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EU lawmakers on Thursday condemned the crackdown on media freedom in military-ruled Myanmar and called for the release of “every unfairly detained journalist.”

Since the military seized power in February last year, it has forced at least 12 media outlets to shut down and arrested about 142 journalists, 57 of whom remain detained. 

Most of those still detained are being held under an incitement charge for allegedly causing fear, spreading false news or agitating against a government employee.

In its resolution adopted by show of hands, the EU Parliament cited the cases of BBC freelance producer Htet Htet Khine; Sithu Aung Myint, a Frontier Myanmar columnist and contributor to Voice of America; and freelancer Nyein Nyein Aye.

“Strongly condemning the military junta’s violent and illegitimate rule in Myanmar, MEPs urge it to drop all politically motivated charges against the members of the press and media workers, and unconditionally release every unfairly detained journalist,” the EU Parliament said.

“They also call on the junta to immediately end its abuses, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, sexual violence and other ill-treatment, as well as unfair trials against people working in the media.”

According to Reporters Without Borders, Nyein Nyein Aye was sentenced in July to three years in prison with hard labor on charges of “causing fear, spreading false news and agitating crimes against a government employee.”

Htet Htet Khine was sentenced on Sept. 15 to three years’ hard labor. On Sept. 27, a court sentenced her to a further three years, with a reduction for time served. She has been in detention since August 2021.

“We remain concerned for her safety and wellbeing in detention, and call for the release of Htet Htet Khine and other media workers who have been unjustly detained in Myanmar,” said BBC Media Action Chief Executive Officer Caroline Nursey.

Sithu Aung Myint was arrested in August 2021 along with Htet Htet Khine.

Some of the closed media outlets have continued operating without a license, publishing online as their staff members dodge arrest. Others operate from exile.

The army’s takeover led to mass public protests that the military and police responded to with lethal force, triggering armed resistance and escalating violence that have led to what some U.N. experts characterize as a civil war.

According to detailed lists by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group based in Thailand, 2,336 civilians have died in the military government’s crackdown on opponents and at least 15,757 people have been arrested.

EU lawmakers also called for restoration of the civilian government and the “unconditional release” of Myanmar’s former president, Win Myint, and former leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Sweden’s domestic security agency said Thursday that its initial investigation into explosions last week along two Russian natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea “has strengthened the suspicions of serious sabotage” as the cause.

Separately, a Swedish prosecutor said that “seizures have been made at the crime scene and these will now be investigated,” although he did not identify the seized evidence.

Neither of the underwater Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines had been in use at the time of the blasts but for days sent methane from the pipes bubbling to the surface off the coasts of Sweden and Denmark.

Some Scandinavian officials have speculated that Russia detonated the pipeline explosions as a way to punish Western allies for their support of Ukrainian forces in fighting Moscow’s seven-month invasion and to cut the possible flow of fuel for the coming winter months.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of attacking the pipelines, which the United States and its allies have vehemently denied. They have said that Russia had the most to gain by disrupting Europe’s energy supplies.

The Swedish Security Service said its investigation confirmed that “detonations” caused extensive damage to the pipelines. The security agency said what happened in the Baltic Sea was “very serious,” but did not release further details of its investigation.

Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said he had given “directives to temporarily block [the area around the damaged pipelines to] carry out a crime scene investigation.”

But he said that now that the initial probe is completed, the blockade around the pipelines off Sweden will be lifted.

The Danish and Swedish governments had previously said they suspected that several hundred pounds of explosives were used to damage the pipelines.

Some of the material in this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
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WNBA star Brittney Griner is at her “absolute weakest moment in life right now” as she faces a hearing in Russia later this month for her appeal of a nine-year prison sentence for drug possession, Griner’s wife said in an interview aired Thursday.

Cherelle Griner told “CBS Mornings” that her wife, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who was playing in Russia during the WNBA offseason, is afraid of being forgotten by the United States.

“She’s very afraid about being left and forgotten in Russia, or just completely used to the point of her detriment,” Cherelle Griner said.

She said Brittney Griner told her in a phone call that she felt “like my life just doesn’t matter.”

“Like, y’all don’t see the need to get me back home? Am I just nothing?” Cherelle Griner quoted her wife as saying. It wasn’t clear when the call took place.

Brittney Griner was convicted Aug. 4 after Russian police said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. Her defense lawyers said she had been prescribed cannabis for pain. The WNBA star said she had inadvertently packed them and had no criminal intent.

She is appealing her prison sentence; the hearing is scheduled for Oct. 25. But Cherelle Griner said after that hearing, her wife could potentially be moved to a labor camp elsewhere in Russia.

“My brain can’t even fathom it,” she said in the CBS interview.

President Joe Biden met with Cherelle Griner at the White House last month. He also sat down with Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul Whelan, another American currently imprisoned in Russia. The Biden administration said in July that it had made a “substantial proposal” to get them home. The administration has not provided specifics about its proposal, but a person familiar with the matter previously confirmed it had offered to release Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the U.S.

Cherelle Griner said the president is “doing what he can, but there’s another party in this situation.” She said it’s going to take Russian President Vladimir Putin changing his mindset.

Though Brittney Griner was arrested in February — amid escalated tensions because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine —- the couple did not speak on the phone until August. Cherelle Griner said the first conversation was “just so delightful” and felt optimistic that her wife would survive the ordeal. But the second conversation, she said, “was the most disturbing phone call I’ve ever experienced.”

