The European Union is increasing its support for Belarusian civil society by 30 million euros ($34 million), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

"We are stepping up our support with an additional 30 million euros for young people, independent media, small- and medium-sized enterprises in exile, and cultural actors," von der Leyen announced on Twitter on December 12 after meeting with exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The EU last year already announced a similar 53 million euro support package for Belarusian civil society, independent media, business advisory services, and support for public health initiatives.

The bloc has also pledged 3 billion euros in economic support for a future democratic Belarus.

Belarus's opposition has been exiled or imprisoned following a crackdown by strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka's regime after disputed elections last year.

Tsikhanouskaya, who the West and the opposition say won the election, has been living in exile in neighboring Lithuania.

Pope Francis has joined the international chorus of concern over tensions stemming from a Russian troop buildup near its border with Ukraine, urging dialogue to resolve strains and avoid armed conflict.

The Roman Catholic pontiff told an audience of thousands at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican on December 12 that "weapons are not the path to take."

He said he was praying for "dear Ukraine, for all its churches and religious communities and for all of its people, so that tensions there are resolved through a serious international dialogue and not with weapons."

Ukraine, a post-Soviet country of around 44 million mostly Orthodox Christians, has been fighting a war against Russia-backed separatists in its east for seven years.

SEE ALSO:

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Ukraine-Russia Tensions?

Kyiv and Western governments say a recent buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine could signal President Vladimir Putin's plans to launch a large-scale invasion.

"May this Christmas bring peace to Ukraine," the pope said.

About 10 percent of Ukrainians are Catholic.

NATO, European leaders, and the United States have repeatedly warned of serious consequences if Russia escalates militarily against Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

G7 Warns Russia Of 'Massive Consequences' If It Attacks Ukraine

Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers meeting for a second day of talks in Liverpool on December 12 are reportedly preparing a statement cautioning Moscow of "massive consequences and severe cost" if it takes fresh military action against Ukraine.

The Kremlin has meanwhile said it is planning another Russian-U.S. presidential conversation -- and would like an in-person summit -- to discuss Ukraine and what it regards as its "red lines" internationally.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014 in a conflict that followed soon after Russia's occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

Based on reporting by Reuters

A Bosnian wartime drama that tells the bitter story of a UN translator watching helplessly as one of postwar Europe's worst atrocities unfolds has won the top prize and other big honors at the European Film Awards.

In addition to the best film prize on December 11, Quo Vadis, Aida? won Sarajevo-born Jasmila Zbanic the best-director award and Jasna Djuricic the best-actress honors in a virtual ceremony out of Berlin.

The film portrays the frustration of a translator for the United Nations in the town of Srebrenica ahead of the massacre by Bosnian Serb forces of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in July 1995.

Zbanic dedicated the film to the mothers and other women of Srebrenica, as well as the thousands of male friends and family members they lost.

"Women always have to clean up the chaos that men leave behind," Zbanic said.

Zbanic won a Golden Bear award in Berlin in 2006 for her feature Grbavica, about the life of a single mother in postwar Sarajevo.

Djuricic has hailed Quo Vadis, Aida?'s message of "reconciliation" amid waning public awareness of "the greatest wound in the Balkans," particularly among young people.

SEE ALSO:

Star Of Bosnian Oscar Nominee Says Film Reopens Balkans' 'Greatest Wound,' Srebrenica, With Laudable Goals

The European Film Awards are among the movie industry's most prestigious prizes, the result of voting among more than 4,000 academy members.

The four other nominees for best feature film were The Father, a French-British co-production about a man suffering from dementia, the French-Belgian horror-fantasy film Titane, the melancholic multinational production Compartment No 6, and the Italian drama The Hand Of God.

Based on reporting by dpa

The United Kingdom publicly challenged Iran on December 12 to seize on a "last chance" to bring serious proposals to negotiations on a lasting solution to revive a six-year-old nuclear deal.

The appeal follows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's assurance a day earlier that Tehran is serious in the ongoing but paused talks with world powers in Vienna.

"This is the last chance for Iran to come to the negotiating table with a serious resolution to this issue, which has to be agreeing the terms of the JCPOA," British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said at a G7 meeting in Liverpool in reference to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action.

Washington withdrew from the controversial deal in 2018, setting off a potentially crippling series of blows to compliance and enforcement that include Tehran's breach of the agreement.

U.S. President Joe Biden has sought a return to the JCPOA, but the order of a return to compliance and other sticking points have so far prevented a breakthrough.

"This is their last chance and it is vital that they do so," Truss warned. "We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon."

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on December 11 that “time is running out” on saving the deal.

A G7 statement from Liverpool is expected to include a call for Tehran to rein in its nuclear activities and seize the opportunity to revive the deal.

SEE ALSO:

Iranian President Says Tehran Is 'Serious' In Vienna Talks On Reviving Nuclear Deal

"We are serious in the negotiations and if the other side is also serious about the removal of the sanctions, we will achieve a good agreement. We are definitely after a good agreement," the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Raisi, a hard-liner whose election as president put the talks in question, as saying on December 11.

All the deal's remaining signatories -- Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China -- are taking part in the talks in the Austrian capital.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that Washington hopes the current round of talks "proceeds differently.”

Washington was planning to send a delegation led by Robert Malley, the special U.S. envoy for Iran, to Vienna over the weekend.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett arrived in the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) on December 12, marking the first time an Israeli prime minister has made an official visit there.

Bennett's trip to Abu Dhabi is the most senior mutual visit since a U.S.-mediated formalization of Israeli-Emirati relations was achieved last year through the so-called Abraham Accords.

Bennett was received by an honor guard and welcomed by the U.A.E.'s foreign minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He was expected to meet later with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed to discuss building economic and military ties.

“I am very excited to be here, on the first official visit by an Israeli leader," Bennett said. "We look forward to strengthen the diplomatic relations between the countries."

Bennet's visit comes against a backdrop of intense diplomacy as world powers try to revive a six-year-old nuclear deal with Iran that was hobbled by a U.S. pullout and the reimposition of sanctions in 2018.

