KFOR’s decision to hand the responsibility for guarding Serb monasteries in Kosovo over to Kosovo police jeopardizes the safety of the monasteries.
This is according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko.
Posts Tagged ‘foreign ministry spokesman’
Moscow weighs in on monastery security
August 12th, 2010 |
No Comments
Russia: Plan for north “private initiative”
February 4th, 2010 |
No Comments
The Russian MFA today in Moscow criticized the strategy for Kosovo’s north, appraising that it falls outside the jurisdiction of the EU representative. The adoption of the strategy for the north of Kosovo does not fall within the competence of EU Special Representative Peter Feith, but is rather only a private initiative, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said on Thursday, according to a Tanjug news agency report.
Russia: Strategy for north violates 1244
January 29th, 2010 |
No Comments
Official Moscow believes that the so-called strategy for northern Kosovo violates the Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council. It also generates tensions in the province, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko stated on Friday.
Google brand awareness soars in China after pull-out threat
January 20th, 2010 |
No Comments
Web search engine Google’s brand awareness in China has soared after the firm threatened to pull-out of the country over hacking of email accounts of many human rights activists, a research firm said.
Edward Yu, president of domestic research firm Analysys International, told China Daily Tuesday that his company has sensed a significant growth of search [...]
Lavrov to discuss Karabakh in Armenia
January 11th, 2010 |
No Comments
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss Nagorny Karabakh during his visit to Armenia on January 13-14, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday. Lavrov will meet with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan.
China quashes claims of its star-wars dreams
November 6th, 2009 |
No Comments
China has clarified that the People’’s Liberation Army’s recent interest in space programs is not aimed at weaponizing outer space, but to engage in peaceful ventures.
The China Daily quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, as saying: “I want to point out China has all along upheld the peaceful use of outer space. We oppose the [...]
India rejects Mother Teresa claim
October 14th, 2009 |
No Comments
India has rejected a demand by the Albanian government for the return of the remains of Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, buried in the city of Calcutta. “Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen and she is resting in her own country, her own land,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said.
China urges restraint over NKorea missile tests
October 14th, 2009 |
No Comments
China on Tuesday called for restraint after a series of North Korean missile tests and said the launches should not hamper an improving outlook for diplomacy in dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear programmes.
“We have noted that the DPRK (North Korea) has launched short-range missiles. I believe that this will not affect the improving situation on the [...]
China releases Vietnam fishermen
August 12th, 2009 |
No Comments
By Nga Pham
BBC News
In a surprise move, China has decided to free 25 Vietnamese fishermen arrested months ago for "violating Chinese territorial waters".
They were held off the Paracel Islands, which are claimed by both countries.
Until recently, the Chinese authorities were demanding thousands of dollars for their release.
But the Vietnamese government requested the fishermen be returned unconditionally, saying they had been operating within Vietnam’s territory.
See map showing rival claims in the South China Sea
Vietnam foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said the Vietnamese embassy in Beijing had been officially informed about the release of 25 fishermen, from central Quang Ngai province.
"All the fishermen were freed and on the way back home. It is expected that they’d arrive in the next few days," Mr Dung said.
Disputed waters
Among them are 12 fishermen arrested by the Chinese fishing patrol on 16 June near the Paracel islands.
Another 13 were detained on 1 August while seeking shelter from an approaching typhoon, also near the Paracels.
Vietnam and China have been involved in a long territorial dispute over the islands, as well as over the Spratly islands located further south.
China took the Paracels by force in 1974 after a bloody battle in which 50 soldiers from the then South Vietnamese Saigon government were killed.
But Vietnamese fishing boats continue to operate near the islands in what they call their traditional fishing fields.
This year Beijing has toughened its three-month fishing ban in the South China Sea, leading to attacks on Vietnamese boats and arrests of fishermen.
Most of them were quickly released but some were detained while the authorities tried to extract payment from the Vietnamese.
Hanoi ‘under pressure’
The detention of 12 Quang Ngai fishermen since June has provoked a tremendous public outcry in Vietnam.
There have been calls on the government to stand its ground and not pay Chinese officials, as this could be seen as a recognition of China’s rights in the disputed area.
Hanoi officials have also been under increasing pressure to show that they can defend Vietnamese people.
The fishermen’s release could bring a huge sigh of relief, but the Vietnamese government has yet to work with China on some related "outstanding issues", according to Mr Dung.
It seems problems remain far from being resolved.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Tension rises on Ossetia boundary
August 4th, 2009 |
No Comments
Russian forces have been put on a higher state of readiness ahead of this week’s first anniversary of the war with Georgia, Russia says.
The foreign ministry accused Georgia of a series of "provocations".
Russia claims villages in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia have been hit by mortar fire.
Georgia, meanwhile, says Russia has moved border posts further onto its territory. EU monitors on the ground say neither claim can be confirmed.
The EU has urged both sides to show restraint as the anniversary of the war, on 7 August, approaches.
The EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia (EUMM) is the only organisation now monitoring the boundary line.
It has called for unrestricted access on both sides of the boundary. Russian and Ossetian forces have not allowed EU personnel into South Ossetia so far, to check the allegations of Georgian attacks.
Click here for a map of the region"The situation is very worrying and the Georgian provocations ahead of the anniversary of last year’s war are not halting," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said in a statement.
"In connection with this, the battle-readiness of Russian troops and border guards stationed in South Ossetia has been heightened," he said.
"At the moment, the main thing is not to allow an escalation and development of the shootings into a more serious clash. We are doing and will do everything to avoid this."
However, Russia has threatened "to respond" if alleged mortar attacks continue.
Last year’s conflict erupted on 7 August as Georgia tried to retake control of South Ossetia. Russia quickly repelled the assault and pushed its forces deeper inside Georgia, before pulling back.
Since the war Russia has built up its military presence in both South Ossetia and Georgia’s other breakaway region of Abkhazia, and has recognised both as independent.
Analysts say both sides are using the approaching anniversary to try and score political points against each other.
Click here to return
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Russian troops in S. Ossetia on alert
August 4th, 2009 |
No Comments
Russia has put its troops and border guards in South Ossetia on heightened alert over recent border provocations carried out by Georgia. This is according to a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, quoted by RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday.
North Korea ready for nuclear talks with US
July 27th, 2009 |
No Comments
Pyongyang seeks to end standoff with US and address foreign tensions over missile launches
North Korea said today it was open to talks about the rising tension over its nuclear weapons programme, a marked shift in tactics after months of ratcheting up foreign anxieties with nuclear test and missile launches.
The statement appeared to be a call for direct talks with the United States, a longstanding goal of the regime. It comes days after the North Korean leadership traded jibes with the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, at a regional summit in Thailand. It said she was “by no means intelligent” and looked like a schoolgirl or a pensioner going shopping, after she compared it to a group of “small children”.
In today’s announcement the foreign ministry in Pyongyang made clear its continued opposition to the six-party nuclear talks, which it said sought only to “disarm and incapacitate” the nation.
The statement from a foreign ministry spokesman, carried by state media, said that siding with those who sought their resumption “will not help to ease tension”. But it said: “There is a specific and reserved form of dialogue that can address the current situation.”
Analysts say North Korea has used its weapons tests to improve its technology, advertise it to potential customers and bolster support for the regime after the illness of the leader, Kim Jong-il. But they also believe it is attempting to grab the attention of the US and push it into direct negotiations.
The US has said it would hold direct talks with Pyongyang within the six-nation process if it returned to the negotiating table and took irreversible steps towards denuclearisation. North Korea quit the aid-for-disarmament discussions in April.
The talks stalled last winter as North Korea wrangled with the US over how to implement agreed measures and verify its activities.
But Washington will not want to be seen to reward North Korea’s military tests, and Clinton told NBC yesterday the multinational negotiations were the appropriate way to engage with the state.
The other nations involved in the discussions – China, Japan, South Korea and Russia – would be reluctant to see bilateral talks. Beijing is concerned that a direct relationship between Pyongyang and Washington would damage its own long-term interests.
On Friday, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, Sin Son Ho, said the country was “not against a dialogue”, according to Japan’s Kyodo news agency.
North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the country’s envoy told an Asian security conference last week the nuclear standoff was a matter between Pyongyang and Washington.
In yesterday’s interview, Clinton repeated her warning that North Korea does not have any friends left after the UN security council’s toughening of sanctions last month.
She praised China, the North’s main ally, for being “extremely positive and productive” in pressuring Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programme.
“We’ve been extremely gratified by their forward-leaning commitment to sanctions and the private messages that they have conveyed to the North Koreans,” Clinton said.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
N Korea hints at ‘specific’ talks
July 27th, 2009 |
No Comments
North Korea has again insisted it would not return to six-party talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear weapons programmes.
But it has hinted it was still open to some form of dialogue.
"There is a specific and reserved form of dialogue that can address the current situation," state media quoted a foreign ministry statement.
The note follows an exchange of insults between the North and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week.
The ministry statement quoted by North Korean media did not elaborate on what form any new dialogue could take.
Some analysts saw the statement as a sign that after a series of provocations to the international community, North Korea may now be ready to find a way to ease tension.
But it was clear that the North believes that past patterns of persuasion or pressure for Pyongyang to rejoin talks with China, Russia, South Korea, Japan and the United States were over.
"Any attempt to side with those who claim the resumption of the six-party talks without grasping the essence of the matter will not help ease tension," the foreign ministry spokesman said in the statement.
Six or two
North Korea’s UN envoy, Sin Son-ho, had said on Friday that Pyongyang was not opposed to negotiations with the US, but that it would not return to the six-party format.
In the past, the North has demanded talks only with the US, something Washington has previously been loath to do.
North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper also said Sunday that the country’s envoy told an Asian security conference in Thailand last week that the nuclear standoff was a matter only between Pyongyang and Washington.
