle East affairs, Zhai Jun, and his delegation in Riyadh.

During the meeting the two sides reviewed relations between the two countries as well as the latest developments in the region.

The minister also met French Ambassador Ludovic Pouille, Martina Strong, chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Riyadh.

TOKYO, 15 March 2022, (TON): Party lawmakers said that Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is set to begin internal discussions on nuclear deterrence, taking up the controversial issue of nuclear sharing with the United States.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its threat of using nuclear weapons have prompted calls from conservative members including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for Japan to discuss the topic.

The party sources said “the LDP’s panel on national security will hear expert opinions on U.S. and European nuclear deterrence strategies on Wednes-day and exchange views.”

Japan, which suffered the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, upholds the three principles of not possessing, not producing and not allowing nuclear weapons on its soil.

For years, it has relied on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for deterrence.

Designed to provide collective security for its members, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has nuclear sharing arrangements, under which non-nuclear states host U.S. nuclear weapons for use in the event of a war.

A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Abe said Japan should start discussing whether to seek a nuclear sharing arrangement similar to NATO’s, without a taboo.

MOSCOW, 15 March 2022, (TON): Moscow appreciates Doha’s desire to promote a settlement in this area. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a press conference following talks with Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.

He said “we had useful and meaningful talks with my Qatari colleague and friend Abdel Rahman Al Thani.”

For obvious reasons, much attention was paid to the Ukrainian theme.

They talked about how the current crisis has been brewing for many years with the connivance of Western colleagues who took patronage over the Kiev regime.

We informed how a special military operation is currently being carried out in the interests of protecting the inhabitants of Donbass from a direct military threat, how we are achieving a solution to the issues of demilitarization, denazification, including through negotiations. They were initiated a week ago and continue on the Belarusian site and via videoconferencing.

He spoke about my meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine D.I.Kuleba on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey.

We talked about the attention Russian representatives pay to solving humanitarian issues, creating corridors for the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone and delivering emergency humanitarian aid from Russia to the population of the relevant regions of Ukraine.

KABUL, 15 March 2022, (TON): Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, led a delegation that arrived in Kabul to assess Afghanistan’s humanitarian situation and also to meet with Islamic Emirate’s officials.

Talking to reporters at Kabul Airport, Grandi said “despite the crisis in Ukraine and other parts of the world, Afghanistan remains a priority for UNHCR.”

He said “but I came here also to say that there is not just the Ukraine, there are other crises in the world, other situations, that need attention and Afghanistan is a priority for us.”

He said “UNCHR has been helping the people of Afghanistan in the past more than 40 years and will continue its efforts to support both displaced people inside the country as well as those who have left Afghanistan and are living as refugees in other countries.”

He said “he will meet with Islamic Emirate officials to discuss the humanitarian situation in the country.”

He said “they agree very much that we must look at what are the solutions for the people who are refugees or displaced.”