U.S. President Joe Biden has pledged to bring the nuclear deal back to life.

Hard-line Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on December 11 that his side was "serious in the negotiations," after U.S. officials publicly questioned Tehran's commitment to renewing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from 2015.

SEE ALSO:

Iranian President Says Tehran Is 'Serious' In Vienna Talks On Reviving Nuclear Deal

Israel staunchly opposes the nuclear deal.

Israel and the U.A.E. have long cooperated secretly on security. But they only formalized relations in September 2020.

Before the Abraham Accords, which also included Bahrain, the only Arab states that had diplomatic relations with Israel were Egypt and Jordan.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

Separatist authorities in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester were holding a vote to pick a de facto president on December 12 in an election mostly ignored by Chisinau and likely to be poorly attended by would-be voters.

The breakaway authorities in the region of around 500,000 people's main city, Tiraspol, are currently led by Vadim Krasnoselsky, who is seeking to defeat a little-known challenger, Sergei Pynzar.

An impoverished country sandwiched between EU member Romania and Ukraine, Moldova lost effective control over Transdniester after breakaway leaders declared independence in 1990.

That declaration has not been recognized by a single UN member state.

But it sparked war two years later between the Moldovan Army and the Transdniestrian rebels backed by Russia over the narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Ukrainian border.

Russia still has around 1,400 of its troops stationed in Transdniester, ostensibly to protect Soviet-era arms depots.

Krasnoselsky defeated Yevgeny Shevchuk in the last election for the Tiraspol authorities' self-styled presidency, in December 2016.

Only around one-quarter of Trandniester's eligible voters went to the polls for legislative elections a year ago that the separatist authorities nevertheless declared valid, the lowest turnout in the area's history.

Last year, Moldova's then-president, Igor Dodon, hosted Krasnoselsky in Chisinau and addressed him as "president" for the first time in Moldova's history, in a move squarely aimed at attracting Transdniestrian votes.

Some observers have accused Moscow recently of using Russian gas supplies to punish Moldovans for subsequently electing pro-Western President Maia Sandu over the Russia-backed Dodon.

Sandu on September 22 repeated her call for the departure of Russian troops from Transdniester.

Moldovan lawmakers last month approved budget amendments to allow the national energy company to pay energy debts to Russia's Gazprom to avert a new energy crisis.

Germany’s new chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has met in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki for talks about the Belarus migrant crisis, Russia's troop buildup near its border with Ukraine, and Poland's opposition to the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline.

On a trip he has described as a "friendship visit," Scholz was greeted on December 12 by Morawiecki in front of the Polish leader's office.

Germany has backed Poland's efforts to stop the flow of thousands of migrants seeking entry from Belarus, a crisis that the European Union and Poland say Minsk has orchestrated in retaliation for sanctions over a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement in the country.

SEE ALSO:

Polish PM Calls For 'Concrete Steps' From NATO Amid Migrant Crisis On Belarus Border

The Russia military buildup has sparked concerns among NATO allies of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But there are issues of disagreement between Warsaw and Berlin.

Poland opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would deliver Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea. German regulators have suspended the approval procedure for the pipeline over EU legal issues.

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Winter Is Coming: Europe's Gas Markets Hit Unusual Turbulence -- And Eyes Turn To Moscow

Warsaw says the project will make Europe dependent on Russian gas deliveries and exposes the European Union to pressure from Moscow. German regulators have suspended the approval procedure for the pipeline over legal issues.

Germany and the United States have reportedly reached a deal that would shelve Nord Stream 2 if Russia were to invade Ukraine.

"It would be a serious mistake to believe that violating the borders of a European country would remain without consequences,” Scholz said.

Germany's new Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told broadcaster ZDF that under an agreement between Berlin and Washington the Nord Stream 2 project would be halted if Russia escalates against Ukraine.

"In the event of further escalation, this gas pipeline could not come into service," Baerbock said after a G7 meeting of foreign ministers in the U.K.

She added that Germany prefers to engage Russia in diplomacy to de-escalate the situation around Ukraine.

SEE ALSO:

Talk Of War: Frontline Ukrainian Soldiers Respond To Invasion Warnings

U.S. President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 7 that Nord Stream 2 could be disrupted and tough economic sanctions put in place if Russian troops invade Ukraine.

Scholz and Morawiecki also discussed a dispute that the Polish government is involved in with the European Commission.

Brussels says Warsaw is violating EU provisions with policies that are eroding the independence of Poland's judicial system. The EU’s executive arm is withholding pandemic recovery funds from Poland over the issue.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) imposed fines on Poland after finding that judicial reforms passed by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party breached EU law.

Poland has refused to pay the fine and its top court has ruled that Polish law can take precedence over EU rules.

Scholz told reporters after his December 12 talks in Warsaw that he hopes Poland and the EU will find a common solution to the legal dispute over the judicial reforms.

Scholz's visit to Warsaw took place in the 30th anniversary year of the Treaty of Good Neighborship and Friendly Cooperation between Poland and Germany, signed on June 17, 1991.

Warsaw is the third European capital that Scholz has visited since taking office, after visits to Paris and Brussels.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) have warned Russia that it faces "massive consequences" and "severe" costs if it launches a military attack on Ukraine.

The warning came on December 12 during a G7 meeting in the English city of Liverpool where delegates said they were united in their condemnation of Russia's military buildup near its border with Ukraine. The G7 ministers called on Moscow to de-escalate the situation.

"Russia should be in no doubt that further military aggression against Ukraine would have massive consequences and severe cost in response," said the G7, which groups together Britain, Germany, France, the United States, Italy, Canada, and Japan.

"We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the right of any sovereign state to determine its own future," it said.

U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that Russia could be planning a multi-front offensive on Ukraine as early as 2022 involving up to 175,000 troops.

