ATHENS: Greek-Russian billionaire Ivan Savvidis, a key investor in Greece who is thought to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, finds himself in an uncomfortable position as one Russian oligarch after another is targeted by sanctions in Europe.
Savvidis, a former member of the Russian parliament, has a fortune estimated by Forbes at $1.6 billion in 2022, making him one of the richest men in Greece.
A prominent figure in Greece since the 2010s, he is considered a hero by many in the north of the country after injecting millions in the depths of the debt crisis.
This month he offered to put one of the hotels he owns at the disposal of refugees fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including members of the ethnic Greek community in Ukraine, who like his ancestors settled on the shores of the Black Sea.
But the reclusive 62-year-old found himself the target of unwelcome attention when the Russian embassy bluntly encouraged Greeks to watch his station, Open TV, to get an alternative view to what it called “misleading propaganda” about the war in Ukraine.
Denounced by Greek authorities, the embassy’s intervention has nevertheless raised speculation about the prolific Russia-born investor’s role and intentions in Greece.
Elected to the Duma, the Russian parliament, in 2003 and 2007 for Putin’s party “United Russia,” Savvidis has never hidden his closeness to the Russian head of state.
His official website displays a photo of the two men smiling with the caption: “I am proud to be a Russian citizen and I will always protect the interests of my country.”
“Since the beginning of the invasion, Open TV has given a prominent place to the war thanks to a large network of correspondents both in Ukraine and Russia,” says Nikos Smyrnaios, lecturer in information science and communication at the University of Toulouse in France.
“In my opinion, there is neither manipulation nor shameless propaganda. But in an audiovisual landscape (in Greece) dominated by pro-government channels, there is clearly a difference in the media treatment of the situation,” said the academic, saying Open TV’s coverage was less overwhelmingly pro-Ukrainian “and less warlike.”
The conservative New Democracy government has focused its attention on the businessman, who launched his channel under the previous left-wing Syriza government.
Though Savvidis does not appear on the lists of sanctioned oligarchs, “his case is obviously being followed closely,” a Greek economy ministry source told AFP.
A Greek reporter who has studied his case but asked to remain anonymous said: “I believe Savvidis will not be one of the next targets for EU sanctions. But if there is an in-depth investigation into his activities outside Greece, he could be one of the future ones.”
Savvidis appeared in Greece in the early 2010s, and was welcomed in Thessaloniki with open arms.
In 2012, he bought the most popular soccer club in northern Greece, PAOK FC, paid off its debts and put it back on the national stage, reviving the pride of the north whose identity had long been forged in opposition to Athens.
His investments in the region in the tobacco industry, the port of Thessaloniki, mineral water and tourism infrastructure gradually gave him a wide economic base.
“Through the scope of his investments, Savvidis is a state within a state in northern Greece,” notes the reporter.
A descendant of the Pontic Greeks in the Black Sea, Savvidis has also financed the first department of Pontic studies at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, in addition to churches and a philanthropic foundation.
But there is a darker side too.
In 2018, Savvidis made international media headlines for charging onto PAOK’s home pitch during a match with a gun tucked in his belt to protest a refereeing decision.
That same year, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) said the billionaire had financed protests against the Prespa agreement, signed between Greece and North Macedonia to end a quarter-century dispute over the latter’s name.
Moscow has frowned on the deal, which has opened a path for North Macedonia to get European Union and NATO membership.
“Perhaps his power and influence in Greece is overestimated,” said Nikos Varsakelis, professor of economics at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki.
“If there are financial sanctions against him, the impact will be more on his image than on the real economy.”
Savvidis’ representatives told AFP he declined to comment.
But an associate and friend has dismissed speculation about Savvidis as ridiculous.
“They make him look like a spy, a Trojan horse of Russia in Greece. It’s ridiculous,” said the source, who requested anonymity.
Ukraine war shines spotlight on Greek-Russian billionaire Savvidis
https://arab.news/225nz
Ukraine war shines spotlight on Greek-Russian billionaire Savvidis
- Ivan Savvidis, a former member of the Russian parliament, has a fortune estimated by Forbes at $1.6 billion in 2022, making him one of the richest men in Greece
- In 2018, Savvidis made international media headlines for charging onto PAOK’s home pitch during a match with a gun tucked in his belt to protest a refereeing decision
Australia, Turkiye in 2026 UN climate summit hosting standoff
- The COP summit is the centerpiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures
BAKU: Australia and Turkiye are in a standoff over which country is better suited to host United Nations climate change talks in 2026, with neither willing to give up on their bid.
