Putin and Erdoğan sit down for talks
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has mentioned that conferences between Turkish and Russian delegations had been fruitful and that he would focus on developments in Syria and Ukraine along with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in line with Reuters information company.
Erdoğan made the feedback whereas sitting reverse Putin forward of their talks within the Black Sea metropolis of Sochi.
Key occasions
The primary cargo of Ukrainian grain since Russia’s invasion is predicted to dock within the northern Lebanese port metropolis of Tripoli on Sunday, state media and Ukraine’s embassy mentioned.
The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel Razoni set sail from the Ukrainian port of Odessa final Monday carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn and stopped in Turkey the subsequent day the place it was inspected.
The supply is the primary below a UN-backed deal, brokered with the assistance of Turkey final month, which goals to ease a worldwide meals disaster.
The ship is scheduled to succeed in Tripoli on Sunday morning, Lebanon’s Nationwide Information Company (NNA) mentioned.
“Its arrival is predicted at 10 am (native time) on the port of Tripoli,” a Ukraine embassy spokesperson informed AFP.
Kyiv mentioned one other 16 ships loaded with grain are ready to depart, three of which set off on Friday.
Ukraine, one of many world’s largest grain exporters, has resumed the exports following the deal, which seeks to launch tens of millions of tonnes of trapped Ukrainian produce to world markets.
An identical settlement ensures Russia can export produce and fertilisers regardless of Western sanctions.
Putin has thanked Erdoğan for Turkey’s function in serving to orchestrate the resumption of Ukrainian grain shipments.
“Deliveries have already begun, I need to thanks each for this and for the truth that on the identical time an accompanying resolution was made on uninterrupted provides of Russian meals and fertilisers to world markets,” Putin mentioned.
Putin and Erdoğan sit down for talks
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan has mentioned that conferences between Turkish and Russian delegations had been fruitful and that he would focus on developments in Syria and Ukraine along with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, in line with Reuters information company.
Erdoğan made the feedback whereas sitting reverse Putin forward of their talks within the Black Sea metropolis of Sochi.
A number one Russian hypersonics professional has been arrested on suspicion of treason, the state-controlled TASS information company reported on Friday.
Andrei Shiplyuk heads the hypersonics laboratory on the Novosibirsk Institute of Theoretical and Utilized Mechanics, in line with the institute’s web site, and has in recent times coordinated analysis to assist the event of hypersonic missile techniques, Reuters experiences.
The Russian information company cited considered one of Shiplyuk’s colleagues as saying searches had been carried out on the institute.
Final month Dmitry Kolker, one other Novosibirsk-based physicist, died of pancreatic most cancers shortly after being arrested on suspicion of treason.
Russia has banned traders from so-called “unfriendly nations” from promoting shares in sure strategic enterprises till the top of the 12 months, a presidential decree signed by Vladimir Putin confirmed on Friday.
The ban additionally applies to stakes within the Sakhalin-1 oil and fuel growth in Russia’s far east, Reuters experiences.
Its operator, ExxonMobil, mentioned this week it was within the means of transferring its 30% stake to a different get together.
Methods to halt the struggle in Ukraine and the attainable launch of a brand new battle in Syria are anticipated to dominate talks on Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Turkish chief was driving excessive from the diplomatic success of serving to orchestrate the resumption of Ukrainian grain shipments throughout the Black Sea when he took most of his high ministers to Sochi for his second spherical of talks with Putin in 17 days.
However there are tensions, AFP experiences. Putin informed Erdoğan in Tehran final month that Russia stays against any new offensive that Turkey may be planning in opposition to Kurdish militants in northern Syria.
Analysts consider these strains type a part of the “aggressive cooperation” that has outlined the 2 leaders’ relationship over the previous 20 years.
The 2 had been anticipated to carry non-public talks and a working lunch however no joint press convention.
European Council on International Relations fellow Asli Aydintasbas wrote in a report final week:
Russia’s struggle on Ukraine has restored Turkey’s self picture as a key geopolitical participant and given Erdoğan extra visibility than at any time in the previous few years.
Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash has written this remark piece in regards to the prospects of the struggle in Ukraine ending quickly. He says Putin is banking on a failure of political will within the west earlier than Russia runs out of firepower and that democratic leaders want to organize their residents for a protracted wrestle over Ukraine – and a tough winter.