SEE ALSO:

'My Mother Doesn't Know I'm Here': Life On Ukraine's Front Lines

The Kremlin denies it plans to invade other parts of Ukraine. It claims the West is gripped by "Russophobia." Moscow also says the expansion of NATO threatens Russia and has contravened assurances given to it when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Russia seized and illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea region in early 2014. Fighting in eastern Ukraine since April 2014 between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has also killed more than 13,200 people.

A statement released by the Russian Embassy in London late on December 11 said Britain's frequent use of the phrase “Russian aggression” during the Liverpool meeting was misleading and designed to create a cause for the G7 to rally behind.

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Ukraine-Russia Tensions?

Test your knowledge!

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"Russia has made numerous offers to NATO on ways to decrease tensions," the Russian Embassy said. "The G7 forum could be an opportunity to discuss them, but so far we hear nothing but aggressive slogans."

Russia has said the growing NATO embrace of neighboring Ukraine -- and what Moscow sees as the possibility of NATO missiles in Ukraine targeted against Russia - is a "red line" it will not allow NATO to cross.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded legally binding security guarantees that NATO will not expand further east or place its weapons close to Russian territory.

But Washington has repeatedly said no country can veto Ukraine's NATO hopes.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on December 12 that Putin has requested an in-person meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. It said there were "serious conceptual differences" on what Moscow regards as its "red lines" internationally.

SEE ALSO:

He Said, He Said: Russian, U.S. Statements On Biden-Putin Call Differ Starkly

There was no immediate confirmation from the White House of such a request.

Biden on December 11 reiterated his warning that Russia would face devastating economic consequences if it invades Ukraine.

Biden, who spoke with Putin in a videoconference on December 7, said he "made it absolutely clear…that if he moves on Ukraine, the economic consequences for his economy are going to be devastating, devastating."

Russia's standing in the world, Biden said, would change "markedly" in the event of an incursion, he said, speaking in Wilmington, Delaware.

SEE ALSO:

The 'Nuclear Option': What Is SWIFT And What Happens If Russia Is Cut Off From It?

At a summit in Switzerland in June, Putin described Ukrainian membership of NATO as a "red line" for Moscow, and reports suggest he has since described possible NATO infrastructure there similarly.

Ministers at the G7 meeting on December 12 were also discussing China's increased military activity in the Indo-Pacific region and negotiations in Vienna aimed at reviving a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and dpa

The United States sent 30 Javelin anti-tank guided missile systems to Ukraine in October as part of its annual military aid to help the country deter Russian aggression, the Pentagon confirmed on December 11.

The shipment also included 180 Javelin missiles, the Pentagon said in an e-mail to RFE/RL.

“The Javelins were delivered to Ukraine on Oct. 23. The United States has committed more than $450 million in security assistance to Ukraine in 2021, and this is part of our ongoing commitment to supporting Ukraine’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Anton T. Semelroth said in the e-mail.

The United States in September said it was sending Javelins to Ukraine as part of an additional $60 million military aid package. However, it did not at the time disclose the number of systems and rockets.

Javelins are lethal weapons that can pierce tank armor. The United States had previously sent Javelin systems to Ukraine to help it defend against possible Russian aggression.

Russia has amassed tens of thousands of combat-ready troops and machinery near its border with Ukraine for the second time this year, raising concerns that the Kremlin could be preparing for an invasion.

SEE ALSO:

Ukraine Says Russia Blocking Most Of Sea Of Azov As Tensions Mount Between Kyiv And Moscow

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said last month during a visit to Washington that his nation’s military needs have shifted as Russian tactics have changed.

He said Ukraine needs U.S. air and naval defense systems now, adding that the nation’s ground forces were strong. Ukraine lost much of its navy when Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

Reznikov said the United States agreed to send advisers to Ukraine to study what additional defense systems the country needed.

BELGRADE -- Environmental activists took to the streets in Serbia for the third consecutive weekend to protest plans for the development of a large lithium mine despite winning some government concessions.

The demonstrators blocked traffic in several cities on December 11 to demand that global mining giant Rio Tinto halt its work at the mine in western Serbia.

“The one and only request is to oust Rio Tinto from Serbia and adopt a law banning lithium exploitation,” Aleksandar Jovanovic, the organizer of the protest and the head of Ecological Uprising movement, told RFE/RL’s Balkan Service.

Fewer people took to the streets this weekend after the government gave in to some of the activists’ demands.

On December 8 the government announced it was withdrawing from parliament a bill on land expropriation critical for the development of mines, saying it would revisit it for possible changes with input from civic professionals and civil society.

Two days later, the parliament passed a law on referendums that included recommendations proposed by activists.

Development of the mine would be a boon for Serbia's economy. Lithium is used in the production of batteries and its demand is expected to surge over the next two decades as automakers shift to producing electric vehicles.

The production of lithium and batteries could generate billions of dollars in revenue for Serbia and create hundreds if not thousands of jobs. Rio Tinto has said it would strictly follow Serbian ecology laws.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who backs the projects, called the protests "political." Vucic, an authoritarian leader, is up for reelection in April.

Protesters in Belgrade, the capital, blocked a highway for an hour on December 11. There was no visible police presence and no incidents were reported.

Demonstrations were also held in Nis, Subotica, Kragujevac and Uzice.

Environmental problems are becoming more urgent in the Balkans where lax regulations and corruption have led to high levels of air and water pollution, endangering the health of citizens.

WASHINGTON -- A top U.S. official is being dispatched to Ukraine and Russia next week amid an effort to ease tension between the two nations.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Karen Donfried, who oversees European and Eurasian affairs, will visit Kyiv on December 13 and later travel to Moscow, the State Department said in a statement.

Donfried will meet with senior officials in both countries “to discuss Russia’s military buildup and to reinforce the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity,” the statement said.

Donfried’s trip comes on the heels of a December 7 call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin to defuse the tension on Ukraine’s border.

SEE ALSO:

Has Biden Thrown Ukraine Under The Bus Or Averted War? Or Both? Or Neither?

The United States has said that Russia has as many as 100,000 combat-ready troops near its border with Ukraine and that it could be a prelude to an invasion, something Putin has denied.

