Month: January 2024

moscow — Russia’s top diplomat on Thursday dismissed a U.S. proposal to resume a dialogue on nuclear arms control, saying it’s impossible while Washington offers military support to Ukraine. 

Speaking at his annual news conference, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of fueling global security risks by encouraging Ukraine to ramp up strikes on Russian territory and warned that Moscow would achieve its goals in the conflict despite Western assistance for Kyiv. 

Commenting on a U.S. proposal to resume contacts in the sphere of nuclear arms control, Lavrov described it as “unacceptable,” saying that Moscow had put forward its stance in a diplomatic letter last month. He argued that for such talks to be held, Washington first needed to revise its current policy toward Russia. 

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in June that the Biden administration was ready to talk to Russia without conditions about nuclear arms control even as Russia-U.S. ties were at their lowest point since the Cold War, noting “it is in neither of our countries’ interest to embark on opening the competition in the strategic nuclear forces.” 

But Lavrov charged that Washington’s push for the revival of nuclear talks has been driven by a desire to resume inspections of Russia’s nuclear weapons sites. He described such U.S. demands as “indecent” and cynical in view of Ukraine’s attacks on Russian nuclear-capable bomber bases during the conflict. 

He mocked the U.S. offer to resume nuclear arms dialogue, arguing that Washington’s position amounts to saying, “We have declared you an enemy, but we’re ready to talk about how we could look at your strategic nuclear arsenal again.” 

Extensive mutual inspections of nuclear weapons sites were envisaged by the New START treaty, which then-Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed in 2010. The inspections were halted in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never resumed. 

Moscow participation suspended

In February 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended Moscow’s participation in the treaty, saying Russia could not allow U.S. inspections of its nuclear sites at a time when Washington and its NATO allies have openly declared Moscow’s defeat in Ukraine as their goal. Moscow emphasized, however, that it wasn’t withdrawing from the pact altogether and would continue to respect the caps on nuclear weapons the treaty set. 

The New START, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between Russia and the United States, limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers. It’s set to expire in 2026, and the lack of dialogue on anchoring a successor deal has worried arms control advocates. 

“Amid a ‘hybrid war’ waged by Washington against Russia, we aren’t seeing any basis, not only for any additional joint measures in the sphere of arms control and reduction of strategic risks, but for any discussion of strategic stability issues with the U.S.,” he said. “We firmly link such possibility to the West fully renouncing its malicious course aimed at undermining Russia’s security and interests.” 

The minister said Washington’s push for restarting nuclear arms talks was rooted in a desire to “try to establish control over our nuclear arsenal and minimize nuclear risks for itself,” but added that “those risks are emerging as a result of forceful pressure on our country.” 

He accused the West of blocking any talks on ending the conflict and inciting the ramping up of attacks on Russia. 

“Such encouragement and the transfer of relevant weapons shows that the West doesn’t want any constructive solution,” Lavrov said. “The West is pushing toward the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, and that raises new strategic risks.” 

Asked if tensions with the West over Ukraine could spiral into a showdown resembling the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis — when the U.S. and the Soviet Union found themselves on the edge of nuclear war — Lavrov sternly warned against encouraging Ukraine to strike targets in Russia. 

He specifically accused Britain of inciting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to order such attacks, although he didn’t offer any proof to back the claim. 

“London is literally egging on Zelenskyy to bomb any facilities anywhere in Russia,” Lavrov said. 

‘We will achieve’ goals in Ukraine

He reaffirmed that Russia would pursue what it calls the “special military operation” regardless of Western pressure. 

“We will consistently and persistently press the goals of the special military operation and we will achieve them,” he said. “They should have no hope that Russia could be defeated in any way. Those in the West who fantasize about it have failed to learn history lessons.” 

On other foreign policy issues, Lavrov talked at length about growing influence of the Global South and argued that Western sway in international affairs was waning. 

He hailed Russia-China ties, saying they were going through their “best period in history” and were stronger than a conventional military union. 

Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s call for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, describing it as the only way to ensure security for both Palestinians and Israel. He also criticized the U.S.-led attacks on Yemen, saying that “the more the Americans and the British bomb, the less desire to talk the Houthis have.”
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Turkey has joined with Bulgaria and Romania to clear mines from the Black Sea, facilitating Ukrainian efforts to export grain to world markets. But as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, Turkey is also resisting calls to allow NATO mine-clearing ships.
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The need to move wounded soldiers from remote front lines to safety with limited resources has forced Ukrainian volunteers to innovate a way to turn used SUVs into casualty evacuation vehicles, or CASEVACS for short. Lesia Bakalets visited a workshop in Kyiv where old cars are repurposed into lifesaving vehicles. VOA footage by Evgenii Shynkar.
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Washington — Israel’s ongoing response to last year’s Hamas attack has included a spike in arrests of Palestinian journalists in the occupied West Bank, a report released Thursday found.

The country in 2023 ranked as the sixth-worst jailer of journalists globally, with 17 behind bars, all of them jailed after the October 7 terror attack, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ.

The annual report, which captures a snapshot of journalists jailed for their work as of December 1, found 320 journalists behind bars overall. Among those held are contributors to VOA and its sister networks Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

China topped the 2023 census, followed closely by Myanmar, Belarus, Russia and Vietnam. Iran tied with Israel for sixth place, each with 17 journalists jailed.

“The message is clear. Journalists hold the powerful to account,” said CPJ’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “And those in power often find that incredibly threatening.”