“You could hear that she was not OK,” Cherelle Griner said.
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The Ukrainian city of Bucha was the scene of one of the worst massacres in Russia’s war against its neighbor, with hundreds of bodies discovered in mass graves back in April. Now, against many expectations, a robust reconstruction effort is making it possible for children to return to school. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Bucha. Camera – Serhii Smychok.
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Greece’s coast guard said Thursday at least 16 people were dead after two boats carrying migrants sank in separate incidents.

Authorities said one boat carrying about 40 people went down near the eastern island of Lesbos, near Turkey.

Fifteen bodies were recovered and five people were rescued, with a search ongoing for the rest of the migrants.

A second boat went down off the island of Kythira after hit rocks.

Authorities said they rescued 30 people from the second boat.

Both vessels were operating amid winds as high as 100 kilometers per hour.

Migrants typically reach Greece form neighboring Turkey, but smugglers have been utilizing longer and more dangerous routes to avoid patrols in the Aegean Sea.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Amid unconfirmed reports that a train operated by Russia’s nuclear division was spotted heading toward Ukraine, the White House says that it has no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. Nuclear weapons experts tell VOA if Russia is moving nuclear weapons toward the Ukrainian border, the United States will know. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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For the first time in 20 years, a Russian cosmonaut rocketed from the U.S. on Wednesday, launching to the International Space Station alongside NASA and Japanese astronauts despite tensions over the war in Ukraine. 

Their SpaceX flight was delayed by Hurricane Ian, which ripped across the state last week. 

“I hope with this launch we will brighten up the skies over Florida a little bit for everyone,” said the Japan Space Agency’s Koichi Wakata, who is making his fifth spaceflight. 

Joining him on a five-month mission are three new to space: Marine Col. Nicole Mann, the first Native American woman to orbit Earth; Navy Capt. Josh Cassada; and Russia’s lone female cosmonaut, Anna Kikina. 

“Awesome!” said Mann as they reached orbit. “That was a smooth ride uphill. You’ve got three rookies who are pretty happy to be floating in space right now.” 

They’re due to arrive at the space station Thursday, 29 hours after a noon departure from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and won’t be back on Earth until March. They’re replacing a U.S.-Italian crew that arrived in April. 

Kikina is the Russian Space Agency’s exchange for NASA’s Frank Rubio, who launched to the space station two weeks ago from Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz rocket. He flew up with two cosmonauts. 

The space agencies agreed over the summer to swap seats on their flights in order to ensure a continuous U.S. and Russian presence aboard the 260-mile-high (420-kilometer-high) outpost. The barter was authorized even as global hostilities mounted over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. The next crew exchange is in the spring. 

Shortly before liftoff, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the key reason for the seat exchange is safety — in case an emergency forces one capsule’s crew home, there would still be an American and Russian on board. 

In the meantime, Russia remains committed to the space station through at least 2024, Russia space official Sergei Krikalev assured reporters this week. Russia wants to build its own station in orbit later this decade, “but we know that it’s not going to happen very quick and so probably we will keep flying” with NASA until then, he said. 

Beginning with Krikalev in 1994, NASA started flying cosmonauts on its space shuttles, first to Russia’s Mir space station and then to the fledgling space station. The 2003 Columbia reentry disaster put an end to it. But U.S. astronauts continued to hitch rides on Russian rockets for tens of millions of dollars per seat. 

Kakina is only the fifth Russian woman to rocket off the planet. She said she was surprised to be selected for the seat swap after encountering “many tests and obstacles” during her decade of training. “But I did it. I’m lucky maybe. I’m strong,” she said. 

Mann is a member of the Wailacki of the Round Valley Indian Tribes in California, and taking up her mother’s dream catcher, a small traditional webbed hoop believed to offer protection. Retired NASA astronaut John Herrington of the Chickasaw Nation became the first Native American in space in 2002. 

“I am very proud to represent Native Americans and my heritage,” Mann said before the flight, adding that everyone on her crew has a unique background. “It’s important to celebrate our diversity and also realize how important it is when we collaborate and unite, the incredible accomplishments that we can have.” 

As for the war in Ukraine, Mann said all four have put politics and personal beliefs aside, “and it’s really cool how the common mission of the space station just instantly unites us.” 

Added Cassada: “We have an opportunity to be an example for society on how to work together and live together and explore together.” 

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has now launched eight crews since 2020: six for NASA and two private groups. Boeing, NASA’s other contracted taxi service, plans to make its first astronaut flight early next yea r, after delays to fix software and other issues that cropped up on test flights. 

 
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Greece is warning it is ready to use all its diplomatic and military might to defend its sovereignty against what it calls hostile plans by its historic foe Turkey. The direct warning follows a controversial energy deal Turkey recently signed with an element of Libya’s divided government. But the tensions that have been building up recently between the two NATO allies is sparking fears of a crisis that could spill out of control and destabilize the military alliance.

Speaking to Greece’s parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis advised Turkey to return, in his words, to a realm of logic. Otherwise, he warned Ankara’s growing aggression and plans to claim control of areas Greece considers its territory will be stopped.

The Greek leader said geography does not change at the behest of one’s decision to change or distort it. He said Greece’s borders are its own and, Mitsotakis said, they are ready to be defended by its armed forces as well as by what he said are its powerful diplomatic allies.

Lawmakers answered with a roaring applause and standing ovation before Mitsotakis quickly moved to meet with the U.S. ambassador to Greece and a visiting U.S. congressional delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Greece and Turkey are longtime foes but also NATO allies. Relations have cooled and warmed over the decades, often over air and sea rights.

Greece’s threat comes after Turkey recently signed an agreement with one of Libya’s two rival administrations, granting rights to an already controversial energy collaboration in waters that Greece and other countries, including Egypt and Cyprus, also claim.

