19 Jun, 2024 20:25

Ukraine could invite Russia to next peace talks – Zelensky aide

Kiev is open to Moscow’s participation in the next peace conference, Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak has said.

Andrey Yermak has announced the possibility after the failed conference in SwitzerlandKiev is open to Moscow’s participation in the next peace conference, Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak has said.

Yermak held a conference call with reporters late on Tuesday, to offer Kiev’s perspective on the so-called peace summit held over the weekend at a resort in Lucerne, Switzerland. He revealed that working groups are already preparing a follow-up meeting.

“All of these parts will be part of this joint plan, which will be supported by a number of countries” at the next meeting, Yermak said, according to Bloomberg. “We think it will be possible to invite [a] representative of Russia.”

While Kiev has enjoyed the support of the US and its allies in the conflict with Moscow, Zelensky has long sought to get approval from more countries for his “peace formula.” The conference in Switzerland was a failure in that respect, with some of the participants refusing to sign the final communique and others withdrawing their signatures.

Multiple countries – most notably China – turned down invitations to attend the conference because Russia was not invited, arguing that this rendered any idea of peace talks meaningless from the start. Zelensky’s government has outlawed any talks with the current Russian leadership.

Yermak insisted that the Swiss conference had been a success and said the next meeting will be “more representative.” Ukraine is “realistic” and seeks to unite “responsible countries” in support of Zelensky’s formula, he added.

Moscow has dismissed Kiev’s proposed peace blueprint as unrealistic and even ridiculous, since it envisioned Russia giving up Crimea, paying reparations and submitting to a war crimes tribunal, among other things. On the eve of the Swiss conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Moscow’s set of preconditions for peace talks, starting with Kiev’s recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye.

According to the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, the Swiss conference was really intended to soothe doubts about the legitimacy of Zelensky’s government, “which has already been bankrupt for a long time, both politically and economically.”

The Ukrainian president’s term officially ended on May 20, and the country’s constitution does not provide for a way to extend it.Meanwhile, some Ukrainian officials have complained that Yermak has been the real power in Kiev and that his purges of rival officials have eroded trust of the West.

https://www.rt.com/russia/599595-yermak-ukraine-russia-peace-talks/

The real Rachel Madcowon The View

19 Jun, 2024 22:27

US surprised at speed Russia built new alliances – WSJ

Washington reportedly did not see Moscow’s outreach to Beijing and Pyongyang coming

Moscow’s security partnerships with Beijing, Pyongyang and other US “adversaries” were not anticipated by Washington, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing anonymous intelligence sources.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a strategic partnership and mutual defense treaty with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Wednesday, before flying on to Vietnam. Putin’s trip to China last month prompted one US policymaker to declare that decades of American efforts to keep Moscow and Beijing apart have come to naught.

“The speed and depth of the expanding security ties involving the US adversaries has at times surprised American intelligence analysts. Russia and the other nations have set aside historic frictions to collectively counter what they regard as a US-dominated global system, they said,” the WSJ reported on Wednesday.

Washington has accused Pyongyang of “sending workers to Russia to help man weapons production lines,” as well as selling missiles and artillery shells to Moscow, for use against Ukraine.

The US also believes China has enabled Russia’s military industry to circumvent Western sanctions, by delivering “massive quantities of dual-use equipment, including machine tools, microelectronics … optics for tanks and armored vehicles, and turbo engines for cruise missiles,” according to the Journal’s sources. They also alleged that China has helped Russia “improve its satellite and other space-based capabilities for use in Ukraine.”

Beijing has rejected US allegations, called the sanctions unilateral and illegitimate, and accused Washington of hypocrisy for fueling the conflict by arming and supplying Kiev.

Iran has become “Russia’s primary weapons supplier,” unnamed Pentagon officials told the Journal, accusing Tehran of helping build a factory in Tatarstan Region capable of making Shahed-136 drones by the thousands.

Russia’s “expanded security ties” with the DPRK, China and Iran don’t amount to a NATO-like military alliance but appear to be “a series of bilateral exchanges,” anonymous Americans told the Journal. The technology transfers involved risk improving the long-term capabilities of all countries involved, thereby threatening the US, they added.

Earlier this month, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin announced that Russia’s strategy of economic relations with the ‘Global South’ would involve partnerships based on “technology and competency transfers rather than market control.”

Moscow has also signaled it would turn to the ‘Global South’, which has been alienated by the West’s behavior in the Ukraine conflict. The attempts by the US and its allies to isolate Russia have suffered a “complete failure,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in February.

https://www.rt.com/news/599598-us-surprised-russia-alliances/

19 Jun, 2024 19:15

Switzerland could distribute cocaine to addicts

The proposed measure is aimed at alleviating the country’s growing crack epidemic

Switzerland is considering introducing an experimental program to distribute prescription cocaine among drug users, which might help them beat their crack addiction.

While the measure has been advocated by humanitarians and experts for some time, now Switzerland’s Federal Commission for Addiction and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases (EKSN) is considering it as well.

“People who consume crack several times a day get caught in a vicious circle of procurement and consumption,” EKSN Vice President Christian Schneider told the public broadcaster SRF on Tuesday.

“We are at least suggesting how cocaine could be given to severely addicted crack users so that they can break the vicious circle and recover.”

The commission is now considering setting up special teams to visit crack addicts and provide them with medical and psychotherapeutic aid. The controlled distribution of cocaine is also an option, the official suggested, citing the state’s efforts to beat a past heroin epidemic which involved dispensing the drug, or its substitute methadone, to addicts. However, there are no plans to begin “simply handing out cocaine in large quantities,” Schneider warns.

Some medical experts, however, are highly critical of the idea, arguing that no solid scientific research exists which would justify such a program. Moreover, it is unclear whether the authorities would be able to determine the demand for crack among addicts, addiction specialist Marc Vogel from University Psychiatric Clinics in Basel told the broadcaster.

“The main question is whether we can achieve saturation so that people are satisfied. Whether this will work with cocaine distribution is at least very questionable,” he said.

Switzerland began experiencing troubles with growing crack cocaine abuse in around 2020, with reportedly high-quality and arguably cheap merchandise flooding the streets. Geneva was hit by the crack wave first, with the problem subsequently spreading to several other major cities, including Basel, Zurich and Lausanne.

Small-time street dealers of African origin arriving in the country from France in numbers have reportedly greatly contributed to the ongoing crack epidemic. The booming drug market has also attracted addicts from other countries as well, with only a third of crack users in Geneva believed to be locals.

“One third are from Geneva, one third are from France and one third are migrants,” Camille Robert, co-director of a Geneva-based addiction study group, said in March.

https://www.rt.com/news/599584-switzerland-addicts-cocaine-distribution/