Both countries have been in the running since 2022, but matters have come to a head at this year’s COP29 summit being held this week in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Australia’s climate minister made a last-minute stop in Turkiye on Friday, his office confirmed, hoping to reach a deal on the Australian bid. However, Turkish officials declined to drop their bid and the two remain in talks.
The host has a central role in brokering compromises at the annual summit and steering the final phase of negotiations. This can deliver both diplomatic prestige and a global platform to promote the country’s green industries.
The COP summit is the centerpiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures.
Every country has a shot at hosting, if they want to, as a member of one of five regional groups to take it in turns.
That system has drawn criticism as fossil fuel producers including the United Arab Emirates have played host — raising concerns among campaigners over whether countries which are deeply invested in polluting industries can be honest brokers of climate talks.
Fatma Varank, Turkiye’s deputy environment minister, told Reuters that the country’s Mediterranean location would help reduce emissions from flights bringing delegates to the conference, and highlighted its smaller oil and gas industry compared with Australia.
Australia is among the world’s largest exporters of fossil fuels.
“We don’t deny the fact that we have traditionally been a fossil fuel exporter, but we’re in the middle of a transition to changing to export renewable energy,” Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen told Reuters at COP29.
“We have a story to tell,” he said, explaining that Australia was pitching a ‘Pacific COP’ to elevate issues affecting the region’s vulnerable island states.
Turkiye, which has a small oil and gas industry, gets around 80 percent of its energy from fossil fuels and was Europe’s second-largest producer of coal-fired electricity in 2023.
It offered to host the COP26 talks in 2021 but withdrew its bid, allowing Britain to preside over the summit. Varank said Turkiye was reluctant to step aside again.
Whoever wins would need unanimous backing from the 28 countries in the UN’s Western Europe and Others regional group. There is no firm deadline, although hosts are often confirmed years in advance to give them time to prepare.
Members including Germany, Canada and Britain have publicly backed Australia. Pacific leaders have backed Australia on the condition that it elevates the climate issues they suffer such as coastal erosion and rising seas.
Fiji’s climate secretary Sivendra Michael told Reuters the country backed Australia’s bid.
“But we are also cautiously reminding them of the national efforts that they need to make to transition away from fossil fuels,” Michael said.
Turkiye declined to say which members of the regional group had offered it support.
Ukraine, Middle East conflicts eating into US air defense stocks, US admiral says
- Paparo said the expenditure of US air defenses “imposes costs on the readiness” of the United States to respond in the Asia-Pacific, particularly given that China is the most capable adversary in the world
WASHINGTON: Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into US stockpiles of air defenses, the top US admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday.
The admission by Admiral Sam Paparo could draw the attention of members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, who are more skeptical of the war in Ukraine and who argue that President Joe Biden has failed to prepare for a potential conflict with China.
“With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said during an event.
Paparo said the expenditure of US air defenses “imposes costs on the readiness” of the United States to respond in the Asia-Pacific, particularly given that China is the most capable adversary in the world.
Biden’s administration has been steadily arming Ukraine and Israel with its most sophisticated air defenses. The US Navy has been directly defending shipping in the Red Sea in the face of missile and drone attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In the case of Ukraine, Biden has given Kyiv a full array of defenses, including Patriot missiles and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile systems.
The United States last month deployed to Israel a THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, and about 100 US troops to operate it. The THAAD is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems.
Progressive senators call to block US arms sales to Israel
- The Vermont representative told reporters that “what is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable,” pointing in particular to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Palestinian territory, as well as large-scale destruction of buildings
- The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the death toll from the ongoing war has reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians
WASHINGTON: A handful of left-leaning senators on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to halt arms sales to Israel, accusing the United States of playing a key role in the “atrocities” of the war in Gaza.