The deal also comes as Greece boosts deployment of troops and U.S. military hardware on two islands closest to Turkey’s borders in the Aegean Sea — actions that recently prompted a complaint from Ankara to Washington. Turkish officials called the deployment a hostile move by a NATO member and warned that Turkey would also mobilize its military in response.

Ankara sees the military buildup on the islands of Lesbos and Samos as a violation of a decades-old agreement marking the borders of the two countries.

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has gone further in the last few days, denouncing Greek ownership of several islands in the Aegean — remarks that have prompted Athens to escalate talk of its willingness to defend itself in the face of what it calls Turkish aggression.

The European Union has chided Turkey for its stance and Washington is already at odds with Turkey for purchasing a missile defense system from Russia, a move NATO countries say puts the alliance at risk.

Analyst George Tzogopoulos explains the broader repercussions that this growing crisis could bring to the NATO alliance and how Russia, its greatest opponent, may exploit it.

“It’s crystal clear in Washington that Turkey is not considered a reliable partner and within that context, Greece is. So, this situation is creating a new dynamic within the Eastern Mediterranean and NATO itself but most importantly, in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US is working closer with reliable partners, and this is fueling the aggressive rhetoric from the other side [Turkey],” he said.

There are hopes within Europe, he says, that the situation may be contained. But Tzogopoulos warns the alternative could prove dangerous.

“If Turkey continues, the cohesion of NATO’s southeast flank will be jeopardized, news that will be welcomed in Moscow,” he said.

Diplomatic sources in Athens tell VOA that senior Greek officials will visit the Middle East in the coming days to try and overturn Turkey’s latest energy pact before Ankara sends out drilling vessels to contested waters, as part of a bid to avert a larger conflict.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law Wednesday to formalize Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions, a move widely condemned as illegal and one that comes as Ukrainian forces advance in a counteroffensive to take back areas under Russian control.

The Russian measure, approved earlier this week by the country’s parliament, claims Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as Russian territory.

Russia-installed officials carried out what they called referendums in those areas. Ukraine and its western partners, along with the United Nations, rejected those votes and the overall annexation effort, saying the votes were held under coercive conditions and did not represent the will of the people.

The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote next week on a draft resolution condemning Russia’s annexation claim. Russia used its veto power to stop a similar measure at the U.N. Security Council last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared photos Wednesday from Lyman, a key city in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, recaptured by Ukrainian forces in the days after the Russian referendums.

“All basics of life have been destroyed here,” Zelenskyy tweeted. “They are doing so everywhere in the territories they seize. This can be stopped in 1 way only: liberate Ukraine, life, humanity, law and truth as soon as possible.”

Hours earlier, Zelenskyy tweeted his thanks to U.S. President Joe Biden following the announcement of $625 million in new U.S. military aid.

Zelenskyy said his military’s ability to reclaim territory from Russian forces is a joint success of Ukraine, the United States “and the entire free world.”

The new round of U.S. aid includes four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 200 mine resistant vehicles, hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery and mortar ammunition.

Laura Cooper, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, told reporters Tuesday the package is “tailored to meet Ukraine’s immediate needs” and to “maintain momentum in the east and in the south.”

Russia criticized the U.S. move, with Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov calling it “an immediate threat to the strategic interests of our country.”

“The supply of military products by the U.S. and its allies not only entails protracted bloodshed and new casualties, but also increases the danger of a direct military clash between Russia and Western countries,” Antonov posted on Telegram.

Britain’s defense ministry said Wednesday that Ukraine is continuing to make progress along both the northeastern and southern battle fronts, including moving close enough to put a key supply road for Russian forces near the town of Svatove in Luhansk in range of Ukrainian artillery.

“Politically, Russian leaders will highly likely be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are now approaching the borders of Luhansk Oblast,” the British defense ministry said in its daily assessment.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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OPEC+ looks set for deep oil output cuts when it meets on Wednesday, curbing supply in an already tight market despite pressure from the United States and other consuming countries to pump more. 

The potential OPEC+ cut could spur a recovery in oil prices that have dropped to about $90 from $120 three months ago due to fears of a global economic recession, rising U.S. interest rates and a stronger dollar. 

OPEC+, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, is working on cuts in excess of 1 million barrels per day, sources told Reuters this week. One OPEC source said on Tuesday the cuts could amount to up to 2 million barrels per day.  

Sources said it remained unclear if reductions could include additional voluntary cuts by members such as Saudi Arabia or if cuts could include existing under-production by the group.  

OPEC has been under-producing over 3 million bpd and the inclusion of those barrels would dilute the impact of new cuts. 

“Higher oil prices, if driven by sizable production cuts, would likely irritate the Biden Administration ahead of U.S. midterm elections,” Citi analysts said in a note. 

“There could be further political reactions from the U.S., including additional releases of strategic stocks along with some wildcards including further fostering of a NOPEC bill,” Citi said, referring to a U.S. anti-trust bill against OPEC. 

Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied producers (OPEC+) have said they seek to prevent volatility rather than to target a particular oil price.  

On Tuesday, international benchmark Brent crude rose 3% above $91 per barrel [O/R]. 

The West has accused Russia of weaponizing energy as Europe suffers from a severe energy crisis and may face gas and power rationing this winter in a blow to its industry.  

Moscow accuses the West of weaponizing the dollar and financial systems such as SWIFT in retaliation for Russia sending troops into Ukraine in February. The West accuses Moscow of invading Ukraine while Russia calls it a special military operation. 

Russia has formed part of the OPEC+ club since 2016. The group has cut and raised output to manage the oil market but has rarely made cuts when the market is tight. 

