PARIS: France and Germany urged Russia’s Vladimir Putin Saturday to end the deadly days-long siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, the French presidency said after three-way talks.
“The situation is very difficult and humanly intolerable” in Mariupol, a source in the Elysee presidential palace said, after what it termed a “very frank and difficult discussion” with the Russian leader.
“The only decision President Putin must take is to lift the siege.”
French President Emmanuel Macron’s office also accused Putin of “lies” for alleging that Ukrainian forces had committed human rights abuses by using civilians as human shields.
The 75-minute three-way phone call with Macron, the Russian leader and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz focused on France and Germany’s call for an immediate cease-fire and steps toward a diplomatic solution, sources in the French and German leaders’ offices said.
Macron told Putin “the Russian army’s abuses must cease,” the source said, warning that its actions could qualify as war crimes.
They said the two leaders spoke separately before the call with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who asked them to call on Putin to halt the fighting.
Russian forces are closing in on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and bombarding several other cities. The offensive has driven millions of Ukrainians from their homes.
Zelensky also asked the leaders to help secure the release of the mayor of the city of Melitpol, who he said has been abducted by Russian forces.
“We are putting on maximum pressure and we will not let up,” the French presidency said.
Macron demanded “very strongly that the conflict cease as quickly as possible in order to avoid the worst, including (Russia) resorting to illicit weapons or destroying cities,” it added.
US President Joe Biden on Friday vowed that Russia would pay a “severe price” if it used chemical weapons in Ukraine.
Macron has taken a leading role in trying to engage with Putin over Russia’s offensive.
The Elysee says he has had nine conversations with the Russian leader since meeting him at the Kremlin on February 7. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Macron, Scholz urge Putin to end siege of Mariupol: France
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Macron, Scholz urge Putin to end siege of Mariupol: France
- "The situation is very difficult and humanly intolerable" in Mariupol, a source in the Elysee presidential palace said
- Macron told Putin "the Russian army's abuses must cease", the source said, warning that its actions could qualify as war crimes
Poland shuts consulate in Saint Petersburg on Russian order
- Russia ordered the closure in December after Poland said in October it was closing Russia’s consulate in the Polish city of Poznan
- “The Polish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg was shut down upon Russia’s withdrawal of its consent to the activity of the Polish post,” Poland’s foreign ministry said
WARSAW: Poland announced Wednesday it had shut its consulate in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, after Russia ordered the closure in a tit-for-tat move.
Russia ordered the closure in December after Poland said in October it was closing Russia’s consulate in the Polish city of Poznan, accusing Moscow of “sabotage” attempts in the country and its allies.
“The Polish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg was shut down upon Russia’s withdrawal of its consent to the activity of the Polish post,” Poland’s foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
“It is in retaliation for a decision of the Polish foreign minister to close down Russia’s Consulate General in Poznan in the aftermath of acts of sabotage committed on Polish territory and linked to Russian authorities.”
After Russia ordered the closure, Poland responded that it would close all the Russian consulates on its soil if “terrorism” it blamed on Moscow carried on.
Tensions between Russia and NATO member Poland have escalated since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, with both sides expelling dozens of diplomats.
Poland is a staunch ally of Kyiv and has been a key transit point for Western arms heading to the embattled country since the conflict began.
In one of the largest espionage trials, Poland in 2023 convicted 14 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine of preparing sabotage on behalf of Moscow as part of a spy ring.
They were found guilty of preparing to derail trains carrying aid to Ukraine, and monitoring military facilities and critical infrastructure in the country.
2 Russian firefighters died in blaze caused by Ukraine drone: governor
- “As a result of the liquidation (of the fire), there are two dead,” said the governor of Saratov region
MOSCOW: Two Russian firefighters died on Wednesday fighting a blaze caused by a Ukrainian drone attack, the local governor said, after Kyiv said it hit an oil depot that supplies Russia’s air force.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the liquidation (of the fire), there are two dead — employees of the emergency situations ministry’s fire department,” Roman Busagrin, governor of the Saratov region where the strike happened, said on Telegram.
UK police investigating suspicious vehicle in central London, carry out controlled explosions
- Road closures are in place in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington Street in central London, police said on X
LONDON: British police carried out a number of controlled explosions as a precaution in central London as they investigated a suspicious vehicle on Wednesday, the city’s police force said on social media.
Road closures are in place in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington Street in central London, police said on X.