The four senators gave the media conference ahead of a Wednesday vote on resolutions condemning the US weapons sales — measures that are expected to fail given the large number of lawmakers who support Israel, a historic American ally.
The resolutions were put forth by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, alongside several other Democrats.
The Vermont representative told reporters that “what is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable,” pointing in particular to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Palestinian territory, as well as large-scale destruction of buildings and infrastructure.
“What makes it even more painful is that much of what is happening there has been done with US weapons and with American taxpayer support,” he said.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the death toll from the ongoing war has reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
The war began first began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The administration of President Joe Biden has steadfastly backed Israel while counseling restraint for more than a year.
“The United States of America is complicit in these atrocities,” Sanders said. “That complicity must end and that is what these resolutions are about.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, also speaking at the media conference, questioned whether America’s foreign policy and commitment to Israel had forced the United States to “be blind to the suffering before our very eyes?“
French president urges Putin to ‘listen to reason’ on Ukraine
- Emmanuel Macron said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to "use all his influence" with Putin to try to achieve a de-escalation.
RIO DE JANEIRO: French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “listen to reason” on Ukraine, accusing Moscow of becoming “a force of global destabilization” after it loosened its rules on using nuclear arms.
Speaking to journalists after the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the French leader said: “I want truly to call here on Russia to listen to reason. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council it has responsibilities.”
He said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the G20 to “use all his influence” with Putin to try to achieve a de-escalation.
Macron said Russia ally China had “the capacity to negotiate with President Putin so that he halts his attacks” on Ukraine.
Macron also cited the alleged involvement of another China ally, North Korea, which has reportedly deployed thousands of troops to fight alongside Russia, as a reason for Beijing to intercede.
Russia has reacted furiously to a decision by US President Joe Biden to change policy on Ukraine and allow Kyiv to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time.
The tensions spiralled further on Tuesday after Russia said Ukraine used the missiles against a facility in Russia’s Bryansk region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was at the G20, said the escalation had brought the United States and Russia to “the brink of direct military conflict.”
’You will die in lies!’: daughter clashes with father at French rape trial
- A total of 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, are on trial, with one defendant still at large
AVIGNON, France: The daughter of the French man standing trial for enlisting dozens of strangers to rape his heavily-sedated wife on Tuesday clashed with her father at his trial, shouting in the courtroom that he would “die in lies.”
Since early September, Dominique Pelicot has been in the dock along with 49 other men for organizing the rapes and sexual abuse of his now ex-wife Gisele Pelicot.
In a closing statement, Dominique Pelicot again admitted to the accusations, saying that his “motive” was wanting to satisfy a “fantasy.”
“I came to do what I did through people who willingly accepted what I proposed,” he told the court.
Dominique Pelicot, as in previous statements, went back to his past, saying that he was affected throughout his life by a rape he said he suffered at the age of nine in hospital, and then at the age of 14 being forced to witness the gang-rape of a young girl at a building site.
“I don’t know when I’ll get out, but if I do get out (of prison), I don’t have any plans. What saddens me the most is that people think I’m capable of certain things that I’m not capable of doing,” he added.
Family lawyer Antoine Camus then interjected that Dominique Pelicot’s daughter Caroline Darian, joined in court by her brothers David and Florian, needed an “audible and human response” to the actions she says she is “convinced” she suffered at his hands.
Caroline Darian, a pen name, in 2022, wrote a book “Et j’ai cesse de t’appeler papa” (“And I stopped calling you dad“). She believes she was also assaulted by her father who took intimate photographs of her.
“I am not going to try to convince her with perverse answers,” Dominique Pelicot replied.
“I don’t remember taking these photos. I tell her straight in the eyes that I never touched her.”
He then turned to her directly and said: “Caroline, I have never done anything to you.”
But she interrupted, saying: “You lie, you don’t have the courage to tell the truth! Even about your ex-wife!“
“You will die in lies! Alone, alone in lies Dominique Pelicot!,” she continued before being interrupted by judge Roger Arata.
Nude photos taken without her knowledge and photomontages of Caroline Darian with lewd titles were found on her father’s hard drive. In some, she appears asleep, sometimes wearing her mother’s underwear.
A total of 51 men, including Dominique Pelicot, are on trial, with one defendant still at large.