A significant cut is likely to anger the United States, which has pressured Saudi Arabia to pump more to pressure oil prices and reduce revenue for Russia. 

Saudi Arabia has not condemned Moscow’s actions and relations are strained between the kingdom and the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden, who traveled to Riyadh this year but failed to secure any firm cooperation commitments on energy. 
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Enzymes found in the saliva of wax worms can degrade one of the most common forms of plastic waste, according to research published Tuesday that could open up new ways of dealing with plastic pollution.

Humans produce some 400 million metric tons of plastic waste each year despite international drives to reduce single-use plastics and to increase recycling.

Around a third is polyethylene, a tough plastic thanks to its structure, which traditionally requires heating or radiation before it starts to break down.

There have been several studies showing that microorganisms can release enzymes that start the degradation process on polyethylene, but the process has until now taken months each time.

But the enzymes contained in the saliva of the wax worm moth (Galleria mellonella) can act in only a few hours, Tuesday’s research showed.

Researcher Federica Bertocchini, an avid beekeeper, said she originally stumbled on the idea that this small caterpillar had unusual powers when storing honeycombs a few years ago.

“At the end of the season, usually beekeepers put some empty beehives in a storage room, to put them back in the field in the spring,” she told AFP.

“One year I did that, and I found my stored honeycombs plagued with wax worms. In fact, that is their habitat.”

Bertocchini cleaned the honeycombs and put the worms in a plastic bag.

When she returned a short time later, she found the bag “riddled with holes.”

“That raised the question: Is it the result of munching, or is there a chemical modification? We checked that, doing proper lab experiments, and we found that the polyethylene had been oxidized,” she said.

In her latest research, Bertocchini, from Madrid’s Margarita Salas Centre for Biological Studies (CIB) and her colleagues analyzed proteins in the wax worm saliva and identified two enzymes that could break polyethylene down into small polymers in only a few hours at room temperature.

Writing in the journal Nature Communications they explained how they used another worm’s saliva as a control experiment, which produced no degradation compared with the wax worm.

Bertocchini said her team is still trying to figure out precisely how the worms degraded the plastic.

While the study authors stressed that much more research was needed before Tuesday’s findings could be implemented at any meaningful scale, there were a number of possible applications.

“We can imagine a scenario where these enzymes are used in an aqueous solution, and liters of this solution is poured over piles of collected plastic in a waste management facility,” Bertocchini said.

“We can also imagine small amounts that can reach more remote locations, like villages or small islands, where waste facilities are not available.”

She said that further down the line the solution could be used in individual houses, where each family could degrade their own plastic waste.
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The impending November midterm elections, in which control of both houses of the United States Congress is being closely contested, could have significant consequences for the largest foreign policy challenge currently facing the Biden administration: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine in February, the U.S. and its allies, including most NATO countries, have been funneling aid and weapons into the country to help prop up the government and repel the invaders.

While the U.S. public still maintains broad support for Ukraine, and bills providing for aid have been passing with large bipartisan majorities, a vocal minority of Republican lawmakers, echoed by a number of influential voices in the broader conservative movement, have criticized the federal government, saying it is spending too much and potentially prolonging the conflict.

Pressure on US policy

Now, some experts are questioning the degree to which that minority might be able to sway U.S. policy if the party successfully seizes the House, the Senate, or both, in November.

“I think it’s top of mind for a lot of people in Washington who are supportive of what we’ve been doing in Ukraine,” Conor Savoy, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA.

Savoy said a significant number of the Republican lawmakers who have voted against Ukraine aid so far, including many of the 57 who voted against a $40 billion aid package in May, have done so because of concern about a lack of oversight over the spending. But others include many self-styled populists in the mode of former President Donald Trump, who are instinctively suspicious of foreign aid spending, even when it is supported by the party’s leadership.

“They don’t like this,” Savoy said. “They think it’s money down a foreign rat hole.”

While there has also been some Democratic opposition to Ukraine spending, the resistance in that party has been far smaller. Combined with broad Republican support, Democratic majorities have been able to push aid packages through.

Determined resistance

It’s far from certain that things would change if the GOP takes power in Congress, given that a majority of Republicans still supports aiding Ukraine. However, it is important to remember that in Congress, a determined minority is often able to thwart the will of the majority.

A decade ago, while the Republican Party ran the House of Representatives, a core group of conservatives — the Freedom Caucus — consistently stymied their leadership’s efforts to make budget deals with then-president Barack Obama, leading to government shutdowns and fears of a default by the Treasury Department.

Some observers have noted a growing rift between the Republican Party’s leadership and its populist wing.

“The schism between the party’s establishment Republicans and Trump-style populists raises questions about whether President Joe Biden can rely on lawmakers to continue funding the influx of U.S. military equipment to Ukraine if Democrats lose control of Congress,” the website Defense News noted last month.

On the campaign trail, Democrats have used the threat of a Republican takeover scuttling Ukraine aid as a talking point.

In Ohio, Democratic Senate candidate Tim Ryan has repeatedly gone after his Republican opponent, J.D. Vance, for the latter’s admission, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”

Conservative groups dubious

Over the weekend, the influential Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) posted a tweet that immediately gained broad attention because it seemed to validate Putin’s claim to have “annexed” four regions of Ukraine.

“Vladimir Putin announces the annexation of 4 Ukrainian-occupied territories,” the tweet read. “Biden and the Dems continue to send Ukraine billions of taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, we are under attack at our southern border. When will Democrats put #AmericaFirst and end the gift-giving to Ukraine?”