The White House said on December 7 that the two leaders agreed their respective teams will hold follow-up meetings in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Ukraine-Russia Tensions?

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Analysts say the Russian buildup is driven by the Kremlin's frustration over stalled peace talks to end the fighting in two eastern Ukraine provinces between government forces and Russia-backed rebels.

During her meetings in Kyiv and Moscow, Donfried will emphasize that diplomatic progress can be made on ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine "through implementation of the Minsk agreements," the State Department said in the statement.

The Minsk agreements are truces signed in September 2014 and February 2015 that provide a framework, albeit a disputed one, for a peace deal.

The Kremlin interprets the agreements as giving broad autonomy for the two Russia-leaning provinces within Ukraine, something that analysts say would essentially deprive Ukraine of its chances to join NATO.

However, Ukraine disagrees with that interpretation and no progress has been made on its implementation in years.

SEE ALSO:

Ukraine Says Russia Blocking Most Of Sea Of Azov As Tensions Mount Between Kyiv And Moscow

In the meantime, Ukraine has been strengthening its ties with the West, including on defense cooperation, angering the Kremlin.

Russia this week said it wants NATO to stop its eastward expansion, something analysts say the United States will never publicly agree to, setting the stage for potentially tough talks for Donfried in Moscow.

Donfried will finish the week in Brussels, where she will consult with NATO allies and the European Union on December 15-16 on her efforts to pursue a diplomatic solution.

SOFIA, Bulgaria -- Bulgarian Prime Minister designate Kiril Petkov presented the composition of his future government to the nation as he seeks to end eight months of political deadlock.

Petkov, 41, leader of the newly formed centrist party We Continue the Change (PP), reached an agreement a day earlier with three other left-wing and center-right groups to form a coalition government.

Petkov’s party will hold 10 of the 21 ministerial positions, including prime minister and two deputy prime minister posts. The four-party coalition will control 134 seats in Bulgaria’s 240-seat parliament, which is set to vote on approving the new government on December 13.

Petkov, whose party came in first on an anti-graft platform, told media on December 11 that the future government will have "zero tolerance” for corruption and said one of his first priorities will be to reform the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Other top priorities include controlling electricity prices and tackling COVID-19 by speeding up vaccination, he said.

Petkov officially received a mandate to form a new government earlier in the day from President Rumen Radev.

“You and the coalition partners have a responsibility to reform the vicious power model inherited from 12 years of authoritarian rule, to tackle corruption and lawlessness, the inequalities and poverty they create,” President Rumen Radev said, referring to the governance of Bulgaria's three-time prime minister, Boyko Borisov.

Petkov, the founder of a technology investment company, recalled Bulgaria's months of anti-corruption protests last year and said the country was ready for change.

"It is time, after 32 years, that Bulgarians saw power-holders who care for them; it is time young Bulgarians abroad saw Bulgaria as a promising place to return to, and our parents saw Bulgaria as a place where they can have a worthy pension and live their old age with dignity,” he said.

The Balkan country of 7 million has one of the world’s fastest-shrinking populations, as well as the highest income inequality and the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rate in the 27-nation EU.

With reporting by the AP

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi says Tehran is serious in its nuclear talks with world powers in Vienna, the official IRNA news agency reported on December 11.

"We are serious in the negotiations and if the other side is also serious about the removal of the sanctions, we will achieve a good agreement. We are definitely after a good agreement," IRNA quoted Raisi as saying.

His comments come as talks on reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed after a few days’ pause in Vienna earlier this week.

European diplomats urged Tehran to come back with “realistic proposals” after the Iranian delegation made numerous demands last week that other parties to the accord deemed unacceptable.

State Department spokesman Ned Price said this week that Washington hopes the current round of talks "proceeds differently.”

The accord sealed in Vienna in 2015, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was meant to curb Iran's nuclear program in return for loosened economic sanctions.

SEE ALSO:

Report: International Nuclear Talks With Iran To Resume On December 9

All the deal's remaining signatories -- Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China -- are talking part in the talks in the Austrian capital.

The talks were put on hold in June after the election of the anti-Western hard-liner Raisi as president.

The United States has participated indirectly in the ongoing talks because it withdrew from the accord in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden has signaled that he wants to rejoin the deal.

Washington was planning to send a delegation led by Robert Malley, the special U.S. envoy for Iran, to Vienna over the weekend.

Following the U.S. decision to withdraw and reimpose sanctions against Iran, Tehran has ramped up its nuclear program again by enriching uranium beyond the thresholds allowed in the agreement. Iran has also restricted monitors from the UN nuclear watchdog from accessing its nuclear facilities.

SEE ALSO:

U.S. Warns Iran Of 'Additional Measures' If Nuclear Diplomacy Fails

The United States warned it would take "additional measures" to block Iran's ability to earn revenue if diplomacy over the country's nuclear program fails.

"Given the ongoing advances in Iran's nuclear program, [President Joe Biden] has asked his team to be prepared in the event that diplomacy fails and we must turn to other options," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on December 9.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers are meeting in the northern English city of Liverpool to seek a united front against Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is hosting the meeting with her G7 counterparts as the wealthy nations face growing tensions, not only with Russia, but also China and Iran.

“We need to defend ourselves against the growing threats from hostile actors," Truss said as she opened the meeting of foreign ministers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. “And we need to come together strongly to stand up to aggressors who are seeking to limit the bounds of freedom and democracy.”

Truss and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met late on December 10 and “expressed deep concern about a buildup of Russian troops on Ukraine’s border,” the British government said. The two politicians said “any incursion by Russia would be a strategic mistake for which there would be serious consequences.”

Blinken and new German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also met the same evening and agreed that “a strong response was needed should Moscow escalate,” the State Department said in a statement.

Ukraine is at the center of a crisis that triggered a flurry of diplomacy this week over a buildup of tens of thousands of Russian troops near Russia’s border with Ukraine and concerns that it may be a prelude to invasion.