He writes:
In his marketing campaign to defeat not solely Ukraine but in addition the west, Putin is relying on Russia’s two conventional wartime allies: Subject Marshal Time and Basic Winter. The Russian chief is weaponising vitality, decreasing fuel flows by means of the Nordstream 1 pipeline so Germany can’t totally replenish its fuel storage earlier than the climate turns chilly. Then he can have the choice of turning off the fuel fully, plunging Germany and different dependent European nations right into a determined winter. Excessive vitality costs because of the struggle proceed to turbocharge inflation within the west whereas retaining Putin’s personal struggle chest stuffed with the billions of euros Germany and others are nonetheless paying for Russian fuel and oil. Though a couple of grain ships at the moment are leaving Odesa, his blockade of Ukrainian ports has induced a meals value disaster throughout elements of the Center East and Africa, leading to a lot human distress and doubtlessly in refugee flows and political chaos. These, too, are Putin’s pals. Higher nonetheless: the worldwide south appears in charge this no less than as a lot on the west as on Russia.
Learn the total piece right here:
Beneath are a number of the newest pictures being filed to the newswires from photographers on the bottom in Ukraine:
Moscow has declared 14 Bulgarian diplomats persona non grata and ordered them to depart, Russia’s international ministry mentioned on Friday.
Bulgaria earlier this summer time expelled 70 Russian diplomatic workers over espionage issues and set a cap on the dimensions of Moscow’s illustration as relations between two nations that had been as soon as shut allies fractured over Ukraine.
Abstract of the day to date
It’s 11am in London and 1pm in Kyiv. Right here’s a abstract of the day’s fundamental developments to date:
- Three ships carrying nearly 60,000 tonnes of grain between them have departed Ukrainian Black Sea ports and are on their solution to Britain, Eire and Turkey respectively. Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, mentioned he plans “to make sure ports have the power to deal with greater than 100 vessels per 30 days”.
- Russia says it is able to speak about a prisoner swap with the US following yesterday’s nine-year jail sentence for US basketball participant Brittney Griner. Nevertheless, the Kremlin says any such negotiations shouldn’t be performed out publicly.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has criticised yesterday’s report by Amnesty Worldwide – which steered Ukrainian forces’ ways are endangering civilians by utilizing some faculties and hospitals as bases. Zelenskiy mentioned the report “can’t be tolerated” as there “can’t be any situation below which any Russian assault on Ukraine turns into justified”.
- The UK’s ministry of defence has raised issues in regards to the “safety and security” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant, which is below Russian management. It says Russia has “used artillery items primarily based in these areas to focus on Ukrainian territory on the western financial institution of the Dnipro river”.
- Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdoğan are scheduled to satisfy later immediately within the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Talks between the presidents of Russia and Turkey are anticipated to deal with Syria, Ukraine and the Russian building of a nuclear energy plant in southern Turkey.
- Canada is sending as much as 225 Canadian armed forces to the UK to recommence the coaching of Ukrainian army recruits, the Canadian defence minister has introduced. Since 2015, Canada has skilled 33,000 Ukrainian army and safety personnel however in February paused points of the coaching.
- A US official has accused Moscow of getting ready to plant pretend proof to make it seem like the current mass killing of Ukrainian prisoners in an assault on a Russian-controlled jail was brought on by Ukraine. Kyiv and Moscow have traded blame over the strikes on the jail in Kremlin-controlled Olenivka, in japanese Ukraine, final week.
That’s it from me, I’m now handing over to my colleague Nicola Slawson.
Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdoğan are scheduled to satisfy later immediately within the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Talks between the presidents of Russia and Turkey are anticipated to deal with Syria, Ukraine and the Russian building of a nuclear energy plant in southern Turkey.
Forward of the assembly, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed reporters it was essential to keep away from actions that would “jeopardise Syria’s territorial and political integrity”.
As Reuters experiences:
Ankara has carried out a number of operations in northern Syria since 2016, seizing a whole lot of kilometres of land and focusing on the YPG, regardless of opposition from Moscow.
Ed Ram
Dispatch: the western ex-military coaching Ukrainian recruits
Within the coronary heart of the Donbas, a gaggle of eight extremely skilled western ex-military personnel are delivering an intensive 10-day coaching course for 40 new Ukrainian recruits who’ve been pulled straight from the preventing.
Because the battle for Ukraine’s east grinds on, troopers within the Donbas have been taking heavy casualties in a vicious artillery battle. Ukraine’s skilled preventing drive, who’ve been defending the japanese frontline since 2014, are severely depleted. Since 24 February new recruits have been surging to the frontline, many with shockingly little coaching.