The US says it is willing to hold direct talks with the North within the six-nation process if it returns to the negotiating table and takes irreversible steps for denuclearisation.
On Sunday, Mrs Clinton said on NBC television that the six-party talk framework was "the appropriate way to engage with North Korea."
The North quit the multilateral disarmament talks after the UN Security Council imposed tough sanctions after the North launched nuclear and missile tests.
These include an expanded arms embargo and beefed up inspections of air, sea and land shipments going to and from North Korea.
Speaking at an Asian regional forum in Thailand last week Mrs Clinton said North Korea had no friends to protect it from international efforts to end its nuclear programme.
Separately, a spokesman in Pyongyang described Mrs Clinton as a "funny lady" – responding to her comments that North Korea’s behaviour was that of an unruly child.
"Her words suggest that she is by no means intelligent," the spokesman said, quoted by state news agency KCNA.
"Sometimes she looks like a primary schoolgirl and sometimes a pensioner going shopping. Anyone making misstatements has to pay for them."
</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Rio denies China bribery claims
July 17th, 2009 |
No Comments
The Anglo-Australian mining firm, Rio Tinto, has strongly denied its staff engaged in bribery as alleged by China.
Australia has also repeated its request for a quick resolution of the case, in which one Australian and three Chinese Rio Tinto staff have been detained.
China, which detained Australian Stern Hu on 5 July, has told Australia not to interfere in the legal process.
Analysts say the allegations of spying against Rio Tinto in Shanghai risk damaging Australia-China ties.
"Rio Tinto believes that the allegations in recent media reports that employees were involved in bribery of officials at Chinese steel mills are wholly without foundation," Rio Tinto’s iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh said.
"We remain fully supportive of our detained employees, and believe that they acted at all times with integrity and in accordance with Rio Tinto’s strict and publicly stated code of ethical behaviour."
Rio added that it remained "very concerned" about its employees and said it was still shipping iron ore to China, following reports it was pulling out staff and cutting back exports.
Polite talk
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had pressed China "politely but firmly" to push through the case.
"When I had my conversation with Vice Minister He, I made the point that Australia understood that this was a matter before Chinese legal and potentially judicial processes," Mr Smith told public broadcaster ABC, after meeting China’s Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei during a multinational summit in Egypt.
Their meeting came a day after China told Australia not to interfere in its judicial process.
"We are firmly against anyone stirring up the case and interfering with the independent judicial authority of China. This is not in the interest of Australia," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Thursday.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned that China has big economic interests at stake in the case of a mining executive accused of spying.
The United States has also urged Beijing to ensure transparency and fair treatment for staff of foreign companies.
The Shanghai-based staff of the Anglo-Australian mining firm Rio Tinto are accused of stealing state secrets from Chinese steel mills.
China has widened its investigation into the industry’s workings by investigating executives at Chinese state-owned steel firms in recent days.
In June, Rio Tinto abandoned a $19.5bn deal with China’s state-owned Chinalco in favour of a tie-up with rival giant BHP Billiton, to the anger of some in Beijing.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
‘no Way Militants Can Grab Our N-arms’
November 12th, 2007 |
No Comments
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said yesterday it had sufficient “retaliatory
capacity” to defend its nuclear weapons and that there was no risk they
would be seized by the Taliban or Al Qaeda-linked militants, who have
expanded their control beyond the country’s north-western border regions.
The comment came a day after an American newspaper reported that the
United States has secret plans to safeguard Pakistan’s nukes and that US
officials worry their limited knowledge about the location of the arsenal
could pose a problem.
Denouncing “irresponsible conjecture”, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said
the country was ready to defend its nuclear arsenal and there was no risk
of the arms being taken. “If there is any threat to our nuclear assets and
sovereignty, we have the capacity to defend ourselves,” foreign ministry
spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told AFP.
A ministry statement went further, saying in response to the Washington
Post report: “Pakistan possesses adequate retaliatory capacity to defend
its strategic assets and sovereignty.”
The ministry strongly denied its weapons were at any risk: “Our strategic
assets are as safe as that of any other nuclear weapons state.”
The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the US has secret contingency
plans to safeguard Pakistani nuclear weapons if they risk falling into the
wrong hands.
“We can’t say with absolute certainty that we know where they all are,”
one unidentified former US official told the newspaper, adding that any US
effort to secure Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal “could be very messy”.
Under a more optimistic scenario, the Pakistani military would help the US
in any intervention, the Washington Post said. In other cases, that
assistance might not be forthcoming, it cautioned.
Among US intelligence agencies, there is particular concern now over the
cohesion of Pakistan’s army if extremist violence and opposition protests
against President Pervez Musharraf escalate, the report said.
Last week, former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton
encouraged the US to support General Musharraf – who has come under
international pressure for imposing a state of emergency that has stomped
on civilian rights – to protect the nuclear stockpile from Islamic
fundamentalists. – AGENCIES