Truss addressed the buildup in comments to reporters on December 10, saying a military move on Ukraine would be “a strategic mistake,” and echoed U.S. President Joe Biden in saying an invasion would be met with severe consequences for Moscow.

SEE ALSO:

'My Mother Doesn't Know I'm Here': Life On Ukraine's Front Lines

The situation led to a crisis call between Biden and President Vladimir Putin, who denied that Russia is planning to attack Ukraine and expressed Moscow’s demand for security guarantees against NATO’s expansion to the former Soviet republic.

During the call, Biden told Putin that Moscow will face "severe economic sanctions" should Russian troops launch an attack against Ukraine. Biden also called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy about the situation and held a conference call with the leaders of nine NATO members on the alliance’s eastern flank.

Zelenskiy has pressed the United States for NATO membership to help defend itself against Russia. The Kremlin has called NATO membership for Ukraine “a red line.”

While Biden said in June that Ukraine is far from ready for membership in the alliance, his administration has repeatedly stated that Russia does not have veto power over the country’s geopolitical orientation.

Energy Dependency

Truss warned before the meeting that “free democratic nations” must wean themselves off Russian gas and Russian money to preserve their independence. The issue has again come to the fore in Europe this year amid record-high natural gas prices.

Truss said she wanted to work with other countries “to make sure that free democratic nations are able to have an alternative to Russian gas supplies.”

Russia supplies Europe with about 35 percent of its natural gas needs, giving it leverage over nations. Some Western officials have accused Russia of using its energy dominance in Europe as a “weapon.”

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Ukraine-Russia Tensions?

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Russia’s market share could potentially increase in the coming years as European gas production declines, analysts have said. Russia has recently completed Nord Stream 2, a new natural gas pipeline that will double exports to Germany.

The pipeline, which has yet to launch, runs under the Baltic Sea, circumventing Ukraine and depriving the country of about $2 billion in transit fees.

Many European nations oppose the project, which is backed by the German government. Truss met on the sidelines of the G7 meeting with Baerbock, whose Green Party previously spoke out against Nord Stream 2.

The diplomats will also discuss China’s increased military activity in the Indo-Pacific, efforts to vaccinate the world against the coronavirus, and negotiations in Vienna to try to revive the Iran nuclear deal.

Climate change, tensions in the western Balkans, Afghanistan and North Korea are also on the agenda.

The meeting of top diplomats from the United Kingdom., the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan is the final major event in Britain’s year as G7 president. Germany will take over the rotating G7 presidency next year.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

An American who has fled to Belarus has been indicted on charges of assaulting police officers and other crimes related to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Evan Neumann, 49, was indicted in Washington on December 10 on 14 criminal counts. The indictment expands on charges originally contained in a criminal complaint filed against Neumann in March.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington said in a news release that by the time the initial complaint was filed, Neumann had already fled the United States and is currently believed to be in Belarus. The FBI is investigating the case and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, the news release said.

Neumann was interviewed last month by the state-controlled Belarus-1 television channel. He said he had followed the advice of his lawyer and fled to Europe.

He stayed in Switzerland and Italy for some time and then went to Ukraine for four months. In August, Neumann was detained by Belarusian border guards for illegally crossing from Ukraine.

According to Neumann, he decided to flee to Belarus and seek political asylum there after Ukraine's security services started expressing interest in him.

SEE ALSO:

U.S. Capitol Rioter Seeks Asylum In Belarus

The U.S. doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Belarus. The State Department last month declined to comment on the case citing privacy laws.

The riot at the Capitol attempted to interrupt a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of certifying President Joe Biden’s victory over then-President Donald Trump in the November 3, 2020 election. The siege followed a rally near the White House earlier that day in which Trump called on his supporters to march on the Capitol in a last-gasp attempt to overturn the election results.

The indictment says that during the riot Neumann shoved a metal barricade into a line of officers and struck the officers with the barricade and with his fist. In his interview with Belarus-1, Neumann rejected the charges against him, calling them "political persecution."

Since the riot more than 700 people have been arrested for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 220 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

With reporting by Reuters and the Hill

Russia has blocked off nearly 70 percent of the Sea of Azov around the illegally annexed Crimean Peninsula, the Ukrainian Navy has announced.

“Currently, the Russians have issued navigation warnings on restrictions on navigation in certain areas, allegedly in connection with artillery fire in areas near Mariupol, Berdyansk and Henichesk," the Ukrainian Navy said in a statement issued on December 10.

The Russian side has so far neither confirmed nor denied the claims, which come amid heightened tensions and fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine as it has massed tens of thousands of troops near the border with Ukraine and inside Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, when it also began backing separatists in southeastern Ukraine, including militarily.

On December 9, Russia’s Federal Security Service said a Ukrainian vessel had headed toward the Kerch Strait without permission. Ukraine dismissed the Russian complaints as part of a Russian "information attack" on Kyiv.

The Sea of Azov is an internal sea with Russia to the east and Ukraine to the west. It is connected to the larger Black Sea by the Kerch Strait.

In November 2018, three Ukrainian military vessels were hijacked by the Russian border guard while trying to cross the strait. The 24 sailors were released only after months of negotiations.

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Sea Of Troubles: Azov Emerging As 'Tinderbox' In Russia-Ukraine Conflict

U.S. intelligence assesses that Russia has at least 70,000 troops near Ukraine and could be planning a multifront offensive as early as next year involving up to 175,000 troops.

Russia denies it is planning to attack, claiming instead that Ukraine and NATO are provoking tensions. Moscow is demanding security guarantees against NATO’s expansion to Ukraine or deploying alliance troops and weapons there. Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, but receives strong backing from members.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on December 10 that Moscow is proposing a series of steps to reduce tensions, including holding military exercises at agreed limits from Russia-NATO borders and set safe distances between their opposing warships and planes, especially in the Baltic and Black Seas.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned the United States and its allies not to dismiss Russia's demands for legally binding security guarantees.

The European Union wants to stave off any possible invasion with the help of a concrete sanctions package, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on December 10.

