29/10/22
22/07/22
CRISE DOS CEREAIS: À ESPERA DE BOAS NOTÍCIAS
Se o acordo for assinado — ainda não li notícias que o confirmem — será uma vitória, embora tardia, para todos os esfomeados da Terra e também para Erdogan, esse paladino da democracia que, ao contrário dos responsáveis da União Europeia, tem vindo a marcar pontos desde o início da invasão da Ucrânia pela Rússia.
Mas diz que no fim a democracia sairá reforçada.
16/07/22
GUERRA NA UCRÂNIA: A UNIÃO EUROPEIA CARREGA NAS SANÇÕES, ERDOGAN CONSEGUE ACORDOS PARA GRÃOS E CEREAIS
25/06/22
GUERRA NA UCRÂNIA, PUTIN E A FOME EM ÁFRICA: A SENHORA URSULA TEM DE SAIR MAIS DE CASA
Requested several times by the Ukrainian presidency since April and pushed back just as many times by the AU, the effort behind the organization of the simple video message illustrates the tense relationships between Mr. Zelensky and the leaders of the continent: While the first is trying to rally Africa to its cause in fighting against the Russian invader, the second is sticking to a neutral position, with unclear parameters.
For Mr. Zelensky, it was a matter of defending his version of the conflict and responsibilities in the food crisis suffered by the continent. "Africa is the hostage of those who started the war against our state," he said, referring to Moscow. The "unfair" level of food prices "caused by the Russian war is painfully felt on all continents," he said.
He also launched a charm offensive. After recalling Ukraine's contribution to peacekeeping missions in Africa and the commercial ties that unite it with the continent, the president announced the upcoming appointment of a special envoy for Africa and proposed the organization of a "major Ukrainian-African political and economic conference."
'Unrealistic projects'
However, Mr. Zelensky's 10-minute message generated little interest on the African side. "They're unrealistic projects that didn't have any major impact here," said an African diplomat who listened to the speech. Only four heads of state followed it live. At the same time, seven leaders were meeting in Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss security issues in the Great Lakes region.
Organizing this speech was a symbolic way for the AU to recalibrate its communication, which until then had been mainly directed at Russia. At the beginning of June, the AU's current chairperson and Senegal president, Macky Sall, and the chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki, traveled to Sochi to meet Vladimir Putin where Mr. Sall criticized the Western sanctions against Russia.
Mr. Zelensky's attempt to rally the continent to the Ukrainian cause is almost futile, as revealed by several diplomatic sources within the AU. "I don't know what exactly he expects from us, but our priority remains the supply of grain and fertilizer," said an East African diplomat. During a recent visit to Paris, Mr. Sall hammered home the message: "We're not really into the debate of who is right and who is wrong. We just want access to grain and fertilizer," he said in an interview with Le Monde.
Almost half of the African countries depend on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine. 14 of them even receive more than half of their wheat from these two countries. In addition, fertilizer is also in short supply as both the rainy and the sowing seasons have begun.
'False naivety'
Within this context, the AU president is asking Ukraine to clear the strategic port of Odesa of mines to allow the loading of cargo ships, claiming to have received guarantees of non-aggression from Mr. Putin. "About Odesa, Mr. Sall is showing blatant false naivety," said Paul-Simon Handy, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies. "He's taking Mr. Putin's words at face value."
In case of demining, Kyiv fears a Russian invasion through the Black Sea. In his video, Mr. Zelensky presented the cargo solution, recalling that "the food crisis started on February 24, when the Russian fleet blocked Ukrainian ports." "No real mechanism has yet been implemented to ensure that Russia doesn't attack the ports again," he stressed.
In concluding his speech, the leader tried to play on the AU's anti-imperialist stance. "Russia is trying to conquer our land, to turn Ukraine into a Russian colony," he said. Without much success. As the continent's leaders in this crisis, Mr. Sall and Mr. Faki are walking a tightrope, forced to maintain an ambiguous position that will please both Moscow's African supporters and neutral parties. Senegal president welcomed on Monday on Twitter Mr. Zelensky's "friendly address," reaffirming that "Africa remains committed to the respect of the rules of international law, the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the freedom of trade."»
08/06/22
GUERRA NA UCRÂNIA: LAVROV NÃO FOI À SÉRVIA MAS ESTÁ NA TURQUIA E LEVA SEMENTES NO BOLSO
E agora pergunto eu: mas isto não era uma guerra para reforçar a democracia no mundo?
Então expliquem-me, mas muito devagarinho, o protagonismo crescente de regimes suspeitos na tentativa de resolução do conflito.
Já agora: como estamos quanto ao petróleo da Venezuela?
07/06/22
A GUERRA, A FOME, A CRISE DOS CEREAIS E A ABERTURA DE PORTOS: ÚLTIMAS NOTÍCIAS
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed willingness to ship grains from Berdyansk and Mariupol ports. He said that the seaports of Mariupol and Berdyansk have started operating, TASS reported. Shoigu said that the demining of the port of Mariupol has been completed.
In his statement, Shoigu said that the port of Mariupol received the first cargo ship and the seaport of Berdyansk had started to operate. The statement of Sergei Shoigu comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, 3 June, had expressed readiness to organise the export of Ukrainian grain through ports that are under the control of Russian forces without any condition, as per the news report. He had expressed willingness to allow the entry of foreign ships into Azov and the Black Sea. Furthermore, Putin assured the safety of the foreign ships that will enter through these ports.
Speaking about the situation in Donbass, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that troops of Moscow have "liberated" residential quarters in Severodonetsk and the forces continue to have control over its industrial zone and nearby settlements. He said that Russian forces had taken control of Popasna in Luhansk and claimed that 97% of the LPR region has been "liberated," as per the TASS report.
Sergei Shoigu claimed that the total number of Ukrainian soldiers who have "surrendered" has reached 6,489. Furthermore, he said that Russian forces have destroyed 21 155 mm howitzers, 16 drones, 12 armoured vehicles and two multiple rocket launchers in Ukraine over the past ten days. The statement of the Russian Defence Minister comes as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues for more than 100 days.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been seeking a secure corridor for Ukrainian vessels to export grain and avert a food crisis, according to AP. Speaking at a news conference on 6 June, Zelenskyy informed that Ukraine continues to hold talks with Turkey and Britain about security guarantees for Ukrainian ships. As per the AP report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to hold talks over blocked grain with Turkish authorities during his visit to Turkey on Wednesday.
Earlier on June 3, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko spoke with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. During the telephonic conversation, Lukashenko expressed willingness to transit the Ukrainian grain to Baltic ports through Belarus, according to the statement released by the Belarusian President's office. He said that Turkey was ready to provide all kinds of assistance for transporting shipments through Belarusian rail transport.
03/06/22
GUERRA NA UCRÂNIA: PEDE-SE ENCARECIDAMENTE A PRESENÇA DE ADULTOS NA SALA
Enquanto a União Europeia debatia o magno problema do estatuto a atribuir ao patriarca Kirill da Igreja Ortodoxa russa e Josep Borrell perdia tempo a pronunciar-se com firmeza sobre o assunto no Twitter, Putin reunia-se presencialmente na Rússia com o presidente da União Africana, o senegalês Macky Sall, para discutir a crise dos cereais.
Era só.
02/06/22
GUERRA NA UCRÂNIA: DO JORNALISMO FOFINHO OU DE COMO A IMBECILIDADE TOMOU CONTA DISTO
Em plena crise de cereais que se prevê fazer aumentar consideravelmente a fome no mundo, abro o computador e deparo com esta notícia.