Sri Lanka vows crackdown on illegal activities by Israeli tourists
- Government reacts to complaints over emergence of Israeli-run businesses and place of worship in Arugam Bay
- Last month, Sri Lankan civil groups demanded screenings of Israeli visitors to keep out potential war criminals
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will crack down on reported illegal activities carried out by Israeli tourists, its prime minister said on Wednesday, following a series of complaints since last year regarding their arrivals in the country.
A total of 25,514 Israelis visited Sri Lanka in 2024, according to government data. One of their favorite destinations is Arugam Bay, a small town on the southeastern coast, which is widely recognized as one of the world’s best surfing spots.
The predominantly Muslim region made international headlines in October last year, when US and Israeli authorities warned visitors of what they said was a “terrorist threat” focused on tourist areas and beaches. The alleged threat followed a series of altercations between Israelis and local residents.
Social media posts by visitors to Arugam Bay and complaints by locals themselves indicate that many of the arriving Israelis come for vacations after taking part in the ongoing deadly onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza.
Residents have also complained over the emergence of Israeli businesses in the area and the establishment of a Chabad house — a Jewish community center and place of worship.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said during Wednesday’s parliament session that Sri Lankan authorities have not granted “any permission for Israeli citizens to build religious places of worship or related buildings” and “the government will take prompt action to stop it.”
Responding to questions raised by opposition lawmaker Mujibur Rahman, she also addressed reports regarding Israelis running businesses in the area.
“We have identified this as a problem. Action will be taken against this, and steps will be taken to hold talks regarding it and stop such business activities,” Amarasuriya said.
“The government has not issued any visa for Israelis to engage in business activities in Sri Lanka, especially under tourist visas. They are engaging in such activities by violating our laws.”
The government’s reaction follows last month’s protests in Sri Lanka’s capital and a petition by civil society groups demanding special screenings of Israelis arriving in the country.
The direct trigger for the protest was the identification of at least one Israeli tourist as a soldier accused of war crimes.
The man was spotted in Sri Lanka by the Hind Rajab Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Belgium, which pursues legal action against Israeli military personnel involved in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza over the past 15 months.
Swasthika Arulingam, a human rights lawyer and leader of the People’s Struggle Movement, which helped organize the protest, slammed the former Israeli personnel.
She said those “coming here after/between service rounds, taking rest or time off from attacking Palestinians in the ongoing genocide,” and their “sympathizers who hold vigils and events for their genocidal comrades” were the most problematic groups of tourists arriving in the country and often spotted in Arugam Bay.
“We are also hearing stories of illegal tourist businesses being carried out by Israelis in Sri Lanka,” she told Arab News.
“The local economy is impacted by the factor these people are running operations in Sri Lanka making use of resources here and not paying their dues.”
The recent “terrorist threat” warning by the US has also affected the local community.
“Local residents and local tourism providers have told us that in the last couple of weeks, the advisories and threats have meant their own properties are subject to surveillance and checking from the military,” Arulingam said.
“As citizens of Sri Lanka, we are yet to know if there were actual security concerns or was this simply bullying tactics by the US to keep Sri Lanka in check. We are concerned regarding what’s transpiring in Arugam Bay.”
French minister calls for hijab ban on school trips
- Bruno Retailleau: ‘The veil is a banner for Islamism, a marker of the subordination of women to men’
- Islamists seek to ‘overturn our institutions and undermine national cohesion to impose Shariah law’
LONDON: French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has called for a ban on Muslim women wearing hijabs while accompanying children on school outings, The Times reported.
French state schools already have a ban on religious head coverings, while the senate approved a bill mandating the removal of headscarves on school outings in 2019, but it did not become law.
“The threat of attack has never been so great as now,” said Retailleau. “It is now primarily endogenous — young individuals radicalized through social media. Last year alone, our services foiled nine attacks, the highest number since 2017.”
Political Islam poses a national threat as it seeks to “overturn our institutions and undermine national cohesion to impose Shariah law in the long term,” he added.
To combat this, the French state must curtail the spread of Islamism in public spaces, sports and education, he said.
“Women accompanying them (students) should not be veiled,” Retailleau added. “The veil is a banner for Islamism, a marker of the subordination of women to men.”
He said his views target a new tolerance for Islamism on the French political left, adding: “Today antisemitism has two faces: Political Islam and also the face of those who use the Palestinian tragedy to court the Muslim vote.”