"Aggression must have a price tag," von der Leyen said on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels with Olaf Scholz, the new chancellor of Germany.

"Therefore, we will communicate these points in advance in an appropriate form ... to Russia," von der Leyen said, adding further details would not be made public.

She left open whether a ban on the operation of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is to deliver natural gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea, could be part of the sanctions package.

"In general, it is important that energy should never be used as a means of exerting pressure and that the energy security of Europe and its neighbors must be guaranteed," the top EU official said.

Scholz said, "It's very clear that Germany, the European Union and many other countries would react if border violations occurred."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that more opportunities for talks with Russia may arise thanks to the U.S. diplomatic effort to help de-escalate tensions.

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Has Biden Thrown Ukraine Under The Bus Or Averted War? Or Both? Or Neither?

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with both Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, as the United States moved to take a more direct role in diplomacy between Kyiv and Moscow.

Biden proposed joining the Europeans in negotiations not just to settle the conflict in eastern Ukraine but to address Putin’s larger strategic objections to NATO expanding its membership eastwards.

In an interview aired December 10 by the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1, Zelenskiy said that, “thanks to the U.S.,” one more platform for talks with Russia may appear, in addition to the so-called Normandy format that involves France and Germany.

The two European countries in 2015 brokered a peace agreement that helped end large-scale hostilities in Ukraine's east, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russia-backed separatists since 2014.

But efforts to reach a political settlement of the conflict that has since killed more than 13,200 people have failed, and sporadic skirmishes have continued along the tense line of contact.

Zelenskiy said that, with the support of the United States and Ukraine's European allies, he doesn't rule out direct talks between him and Putin — something he has proposed to the Russian leader several times to no avail.

“I see the support for this path from both our European partners and the U.S.,” Zelenskiy said.

Zelenskiy said the message he got from Biden during their call on December 8 was that “Russia assured the U.S. and the whole world that it doesn't intend to continue the escalation against the territory of our independent state.”

With reporting by dpa, AP, Reuters, and AFP

The European Union has warned Russia it would face consequences if it invaded Ukraine, as Germany and France called for talks to ease tensions amid growing concerns over Russia's troop buildup near the border with its southwestern neighbor.

The comments from European leaders largely echoed those of U.S. President Joe Biden, who has warned Russia of "strong" punitive measures if it were to attack Ukraine while also showing an interest in reviving diplomacy over Kyiv's seven-year war with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

"Aggression needs to come with a price tag, which is why we will communicate these points ahead of time to Russia," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on December 10 at a joint news conference with Germany's new chancellor, Olaf Scholz.

Von der Leyen said the bloc would not publicly state what "sanctions and other measures across economic and financial sectors" could be taken if Russia were to invade Ukraine.

But she appeared to leave open targeting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is to deliver Russian natural gas to Germany via the Baltic Sea.

"In general, it is important that energy should never be used as a means of exerting pressure and that the energy security of Europe and its neighbors must be guaranteed," the top EU official said.

“It's very clear that Germany, the European Union, and many other countries would react if border violations occurred," Scholz said.

Earlier in the day during a visit to France, Scholz called for a revival of the so-called Normandy Format of talks in which Germany and France mediate between Ukraine and Russia to try resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists has killed more than 13,200 people since April 2014. Russia asserts that Kyiv is failing to meet its commitments under the 2014 and 2015 Minsk agreements aimed at putting an end to the war.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Ukraine's leader this week, said he also wanted to further peace talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on December 9, reaffirming that Washington and its allies would respond with "strong economic and other measures" in the event of a Russian attack.

But he also called for fresh diplomacy to revive the Minsk agreements.

"President Biden underscored the readiness of the United States to engage in support of confidence-building measures to advance the implementation of the Minsk agreements, in support of the Normandy Format," the White House said.

Biden also reiterated that the United States and its allies were "committed to the principle of 'no decisions or discussions about Ukraine without Ukraine.'"

Zelenskiy's office said one of the key issues during his phone call with Biden was "the security situation around Ukraine and the prospects for intensifying a peace settlement."

The diplomacy followed Biden’s promise of meetings between envoys of Russia and major NATO allies to discuss Moscow's concerns about Ukraine joining the alliance and the possibility of "bringing down the temperature along the eastern front."

Biden held a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 7 amid Western concerns about the presence of tens of thousands of Russian troops near Ukraine’s border.

U.S. intelligence assesses that Russia has at least 70,000 troops near Ukraine and could be planning a multifront offensive early next year involving up to 175,000 troops.

Russia denies it is planning to attack, claiming instead that Ukraine and NATO are provoking tensions. Moscow is demanding security guarantees against NATO’s expansion to Ukraine or deploying alliance troops and weapons there. Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, but receives strong backing from members.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on December 10 that Moscow was proposing a series of steps to reduce tensions, including holding military exercises at agreed limits from Russia-NATO borders and setting safe distances between their opposing warships and planes, especially in the Baltic and Black Seas.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned the United States and its allies not to dismiss Russia's demands for legally binding security guarantees.

"If they refuse, and try and torpedo this, they will inevitably get a further worsening of their own security situation," he said.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and Reuters.

The United States on December 10 imposed financial sanctions and visa bans on former and current government officials and entities in nine countries, including China and Russia, to coincide with International Human Rights Day.

The sanctions targeted Chinese authorities involved in the repression of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities and a Russian university that helps North Korea raise hard currency.

The State Department action makes 12 current and former officials from six countries -- Uganda, China, Belarus, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Mexico -- ineligible along with their immediate family to enter the U.S. under a law that authorizes banning people involved with a “gross violation of human rights or significant corruption.”

A separate coordinated set of actions by the Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions and other restrictions on 15 people and 10 entities in China, Burma, Russia, North Korea, and Bangladesh.

In addition, Canada and the U.K. joined with the United States in imposing the latest in a series of measures aimed at preventing military authorities in Burma, also known as Myanmar, from using the global finance system in response to the overthrow of the democratically elected government.