The organization later deleted the tweet, claiming that it had not been approved by its leadership. It was replaced with one that called Putin a “madman” and his invasion of Ukraine illegal.

However, the same reluctance to continue funding Ukraine at current levels remained.

“We must oppose Putin, but American taxpayers should not be shouldering the vast majority of the cost,” CPAC said.

Other conservative organizations have also expressed concerns.

“The American people are tired of the neoconservative policy consensus that demands billions of their tax dollars be spent to defend the integrity of Ukraine’s border when resources and stewardship cannot be found to address our own,” Russ Vought, president of the Center for Renewing America, told the website Defense One last month. “This new package will prolong a fight that lacks an American dog [pressing U.S. interest], allowing regional allies to shirk their security responsibilities yet again.”

Diverting resources

On Sunday, Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, whose home state of Florida had just been ravaged by a hurricane, used Twitter to suggest that aid to Ukraine was diverting assistance from his constituents.

“Dear Congress: On behalf of my fellow Florida Man in grave need of assistance … Just send us like half of what you sent Ukraine. Signed, Your Fellow Americans,” he wrote.

Last week, announcing her vote against a spending resolution that included more funding for Ukraine, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted, “Today, I’m voting NO on the continuing resolution to fund America’s 50 states, plus America’s 51st state: Ukraine. Also in the news, Vladimir Putin has just annexed a large portion of Ukraine. Are we funding Russia, too?”

Republican leaders in the House have indicated that if they take over, the general view of their caucus — including any newly elected members — will factor into their decision-making.

In remarks to reporters last month, Representative Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said, “We want to make sure they get all the briefings. I know there’s concern, rightfully so, about having oversight over those dollars. I’m not going to get ahead of our members before the election, our newly elected members. It’s going to be a conference decision of those new members.”
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Millions of Ukrainian schoolchildren are returning to the classroom despite air sirens that are still interrupting lessons. With more than 2,000 school buildings around the country destroyed, educators are working hard to rebuild and bring normality to children’s lives. VOA Eastern Europe Chief Myroslava Gongadze visited the village of Bohdanivka near Kyiv where Russian occupiers destroyed the local school and kindergarten. Camera: Eugene Shynkar
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Plans are finally in motion for a railway that runs from China to Europe through Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, after being on the table for two decades. Some Central Asian residents remain skeptical of the project, while others anticipate it will be an economic boon for the region.

The deal, reached in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s summit last month, cements a feasibility study that requires the transportation authorities of all countries involved to complete an assessment of the project by the middle of next year, then begin construction.

The new route, costing roughly $4.5 billion, would be an alternative to China’s current dependence on a route through Russia and Kazakhstan for overland transit to Europe. That route has become politically problematic because of Western sanctions on Russia prompted by President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

Central Asian skeptics

Some Central Asian residents say their country has been included as a means to an end for other countries and are doubtful the latest rail project will benefit them.

“Central Asians have always waved at containers carrying someone else’s freight elsewhere,” said a young attendant on Uzbekistan’s Afrosiyob domestic express train who calls himself Aziz and does not want to use his real name.

“Another document taking us nowhere,” said Hikmat, a 33-year-old trader in the Southern Uzbek city of Samarkand, who prefers not to use his last name, fearing his criticism could hurt his partnerships in Kyrgyzstan and China. “What are we getting from this? Weren’t the governments already studying feasibility?”

VOA heard similar cynicism from residents in Kyrgyzstan. Analyst Sovetbek Zikirov pointed out that many in Central Asia believe China is more interested in shipping its products through the region than in investing locally or creating jobs.

“It’s not seeking more presence in our market,” Zikirov told VOA.

Hopeful rail supporters

The adoption of a memorandum on September 14, however, has renewed hope among some officials in Central Asia that a new railway will connect their goods to faraway markets, and some urge Bishkek to move faster.

Kyrgyz observer Bektemir Ziyadinov wrote via Facebook that infrastructure projects would elevate the country’s image and credibility.

“This railway is not just a great opportunity for Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan but will create an awesome alternative for China, which currently transits goods mainly via Kazakhstan,” said Zilola Yunusova, head of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry’s research unit. “This new route is 900 kilometers shorter. Such new corridors are especially relevant now when big economies face global supply chains and pandemic bottlenecks.”

Yunusova, whose center tackles regional projects, told VOA the deal “demonstrates strong political resolve. Now, the governments will consider each other’s proposals and come to agreement on the route and investments.”

She admitted that the document lacks details but said it commits to steps for the next year so that construction can begin in 2023.

Uzbek, Kyrgyz, and Chinese officials stress that their governments are eager to collaborate on mapping and funding of the railway project.

“We all know China is very interested to realize this project as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI),” Yunusova said.

Kyrgyz Transportation and Communications Minister Erkinbek Osoyev, who signed the deal, said Kyrgyz specialists are already working with Chinese counterparts.

“The deadline for the technical and economic assessment is no later than June 1, 2023,” a September 14 Kyrgyz statement noted. “The sides are to equally share the expenses for the technical and economic justification of the project.”

China’s Foreign Ministry calls the agreement “important progress in the construction of a major transport route in the Eurasian continent.”

For Bishkek and Tashkent, this “faster and shorter” railway should emerge as a southern branch of the Eurasian continental link, opening access to Southeast Asia, Western Asian and Middle Eastern markets while delivering Chinese goods to Kyrgyzstan and other parts of Central Asia en route to Europe.

Tashkent and Bishkek put high hopes on the railway’s social-economic impact, such as expanding domestic transportation services and infrastructure.

The idea for this railway has been under discussion for 20 years, but never took concrete shape until about 2018 when the leaderships in Tashkent and Bishkek started pushing for it together.