Ginsberg said the data shows how authoritarian regimes abuse laws to “detain and silence journalists.”

“And that’s exactly what it’s intended to do. It’s intended to silence critical voices,” she said.

CPJ has documented more arrests of Palestinian journalists since conducting its December 1, 2023, census. In total, Israel detained 25 since October 7, and as of Wednesday, 19 remained behind bars, CPJ found.

“These high number of arrests are simply a reflection of the broader crackdown that we’re seeing on journalists,” Ginsberg said.

 

The conflict has already proved to be the deadliest on record for journalists, with at least 83 journalists killed, including 76 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment. It has previously denied targeting journalists.

Media-related detentions are common in the West Bank, according to Palestinian political analyst Nour Odeh. But Odeh, a former Al Jazeera reporter, said she has never witnessed anything like the recent wave of arrests.

“The scale is really astounding,” Odeh told VOA from Ramallah, adding that she thinks the goal behind the crackdown is “showing who’s boss.”

Most of those detained are held in administrative detention, CPJ found. That means Israeli authorities can hold the journalist without charge, on the grounds that they believe the journalist is planning to commit a crime in the future, CPJ said.

“You don’t really have to do anything to get arrested. There is no protection,” Odeh said. “There’s nothing that will shield you.”

Another trend in this year’s prison census is the use of non-journalism charges to target reporters, Ginsberg said. Those charges range from money laundering to tax evasion to terrorism.

“In that way, those in power can paint journalists as criminals, as the enemy,” Ginsberg said.

The Chinese government is among the countries that regularly use national security charges to target reporters.

China has long ranked among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, and this year the country ranked in the top spot, with 44 journalists imprisoned.

Nearly half of those — 19 — are Uyghurs, marking a grim intersection between Beijing’s poor press freedom record and its human rights abuses against the majority-Muslim ethnic group.

The United Nations has warned that China’s abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang may amount to crimes against humanity. Several governments, including the United States, have said the abuses amount to genocide. Beijing denies any wrongdoing.

For Zubayra Shamseden, who works at the Uyghur Human Rights Project in Washington, the disproportionate jailing of Uyghur reporters is no coincidence.

“For the Chinese government, Uyghur journalists are a dangerous group of people,” Shamseden told VOA. “They try to crack down on Uyghur journalists particularly because they want to shut the Uyghur voice off.”

CPJ’s Ginsberg said journalists who cover minority groups or are from minority groups themselves are among the most persecuted.

In response to VOA’s email requesting comment, a spokesperson at China’s Washington embassy rejected reports that Beijing does not respect media freedom.

“The Chinese government protects press freedom in accordance with law, and gives full play to the role of media and citizens in supervising public opinion,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that some in the U.S. “smear and attack China,” which, they said, “in itself is spreading disinformation.”

Ginsberg pointed to Hong Kong — where media freedom has sharply declined since China enacted the National Security Law in 2020 — as just one piece of evidence to the contrary.

The pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai is currently on trial under the law and, if convicted, he could face life in prison.

Most journalists are jailed in their home countries. But of the 320 reporters held globally, CPJ documented 17 detained in foreign countries — most in Russia.

Of the 22 journalists imprisoned in Russia, 12 are foreign nationals, including two Americans and 10 Ukrainians. 

“That tells you not just how Russia wants to control the narrative inside the country, but also how it’s looking to control the narrative outside the country,” Ginsberg said.

Russia’s Washington embassy did not reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.

The Americans are The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Alsu Kurmasheva. International press freedom groups say the charges against both of them are groundless and politically motivated.

Gershkovich, who denies the espionage charges against him, has been detained for nearly 10 months. And Kurmasheva, who was detained in October, has rejected accusations she violated Russia’s foreign agent law.

Paul Beckett, a Washington-based assistant editor at the Journal who is leading the newspaper’s campaign to secure Gershkovich’s release, said the impending one-year anniversary of his colleague’s arrest should reinvigorate efforts to free the reporter.

“This should give everyone a renewed sense of urgency that this has gone on too long and needs to be remedied as quickly as possible,” Beckett told VOA.
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berlin — Heavy snow and freezing rain hit parts of northern and central Europe on Wednesday, bringing transport to a halt in some Scandinavian regions and causing major disruption at airports in Frankfurt and Oslo. 

At Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, freezing rain forced a halt to takeoffs, German news agency dpa reported. The airport cited a danger of deiced aircraft icing up again as they taxied toward the runway. Some departures resumed in the afternoon as the rain subsided. Hundreds of flights already had been canceled. 

The airport in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, was closed temporarily as heavy snow reduced visibility for pilots. Airport spokesperson Ylva Celius Trulsen said the huge amount of snow and wind hampering traffic was “very unusual” and the resulting closure was “extremely rare.” The airport reopened later Wednesday. 

Heavy snowfall brought traffic to a standstill in large parts of Scandinavia, with roads and highways clogged with stranded motorists, public transportation delays, cancellations on some ferry routes and the closure of some bridges. Police in several parts of Denmark urged people to stay home. Southern Sweden also saw heavy snowfall. 

The freezing rain across western and southern Germany led to many accidents on icy roads early Wednesday. As a precaution, many schools and kindergartens closed and some companies offered employees the option of working from home. 

National train operator Deutsche Bahn canceled several long-distance trains and announced that the maximum speed of its ICE high-speed trains was limited to 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph) for the day as a precaution. 

The small airport in Saarbruecken closed for the day, and there were delays and cancellations in Munich and elsewhere. 
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