“We are determined to put human rights at the center of our foreign policy and we reaffirm this commitment by using appropriate tools and authorities to draw attention to and promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses, no matter where they occur,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in announcing the measures.

The Russian university that was sanctioned is the European Institute Justo. The university and its provost, Dmitry Yurevich Soin, were sanctioned for sponsoring hundreds of work visas for construction workers from North Korea as part of what the U.S. says is a coercive and abusive overseas labor program that helps the repressive North Korean government get hard currency.

Some of these workers were affiliated with a North Korean weapons of mass destruction (WMD) entity, and the revenue their labor generated could have been used to support North Korean WMD programs, the Treasury Department said.

Two Chinese government officials who have been involved with the repression of Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang were among those banned from entering the U.S.

Treasury also imposed investment restrictions on the artificial intelligence company SenseTime Group, saying its facial-recognition software has been used by the authorities to identify and control Uyghurs and members of Xinjiang’s other indigenous, mostly Muslim ethnic groups.

China's embassy in Washington denounced the U.S. move as "serious interference in China's internal affairs" and a "severe violation of basic norms governing international relations."

Embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu said it would do "grave harm to China-U.S. relations" and urged Washington to rescind the decision.

The measures are the latest in a raft of sanctions timed to coincide with Biden's two-day virtual Summit for Democracy at which he announced initiatives to bolster democracy around the world and support for pro-democracy legislation in the United States.

Biden said on December 10 that commitments made by some of the more than 100 world leaders at the summit would push back against rising autocracy around the world, fight corruption, and promote human rights.

"This is going to help seed fertile ground for democracy to bloom around the world," he said in a speech closing the summit.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on December 11 reacted angrily to the summit, saying "democracy has long become a weapon of mass destruction used by the U.S. to interfere in other countries."

The ministry also claimed the summit was organized by the U.S. to "draw lines of ideological prejudice, instrumentalize and weaponize democracy...(and) incite division and confrontation."

With reporting by Reuters and AP

The United States has slapped visa bans on the heads of Minsk's notorious Akrestsina detention center for their involvement in "gross violations" of human rights following last year's "fraudulent" presidential election that handed authoritarian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term in office.

In a statement on December 10, the U.S. State Department named Ihar Kenyukh and Yauheni Shapetska, accusing them of being involved in "the torture and/or cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment of detainees" during Lukashenka's brutal crackdown on dissent after the August 2020 vote.

The European Union, the United States, and other countries have passed several rounds of sanctions on Lukashenka's regime over its crackdown on the country's pro-democracy movement and independent media in the wake of the election, as well as for an ongoing migration crisis along the border between Belarus and the EU that the West says Minsk is orchestrating.

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The State Department said it welcomed "the close coordination with the EU, U.K., and Canada last week on our strongest sanctions package to date on Belarus, which jointly imposes costs on the Lukashenka regime for its continued repression of the Belarusian people."

Thousands of Belarusians have been detained during the countrywide protests against the election results, which the opposition and the West say were rigged, and there have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment by security forces. Several people have died during the crackdown. Many of Belarus's opposition leaders have been arrested or forced to leave the country.

Lukashenka rejects the allegations of electoral fraud and refuses to negotiate with the opposition.

He also denies accusations that he engineered the crisis along the EU's eastern flank to destabilize the 27-member bloc in retaliation for sanctions imposed for human rights abuses.

A suspect in a deadly terrorist attack on an Istanbul nightclub nearly five years ago has been detained in Kyrgyzstan, the security service in the Central Asian country said.

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security said in a statement on December 10 that a foreign suspect was detained for involvement in the attack that claimed the lives of 39 citizens from 18 countries and wounded dozens more.

The identity of the detained suspect was not revealed.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility the 2017 New Year's Eve attack on the posh Reina nightclub in Istanbul.

Abdulkadir Masharipov, an Uzbek national, was in 2020 imprisoned for life by a Turkish court as the perpetrator of a gun attack.

Dozens of others, mostly ethnic Uyghurs and citizens of Central Asian states, were also been detained in sweeps by Turkish security forces.

Based on reporting by AFP and Haber

Bulgaria's new anti-corruption We Continue the Change party (PP) has reached a coalition deal with three smaller parties, giving the country a new government after eight months of political deadlock.

Kiril Petkov, the co-leader of PP, said on December 10 that an agreement was reached with the Socialists, the populist There is Such a People party, and the center-right faction Democratic Bulgaria.

"The agreement has just been signed by all our coalition partners," said Petkov, who was nominated as Bulgaria's next prime minister.

"The document is 140 pages and will really enable this coalition to be strong and work for a long time," he added.

Petkov is now expected to present his nominations for ministers to President Rumen Radev on December 11 and get approval from parliament as early as December 13.

Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stepped down in April after he lost his majority in parliament following months of anti-corruption protests against him and his GERB party..

Two elections in April and July failed to produce governments because of unclear majorities and disagreements between political parties on a new cabinet, leaving the European Union's poorest member state in the hands of an interim administration.

The new government is expected to overhaul the country's anti-corruption agency, boost COVID-19 vaccinations, and take steps to shield citizens from rising energy costs.

Less than 30 percent of adults are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in the country, the lowest rate in the European Union.

Amnesty International has launched a Persian-language website, saying it aims to increase access to information on abuse in Iran amid "an all-out assault on human rights" by the authorities, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and extrajudicial executions.

The new website, launched on Human Rights Day on December 10, includes, among other things, research and legal analysis of "shocking" human rights violations, as well as recommendations to the international community to tackle "this crisis of impunity," the London-based human rights watchdog said in a statement.

The launch came as the BBC urged the international community to take "robust" action to force the Iranian authorities to put an end to their "escalating campaign" of harassment and intimidation against its journalists and their families at home and abroad.

Diana Eltahawy, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said that Iran "suffers from a deepening human rights crisis, with hundreds of individuals on death row following unfair trials -- including those arrested as children -- and thousands persecuted or arbitrarily detained for peacefully exercising their human rights.