China-Central Asia relations

China’s state media Global Times quoted Zhao Huirong at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who said the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project could be “one of the most important multilateral economic cooperation projects yielded by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” although the deal only includes three of its eight members.

“More trade and logistic collaboration will develop in Xinjiang after the railway is put into operation. … The rail line is conducive to expanding the exports of the two countries’ agricultural and mineral products,” Zhao told the Global Times.

US concerns

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu said Washington is closely watching Chinese engagement with Central Asia.

“When I served as ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, I witnessed local resentment of the Chinese presence, which was often seen as exploitative, corrupt, and non-transparent,” Lu told the House Foreign Affairs Committee on September 14. “There exists a genuine fear that Belt and Road Initiative loans are creating unsustainable debt. There is fear that Chinese workers are displacing jobs for Central Asian workers.”

Lu saw significant concern in Central Asia that Beijing’s ambitions are not purely commercial.

“Fighting corrupt PRC business deals is sensitive and dangerous work. Our embassy in Kyrgyzstan has spent years working to shine a light on PRC organized crime activity, in league with former Kyrgyz corrupt officials, that robs the people of Central Asia of billions in customs revenue each year.”

The Chinese embassy has not responded to VOA’s request for comment, but Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has said, “The so-called ‘Chinese debt trap’ is a lie made up by the U.S. and some other Western countries to deflect responsibility and blame.”

In June, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi highlighted the agreements made in the regional foreign ministers’ meeting in Kazakhstan for “win-win results.” Wang said important points at the meeting included “connectivity,” “the safe and stable operation of the China-Europe freight train,” improved customs and ensuring a “continuous supply chain.”

Hopeful skeptics

Many Uzbeks, while skeptical about the construction of a railway that has been in discussion for so many years, do hope to benefit if the cargo route becomes reality.

As Aziz, the young train attendant, remarked on the way to Samarkand, “East or West, we want the best, because we deserve the best. We want businesses transiting their goods to stop and shop here. These freight trains should finally start carrying our goods as well.”
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Turkish journalists groups on Tuesday protested a draft law the government says is aimed at combating fake news and disinformation but which critics denounce as yet another attempt to stifle freedom of expression.

Parliament was set to debate a 40-article piece of legislation that amends multiple laws governing press, advertising and social media. The most controversial change is an amendment to the press law that would criminalize the spreading of “fake news” with a sentence of up to three years in prison.

Critics, including opposition lawmakers and nongovernmental organizations, say the law is too vague and could potentially be abused by the government to further crack down on independent journalism, especially media that has developed on the internet.

The government already controls most major news outlets and has been named among the world’s biggest jailers of journalists.

Representatives of various Turkish journalist associations wearing black face masks gathered outside parliament in Ankara, urging legislators not to pass the law, which was submitted to parliament in May.

“As journalists, in line with our responsibility to society, we once again warn both legislators and the public: If this law is implemented in this form, there will be no freedom of press, expression and communication in our country,” said Kemal Aktas, head of the Parliamentary Correspondents Association.

Meanwhile, main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu claimed in a speech on Tuesday that Erdogan’s government, which faces elections in June, introduced the changes to prevent the dissemination of allegations of corruption against the government.

International media freedom organizations have also called for the dismissal of the bill, saying it puts millions of internet users at risk of criminal action for online posts the government disagrees with, could become a tool “for harassing journalists and activists” and could lead to self-censorship.

Disinformation is an important issue and needs to be combated but not at the price of restricting journalists’ rights and the public’s rights of freedom of expression,” the groups, including PEN and the Committee to Protect Journalists, said in June.

Article 29 of the bill is an amendment to the Turkish penal code mandating one to three years in prison for spreading information that is “contrary to the truth” about Turkey’s domestic and international security, public order and health for the alleged purpose of causing “public worry, fear and panic.” The sentence can be increased by a half if that crime is committed by an anonymous user or as part of an organization.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has argued for a law to combat disinformation, saying fake news and rising “digital fascism” is a national and global security issue.

The proposal, put forth by his ruling Justice and Development Party and its nationalist ally, says fake news and its dissemination or disinformation pose a “serious threat” by preventing people to access the truth, while also undermining freedom of expression and information by “abusing certain freedoms.”

The proposal also says the internet allows ill-intentioned users to hide their identities for illegal acts and posts like attacks, slander, hate speech and discrimination, therefore requiring regulation. It says the state has the obligation to protect rights and freedoms, especially for people whose rights were violated online.
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Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has won the prestigious Nansen Award from the U.N. refugee agency, for providing a haven for more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution in Syria.

Angela Merkel welcomed the desperate people at the height of the Syrian conflict in 2015 and 2016, when other countries were turning their backs on them.

In announcing the award, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Merkel displayed great moral and political courage by helping more than a million refugees survive and rebuild their lives.

UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh says Merkel has helped to highlight the plight of refugees globally. He says she has shown what can be achieved when politicians work to find solutions to challenging situations rather than shifting responsibility to others.

“As well as protecting people forced to flee war, persecution and human rights abuses, the former chancellor was the driving force behind Germany’s collective efforts to receive them and to help them integrate into their new homes through education and training programs, employment schemes, and labor market integration,” said Saltmarsh.

The award is named after Norwegian explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen. It is given to an individual, group or organization that has gone above and beyond the call of duty to protect refugees.