The recruits on the course have a patchwork of kit: totally different weapons, fatigues and physique armour of various high quality. Aged between their early 20s and mid 50s, the boys are of all shapes, sizes and ranges of health.
One in 10 was within the army earlier than the struggle they usually have had little or no formal coaching, explains Andy Milburn, founding father of the Mozart Group, a brand new non-public safety firm that’s tasked itself with coaching Ukrainian troopers.
Milburn, a retired Marine Corps colonel who spent 31 years within the US army, gathered professional volunteers to coach civilians preventing in Kyiv’s civil defence drive as they defended their capital. Now primarily based in Donbas, the Mozart Group consists of between 20 and 30 volunteers from the US, the UK, Eire and different western nations.
The Mozart Group’s title was coined by its members as a tongue-in-cheek musical reference to the Wagner Group, a shadowy Russian paramilitary organisation that’s typically described as Vladimir Putin’s non-public military. Milburn says at first he was “a bit ambivalent about utilizing the title” however that it has “caught on as a model now”.
Learn the total report right here:
Russia prepared to debate prisoner swap with US, says Lavrov
Yesterday, a Russian courtroom convicted the US basketball participant Brittney Griner on drug prices, sentencing her to 9 years in jail and a 1m rouble superb in a politically charged verdict anticipated to result in a prisoner swap with the US.
US president Joe Biden launched an announcement following Griner’s sentencing, calling her detention “unacceptable” and demanding she be launched.
Now, Russian international minister Sergei Lavrov has confirmed Russia can be keen to debate a prisoner swap, however not publicly.
Talking on the East Asia summit in Cambodia, Lavrov mentioned:
We’re prepared to debate this subject, however inside the framework of the channel that was agreed upon by presidents Putin and Biden.
If the Individuals resolve to as soon as once more resort to public diplomacy… that’s their enterprise and I’d even say that it’s their downside.
Ukraine’s ministry of defence says an extra 150 Russian troops have been killed prior to now 24 hours, taking Russia’s whole troop losses to 41,650.
The Guardian has not been capable of independently confirm this determine, and estimates from western intelligence recommend Russian fatalities could also be round half that quantity.
“…with a bit assist from my pals”
John Lennon & Paul McCartneyComplete fight losses of the enemy from Feb 24 to Aug 5: pic.twitter.com/LAMlf3naAl
— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 5, 2022
Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, has mentioned he expects meals exports from Ukrainian ports “will turn into secure and predictable for all market members” following this morning’s profitable export of grain.
In a Fb submit, he added he plans “to make sure ports have the power to deal with greater than 100 vessels per 30 days”.
Our aim is three million extra tonnes of agricultural export each month.
Such steps are wanted not just for the Ukrainian financial system, but in addition the world. The earlier we will export 20 million tonnes of final 12 months’s crop and begin exporting new ones, the earlier the world’s meals scenario will enhance.
Three extra 🛳 Navi star, Rojen & Polarnet left 🇺🇦 ports. Our fundamental aim is to extend the transshipment quantity in our ports. We’ve got to supply the processing of 100🛳 per 30 days to have the ability to export the required quantity of foodstuffs. pic.twitter.com/6QQyTWlsSX
— Oleksandr Kubrakov (@OlKubrakov) August 5, 2022
Tory Shepherd
Australia’s international affairs minister, Penny Wong, has walked out throughout her Russian counterpart’s handle to the East Asia summit in Cambodia.
It’s understood an Australian official was nonetheless current whereas the Russian international minister, Sergei Lavrov, spoke, and that it was not a pre-planned protest from Wong.
“Minister Wong couldn’t sit by means of Mr Lavrov’s try and justify the homicide of harmless Ukrainians,” a spokesperson mentioned.
Final month, on the G20 in Indonesia, Wong mentioned Russia’s aggression “can’t be normalised and it can’t be minimised”.
She added:
Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and unlawful invasion of Ukraine shouldn’t be solely the reason for untold lack of life and harm.
It isn’t solely a major reason for the worldwide vitality and meals safety disaster wreaking havoc on our economies and pushing tens of millions extra of the world’s individuals into extreme meals insecurity.
Additionally it is a profound breach of belief. And it’s as much as all nations to carry this breach to account, or the associated fee shall be borne by all of us.
This was first reported in our Australia information stay weblog.