"The families of thousands of people killed or forcibly disappeared by the authorities are left waiting for truth and justice," she also said, while rights defenders and dissidents who "speak out against repression and injustice endure grave human rights violations."

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Meanwhile, the BBC said in a statement that staff from its Persian-language service have endured more than a decade of harassment and attacks, including asset freezes and arbitrary arrest of relatives.

"In the past year, threats against BBC News Persian staff and Persian-speaking journalists outside Iran have escalated. Death threats and threats of extra-territorial harm have been made towards BBC News Persian staff in London, leading to police involvement and protection," the British broadcaster said.

BBC World Service lawyers Caoilfhionn Gallagher and Jennifer Robinson called on the international community "to take immediate, robust action to ensure Iran is held accountable, and BBC News Persian journalists can report without fear."

The broadcaster said its Persian-language service had a weekly global audience of nearly 22 million people, including some 13 million in Iran.

With reporting by AFP and RFE/RL's Radio Farda

SARAJEVO -- The Bosnian Serb parliament has adopted a set of steps that would strengthen a secessionist bid to withdraw from state-level institutions despite warnings from the West.

Lawmakers on December 10 voted 49-3 on starting a procedure for Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb-dominated entity to withdraw from the Bosnian Army, security services, tax system, and judiciary.

They also voted on a declaration that calls for the drafting of a new constitution for the entity, Republika Srpska, and states that "all laws imposed" by the international high representative for Bosnia are "unconstitutional."

Deputies of the opposition left the session before the vote.

Bosnia has been in a protracted political crisis over secessionist moves by Republika Srpska, reviving fears that the peace deal which ended a 1992-95 war could unravel and threaten regional stability.

The U.S.-brokered Dayton peace accords created two highly autonomous entities that share some joint institutions: the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation. The country is governed and administered along ethnic lines established by the agreement, with a weak and often dysfunctional central government.

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, the Serbian representative in the tripartite presidency, has repeatedly threatened to withdraw from state-level institutions, describing Bosnia as "an experiment by the international community" and an "impossible, imposed country."

Bosnia "is moving in a direction we did not agree to when signing the Dayton accords. The verdicts of the Constitutional Court...and the Court of [Bosnia-Herzegovina] make us angry. We have a feeling that [Bosnia] is going in the wrong direction. One by one, the competencies of the Republika Srpska are changing," Dodik said ahead of the vote.

But the leader of the opposition Serbian Democratic Party, Mirko Sarovic, accused Dodik of leading the entity down a "disastrous" path that could end in war.

For years, Dodik has advocated for the separation of the Republika Srpska and having it become part of neighboring Serbia.

His push gained momentum over the summer when the Western-appointed high representative imposed a series of laws prohibiting the denial of genocide, war crimes, and the glorification of those convicted of such crimes before international or local courts.

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The Bosnian War started in 1992 when Bosnian Serbs, with the help of the Serb-led Yugoslav army, tried to create ethnically pure territories with the aim of joining neighboring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions were left homeless.

Dodik has reiterated his claim that the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were slaughtered by Bosnian Serb forces "did not take place."

The massacre has been declared a genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Office of the High Representative's (OHR) duties include overseeing and coordinating the implementation of the Dayton agreement, but its sweeping powers has made it the target of criticism.

The OHR was not allowed to attend the parliamentary proceedings, despite requesting it be granted access.

"All parties have an obligation to fully respect the General Framework Agreement for Peace. The Office of the High Representative requires the Republika Srpska National Assembly to respect the OHR's mandate," the OHR said.

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Following the imposition of the genocide law, Republika Srpska politicians began blocking the work of state-level institutions, including the tripartite presidency, Council of Ministers, and Parliamentary Assembly.

The Serb entity's moves toward secession have spurred a flurry of diplomacy, with Western envoys trying to find a political solution and persuading Dodik to reverse course.

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The Kremlin and Serbia tacitly support Dodik's actions, and the Bosnian Serb leader met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last week.

The United States has already imposed a travel ban and assets freeze on Dodik and both U.S. and EU officials have recently threatened more sanctions in case the Bosnian Serbs try to secede.

"As a signing witness of the Dayton peace accords, the United States reiterates that moves to unilaterally withdraw from state-level institutions or otherwise destabilize the [accords] will be met with appropriate action, including the consideration of sanctions," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a letter to members of Bosnia's tripartite presidency last month.

The United States has previously said there was "no constitutional way" for the Republika Srpska to unilaterally withdraw from national institutions. Dodik says the institutions he wants to leave were not enshrined in the Dayton constitution but were created through amendments.

With reporting by AP and AFP

Armenian and Azerbaijani have exchanged fire across their shared border for a third consecutive day, with both sides accusing each other of violating a cease-fire deal that ended their six-week war last year over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Amid growing concern that lingering tensions between the two South Caucasus neighbors could potentially spiral out of control, the Armenian Defense Ministry said in a statement on December 10 that one of its servicemen was killed and several others were wounded "as a result of offensive operations carried out by the Azeri forces."

The exchange of fire stopped as of 2:30 p.m. local time, it added.

Earlier, the ministry said its neighbor had attacked Armenian positions in the eastern part of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry said that Armenian units fired on Azerbaijani positions in the Kalbacar district in what it called "a provocation."

The reported fighting followed two days of similar clashes in which the sides said one soldier had been killed and two others wounded.

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Tensions have simmered for years over Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnic Armenian region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan that broke away from Baku's control in the early 1990s.

The 44-day war that erupted in autumn 2020 claimed more than 6,500 lives. It ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Armenians ceded territories they had controlled for decades to Azerbaijan.

Border tensions have since remained high, with the worst renewed deadly fighting taking place last month.

The renewed fighting came as Moscow on December 10 hosted the inaugural session of a five-way South Caucasus peace platform, an idea proposed by Turkey and its ally Azerbaijan following last year's conflict.

Besides Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, Armenia and Iran were represented at the level of deputy foreign ministers.

Georgia refused to participate in the platform amid persistent tensions with Russia.