The award selection committee also has honored four regional winners. They are an all-volunteer refugee firefighting group in Mauritania in West Africa; a refugee support cacao cooperative in Costa Rica in the Americas; humanitarian organization Meikse Myanmar that assists internally displaced people among others in Asia and the Pacific; and an Iraqi gynecologist who provides medical and psychological care to Yazidi girls and women in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Nansen award will be presented to Merkel and the four regional winners at a ceremony in Geneva October 10. For Merkel, the award carries a cash prize of $150,000. Each of the regional laureates will receive $50,000.
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Afghanistan’s National Institute of Music has performed its first concert in its new home of Lisbon, Portugal. Members of the exiled school are determined to keep Afghan music alive even though they can’t play in their homeland. VOA’s Farkhunda Paimani and Munaza Shaheed attended the concert in Lisbon and filed this report narrated by Amy Katz. Camera: Nawid Orokzai
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Albanian authorities Monday denied the country’s police system was hacked after local media reported that data on people being investigated for crimes was released from an Iranian hacking group.

Albanian media reported a leaked file with a list of suspected people, from allegedly the police database, who are being probed on different crimes.

Ervin Karamuco, a criminology professor, was quoted in social media as saying a channel called Homeland Justice had published 1.7 gigabytes of criminal data from the Memex police system.

State police denied its Memex system was damaged but urged local media not to publish data from hackers.

Interior Minister Bledi Cuci said that list had not come from the criminal police database. He said Microsoft and the FBI were helping Albanian authorities recuperate the affected systems.

Speaking at the Parliament, Prime Minister Edi Rama said the list aimed at creating social disturbances by issuing a “photo-edited list mixing criminals with politicians, with journalists.”

Last month Albania cut diplomatic ties with Iran over a July 15 cyberattack that temporarily shut down numerous Albanian government digital services and websites. Rama called the disruption an act of “state aggression.”

After Tirana severed ties with Tehran, a second cyberattack from the same Iranian source struck an information system that records Albanian border entries and exits, creating delays for travelers.

NATO, the United States and the European Union denounced the attack and supported Albania’s move to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran. The U.S. government-imposed sanctions on Iran’s intelligence agency and its leadership in response to the July cyberattack.

Albania, a NATO member, is being helped by the alliance, the U.S. and the EU to investigate and install better cyber defenses.
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A Russian court on Monday set October 25 as the date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession. 

Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted August 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. 

The Moscow region court said it will hear her appeal. 

Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage but testified that she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain. 

Her February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S. league’s offseason. 

The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole. 

Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected. 

Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage. 

Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.” 

The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer. 

Russian diplomats have refused to comment on the U.S. proposal and urged Washington to discuss the matter in confidential talks, avoiding public statements. 

U.S. President Joe Biden met last month with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, as well as the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden also sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister. 

The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.” 

The Biden administration carried out a prisoner swap in April, with Moscow releasing Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy. 

 
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U.N. economists warn the monetary and fiscal policies of advanced economies risk plunging the world into a recession worse than the financial crisis of 2008. UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has issued its annual Trade and Development Report 2022.

The authors of the report warn the world is teetering on the edge of a recession due to bad policy decisions by advanced economies, combined with cascading crises resulting from climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.

They project this year’s global growth rate of 2.5 percent will slow to 2.2 percent in 2023. This, they say, will leave a cumulative shortfall of more than $17 trillion, close to 20 percent of the world’s income.

The report finds the slowdown is hitting countries in all regions, especially developing countries. It says growth rates in the poorer countries are expected to drop below three percent, damaging development and employment prospects.

UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan says middle-income countries in Latin America, as well as low-income countries in Africa, will register some of the sharpest slowdowns this year.

“In Africa, an additional 58 million people will fall into extreme poverty in 2022 adding to the 55 million already pushed into extreme poverty by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Grynspan said.

Grynspan says developing countries are facing alarming levels of debt distress and under investment. She says 46 developing countries are severely exposed to multiple economic shocks. She adds another 48 countries are seriously exposed, heightening the threat of a global debt crisis.

“So, countries that were showing signs of debt distress before COVID are taking some of the biggest hits, with climate shocks further threatening economic stability,” Grynspan said. “This is increasing the threat of a global debt crisis. So, countries urgently need real debt relief.”

Grynspan says there is still time to step back from the edge of recession if countries use available tools to calm inflation and support vulnerable groups.

Among its recommendations, UNCTAD urges a more pragmatic strategy that deploys strategic price controls, windfall taxes, anti-trust measures and tighter regulations on commodities speculation.
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Prominent Russian journalist Ksenia Sobchak faces a criminal investigation over a story that police suspect was “fake,” state news agency TASS reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source in law enforcement. 

Sobchak, whose late father was the mayor of St. Petersburg in the 1990s and worked closely with Vladimir Putin, hosts a YouTube channel with over 3 million subscribers. She also founded a popular Telegram account which regularly shares stories critical of Russia’s mobilization efforts. 

TASS reported that Sobchak’s story related to “state funding of festivals” and that she could be charged under an article of Russian law that provides for three-year jail sentences. 

Neither Sobchak, 40, nor representatives of her news site immediately responded to a Reuters request for comment on the TASS report. 

Sobchak has so far avoided prosecution, but authorities have scrutinized her in the past for sharing so-called “LGBT propaganda” and declaring that Crimea was still Ukrainian after its annexation by Russia in 2014. 

Since invading Ukraine in February, Russia has cracked down on independent media and prosecuted numerous journalists for spreading “fake” news about what it calls its “special military operation.” 

 
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Ukrainian forces made further gains Monday in the Kherson region in the country’s south, adding to their gains in the east in recent days as they push a counteroffensive against Russia.

Russia-installed officials in Kherson said Ukraine’s military had recaptured some settlements in Kherson.

