WORLD BRIEFING: September 20, 2023
Thousands of panicked ethnic Armenians converged on the airport in Nagorno-Karabakh where Russian peacekeeping forces are based after de facto leaders of the breakaway region agreed to lay down their arms and accept talks to “reintegrate” the territory into bitter rival Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani leaders on September 20 vowed to allow “safe passage" to Armenia for the separatist forces of the region as part of the agreement to end fighting, seemingly putting an end to a decades-long struggle for ethnic Armenians seeking independence or attachment to Armenia for the territory. "Safe passage to appropriate assembly points will also be provided by the Azerbaijani side," presidential adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told reporters. "All the actions on the ground are coordinated with Russian peacekeepers." The European Union called on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to protect the rights of ethnic Armenians in the region and “to ensure full cease-fire and safe, dignified treatment by Azerbaijan of Karabakh Armenians,” EU chief Charles Michel said he told Aliyev in a phone call - RFE/RL
Around 06:50 local time, a Togo-flagged general cargo vessel, named #Seama, enroute from Bartin (Turkey) to Izmail (Ukraine) was hit by a suspected Russian naval mine while waiting to be unloaded off the Romainan coast. The engine room was flooded & 12 crew evacuated.
Swedish TV4 team is reported to have been targeted by a Russian drone in Stepnohirsk, Zaporizhzhia. Reporter Johan Fredriksson & photographer Daniel Zdolsek got out of the car to film when it was hit by drone. Another deliberate attack on journalists, despite them wearing vests and helmets clearly marked 'PRESS'
UK PM Rishi Sunak appears set to water down some of the Government’s net zero pledges to ensure they are “proportionate”, in a move that has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum and campaigners. The Prime Minister confirmed he will make a speech this week to “set out an important long-term decision”, following reports that he would use one to row back on green targets - The Independent
Numerous reports that Ramzan Kadirov, the head of Chechnya is on death's door. If so this will likely trigger a succession crisis as Kadyrov is self appointed. One of the groups that may take part in the competition for power are the anti-russian chechens. Add to that the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the Caucasus might slip away from Russia - BC.
India on Wednesday advised its citizens to be careful when travelling to Canada, as a rift between the two nations widens further in the wake of Ottawa's allegations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver. The foreign ministry in New Delhi issued an updated travel advisory, urging its nationals and especially those studying in the North American country to be cautious because of "growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate-crimes." Indians should also avoid going to venues in Canada where "threats have particularly targeted Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community who oppose anti-India agenda," the ministry said. Ottawa and New Delhi, two key strategic partners on security and trade, are locked in a diplomatic tussle after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that India was connected to the assassination of a Sikh independence advocate on its soil in June.
Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports threaten global food security, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin said during the 15th Ukraine Defense Contact Group. “In recent months, Russia has continued to target Ukraine’s ports and its grain infrastructure. These attacks so far have destroyed at least 280,000 tons of grain. That’s enough to feed as many as 10.5 million people for a year. Russia’s attacks continue to threaten global food security — and to risk needless humanitarian crises around the planet,” Austin said.
Required reading…
CNN Opinion: In the absence of other world leaders, Biden grasps his G20 moment
It was a speech that was vintage Joe Biden: oscillating between global statesman and messenger of doom and gloom if the world doesn’t wake up to the consequences of naked and senseless aggression.
But perhaps the real takeaway of President Biden’s address to the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday was that if the world allows the bad guys and dictators to decimate the rules-based international order, nothing else matters.
If Russia is able to get away with its aggression in Ukraine and if world leaders avert their gaze from what is happening and allow the rules-based order to crumble, we won’t be able to achieve progress on climate change, poverty alleviation or anything else.
Read my CNN Opinion piece here