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Zelensky to meet Trump on Sunday for crucial Ukraine talks

Zelensky to meet Trump on Sunday for crucial Ukraine talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US president, Donald Trump, in Florida on Sunday (28 December) at 3.00 p.m. local time, in what many see as crucial talks on the future of Ukraine. Over the weekend, Russia has continued its attacks on  Ukraine, with the Ukranian air force warning that a drone and missile threat is in force for the entire country. Moscow currently controls about 75% of the Donetsk region, and some 99% of the neighbouring Luhansk.   Ukraine's president last met President Donald Trump at the White House in October Ukraine has sought to secure guarantees from the US as part of a peace deal, and Zelensky has suggested that a demilitarised "free economic zone" is a potential option for areas of Donbas that Russia has failed to take by force. On Friday, Zelensky told reporters that the 20-point plan was 90% complete: "Our task is to make sure everything is 100% ready." He wrote on social media: "We are not losing a single day. We have agreed on a meeting at the highest level – with President Trump in the near future. A lot can be decided before the new year." But in an interview with Politico, published on Friday, Trump said his Ukrainian counterpart "doesn't have anything until I approve it". "I think it's going to go good with him. I think it's going to go good with [Vladimir] Putin," Trump said. He also said he expects to speak with the Russian president "soon".

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Blinken emphasises continued U.S. commitment to a two-state solution and opposition to policies that endanger its viability during phone call with new Israeli counterpart

Blinken emphasises continued U.S. commitment to a two-state solution and opposition to policies that endanger its viability during phone call with new Israeli counterpart

Benyamin Netanyahu is back in office as prime minister of Israel, at the head of a coalition that has been described as the most right wing in the history of the Jewish state. Changes are expected in policy on a number of issues, including a hardening of foreign policy positions and support for new settlements in the Palestinian territories. The United States, whist remaining Israel's staunchest supporter, is concerned about what the new policies may lead to. In a short statement on Monday (2 January) , the State Department said that "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke today with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to congratulate him on his appointment and underscore the United States’ abiding commitment to the U.S.-Israel partnership and to Israel’s security."  The statement added that Blinken "emphasized the continued U.S. commitment to a two-state solution and opposition to policies that endanger its viability."
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Lula is back

Lula is back

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil's president on Sunday, delivering a searing indictment of far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro and vowing a drastic change of course to rescue a nation plagued by hunger, poverty and racism. In a speech to Congress after officially taking the reins of Latin America's biggest country, the leftist said democracy was the true winner of the October presidential vote, when he ousted Bolsonaro in the most fraught election for a generation. Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for the United States on Friday after refusing to concede defeat, rattled the cages of Brazil's young democracy with baseless claims of electoral weaknesses that birthed a violent movement of election deniers.
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Happy New Year 2023

Happy New Year 2023

The editorial team, research associates, staff and contributors of commonspace.eu wish all our readers and subscribers across the world a very happy new year 2023. We hope the new year will bring peace and prosperity in the world, and friendship amongst people and nations.
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Season's Greetings

Season's Greetings

The editorial team, associates and contributors at commonspace.eu extend their best wishes for the festive season to all our readers and subscribers around the world. Happy holidays!
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President Zelensky addresses US Congress

President Zelensky addresses US Congress

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on his first foreign visit since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, has addressed the US Congress in person. This followed being welcomed to the White House by US President Joe Biden and the First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, and a wider American-Ukrainian discussion on the ongoing war during which US Vice-President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III were also present. During his address to the US Congress, President Zelensky delivered a defiant speech in which he said that "against all odds and doom and gloom scenarios, Ukraine did not fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking", adding that his country would never surrender. Referring to other conflicts in Russia's so-called "near abroad", Zelensky said that "this battle cannot be frozen or postponed. It cannot be ignored hoping that the ocean or something else will provide a protection." Zelensky's visit comes amid concerns from Republicans over the cost of American military aid to Ukraine. His address can be seen in large part as an attempt to assuage those worries and make the case for long-term American support for Ukraine's military. He notably said that "Your money is not charity, it's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way."
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Biden hosts Africa at the White House

Biden hosts Africa at the White House

US president Joe Biden hosted the leaders of 49 African nations in Washington DC 13-15 December sending a strong signal of US determination to increase its engagement with the African continent A read-out from the US State Department said that "the 3-day summit continued efforts to  strenghten ties with African partners based on principles of mutual respect and shared interests and values. It also served as an opportunity to listen to and collaborate with African counterparts on key areas the United States and Africa define as critical for the future of the continent and our global community. "   Delegations from all 49 invited African countries and the African Union, alongside members of civil society and the private sector attended the summit. The President, Vice President, and members of the US government engaged extensively with leaders throughout the Summit. The summit has received a lot of attention across the world, as many see it as an expression of US will to challenge the creeping influence of China and Russia on the African continent.
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Shock after Irish peacekeeper killed in Lebanon

Shock after Irish peacekeeper killed in Lebanon

An Irish soldier was shot and killed on a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and a second was in a critical condition after a “hostile” crowd surrounded their armored vehicle, Ireland’s defense minister said on Thursday. Irish peacekeepers have been in Lebanon since 1978 and it is the first Irish fatality there in two decades. “We’re all very shocked and deeply saddened, it is a reminder to us of the extraordinary sacrifices that our peacekeepers make on a constant basis,” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin told reporters in Brussels. The Irish soldiers, part of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL), were on what Simon Coveney, who is also Ireland’s foreign minister, said was considered a standard run from UNIFIL’s area of operations in south Lebanon to Beirut when the incident happened in Al-Aqbieh late on Wednesday “The two armored vehicles effectively got separated. One of them got surrounded by a hostile mob, I think that’s the only way you could describe them, and shots were fired. Unfortunately, one of our peacekeepers was killed,” Coveney told Irish national broadcaster RTE.