The region is one of four that Russia illegally annexed last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday that his forces in Kherson had liberated the settlements of Arkhanhelske and Myroliubivka.

The developments in Kherson followed Sunday’s announcement by Ukrainian forces that they had retaken full control of Lyman, the eastern logistics hub that is also within territory Russia claimed last week was its own.

“Lyman is fully cleared,” Zelenskyy declared in a short video clip on his Telegram channel.

Russia did not comment Sunday on the fate of Lyman but said Saturday that its troops were retreating from the area because it feared Ukrainian forces were about to encircle them. Russia captured Lyman in May and had used it as a logistics and transportation hub for its operations in the north of the Donetsk region.

Russia’s loss of Lyman was its biggest battlefield defeat since Ukrainian forces last month swept through the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine, pushing Russian forces back toward their border.

In addition to claiming the annexations rejected by Ukraine and its western allies, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered late last month the mobilization of 300,000 reservists to bolster Russia’s forces.

The order sparked protests in some areas of Russia and long lines at borders as people fled.

The governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk region said Monday that the military commissar in the region was removed from his post after half of the personnel who were mobilized did not meet draft criteria and were sent home.

The governor said in a Telegram video that the commissar’s removal would not affect the overall mobilization plan.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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Reformists who ran on fighting corruption and clientelism in public office appeared set to win an important race in Bosnia’s elections Sunday that could give them greater sway over the direction of the country which has never fully recovered from its 1992-95 sectarian war and remains divided along ethnic lines.  

The first preliminary results released by Bosnia’s central election commission early Monday showed cooperation-prone contenders Denis Becirovic and Zeljko Komsic on course to win respective Bosniak and Croat seats in the tripartite presidency. However, the reformists were likely to be joined by Zeljka Cvijanovic from the strongest Bosnian Serb party – the secessionist and staunchly pro-Russian SNSD.  

Moscow has often been accused by the West of seeking to destabilize the country and the rest of the Balkans through its Serb allies in the region, and the Sunday ballot was held amid growing fears the Kremlin might attempt to reignite the conflict in Bosnia to deflect attention from its campaign in Ukraine.  

The election included contests for the three members of Bosnia’s shared, multiethnic presidency, the president of one of its two highly autonomous parts, and parliament deputies at different, in part overlapping, levels of governance.  

Bosnia’s institutional set-up, often described as one of the most complicated in the world, was introduced by a U.S.-brokered peace agreement that ended the war in the 1990s between its three main ethnic groups – Muslim Bosniaks, Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats. Under the terms of the agreement, Bosnia was divided into two highly independent entities – one run by Serbs and the other shared by Bosniaks and Croats – which have broad autonomy but are linked by joint, multi-ethnic institutions. All countrywide actions require consensus from all three ethnic groups. 

If the preliminary results hold, Cvijanovic will take over the post from her political party’s boss, Milorad Dodik, who chose to run for the president of Bosnia’s Serb-run part rather than seek a second term in the shared, countrywide presidency.  

Two contenders claim victory

Both Dodik, and his main contender, Jelena Trivic, proclaimed victory in the race for the Bosnian Serb president. Their claims will be tested later Monday, when the election commission is expected to announce preliminary results of the presidential ballot for Bosnia’s Serb-run part and the races for parliament deputies at the state, entity and regional levels.  

Prior to the polls, analysts predicted that the long-entrenched nationalists of all ethnic stripes, who have enriched cronies and ignored the needs of the people, will remain dominant in the legislatures at all levels, largely because the sectarian post-war system of governance leaves pragmatic, reform-minded Bosnians with little incentive to vote. Election turnout on Sunday was 50% or over 2 percentage points down from the 2018 general election.  

Overseer amends electoral law

On Sunday, shortly after the vote count begun, Bosnia’s international overseer, Christian Schmidt, announced in a YouTube video that he was amending the country’s electoral law “to ensure functionality and timely implementation of election results.” Schmidt assured citizens in the video that the changes “will in no way affect” the votes cast on Sunday.  

The 1995 peace agreement gave broad powers to the international high representative, the post currently held by Schmidt, including the ability to impose laws and to dismiss officials and civil servants who undermine the country’s fragile post-war ethnic balance. 

The changes imposed by Schmidt will affect the size of the parliament of the Bosniak-Croat part of the country, and prevent blockades of the formation of its government.  
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Greece wants to have a constructive dialogue with Turkey based on international law but its Aegean neighbor must halt its unprecedented escalation of provocations, the Greek foreign minister said Sunday.

The two countries — North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies but historic foes — have been at odds for decades over a range of issues, including where their continental shelves start and end, overflights in the Aegean Sea and a divided Cyprus.

“It is up to Turkey to choose if it will come to such a dialogue or not, but the basic ingredient must be a de-escalation,” Nikos Dendias told the Proto Thema newspaper in an interview.

Last month, the European Union voiced concern over statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accusing Greece, an EU member, of occupying demilitarized islands in the Aegean and saying Turkey was ready to “do what is necessary” when the time came.

“The one responsible for a de-escalation is the one causing the escalation, which is Turkey,” Dendias said.

He blamed Ankara for increased provocations with a rhetoric of false and legally baseless claims, “even personal insults.”

Turkey has sharply increased its overflights and violations of Greek airspace, Dendias told the paper, adding that its behavior seems to be serving a “revisionist narrative” that it promotes consistently.

He said Turkish claims that Greece cannot be an equal interlocutor diplomatically, politically and militarily violates the basic rule of foreign relations – the principle of equality among nations.

“It is an insulting approach that ranks various countries as more or less equal,” Dendias said.
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