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- By RFE/RL
EU Envoy Sees Progress In Iran Nuclear Talks, Swiss Say U.S. Seeking 'New Path'
The top European diplomat coordinating international talks to revive a 5-year-old deal to limit Iran's nuclear activities has urged patience but says he thinks "the obstacles [are]...something that I think can be bridged."
Enrique Mora said on June 15 that progress had been made in Vienna, where the nuclear talks involving U.S., Iranian, and other negotiators began a fifth round last weekend.
The U.S. and Iranian delegates aren't meeting directly, but through envoys from Russia, China, France, Germany, and Britain.
"This is why we are here: to negotiate these different approaches, and I think we will succeed," Mora said.
U.S. President Joe Biden has been seeking unity on the Iranian issue among European allies during the past week of summits in the United Kingdom, Belgium, and now Switzerland.
Switzerland's foreign minister, Ignazio Cassis, meanwhile said after Biden's arrival there on June 15 that the U.S. president had expressed support for accelerating mechanisms for getting more food and medicines to Iran via a Swiss humanitarian "channel."
Cassis's country has spent decades as a diplomatic messenger between the United States and Iran, and he reportedly met with Biden for around 30 minutes.
Iran has been badly hurt by trade and economic sanctions since then-President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal that traded international sanctions relief for curbs on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities.
"The situation is very difficult at the moment," Cassis said, referencing this week's carefully vetted election in Iran to select a new president to replace relative moderate incumbent Hassan Rohani. "You know that [presidential] elections will be held in Iran very soon, and I think one should not have too high expectations."
Hard-line cleric and judiciary head Ebrahim Raisi is widely regarded as the front-runner among seven candidates cleared by election authorities from among hundreds of applicants to run for a five-year term as Iran's president.
"However it is clear that the intention of this American administration is to try to find a new path, which won't be easy, because there has been a long history of feuds," Cassis added.
Biden is on the final leg of a European tour that has included a Group of Seven (G7) meeting in Britain, NATO and EU meetings in Belgium, and concludes with a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Lake Geneva on June 16.
Critics of Trump's "maximum pressure" policy to change Iran's behavior in the region frequently criticized its failure to effectively distinguish between medicine and humanitarian goods and other kinds of imports.
"The trouble is it hasn't been used enough," Cassis said of the Swiss mechanism for getting such goods to Iran, "and why? Because there are transfers of funds that still require approval, and I think on this the U.S. is willing to accelerate their decisions so that this channel can be used to its full effect."
Historically nonaligned Switzerland has represented U.S. interests in Iran since the U.S. Embassy in Tehran was overrun by revolutionaries in 1979.
Cassis said Biden discussed with Swiss President Guy Parmelin the ongoing negotiations that are in a fifth round over Biden's publicly stated desire to revive the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), whose signatories also include Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the support of the European Union.
"We talked about this nuclear agreement, about the intention of the United States to do everything it can to move things forward," he said.
With reporting by Reuters and AP
- By RFE/RL
Belarus's Barysevich Wins CPJ's Press Freedom Award
Katsyaryna Barysevich of Belarus is among four "courageous" journalists from around the world to receive the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) 2021 International Press Freedom Awards.
The New York-based media-freedom watchdog said on June 15 it will honor the "commitment and sacrifice" of Barysevich and journalists from Guatemala, Mozambique, and Burma, also known as Myanmar, for having reported "during a historically turbulent time, covering protests and political upheaval in their countries."
"In the midst of a battle over the control of information, these journalists are on the side of the people, covering events, informing communities, and ensuring accountability," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said in a statement.
Barysevich, along with Anastasia Mejia (Guatemala), Matias Guente (Mozambique), and Aye Chan Naing (Burma) "have paid a price, confronting violence, harassment, repression, and persecution but refusing to back down."
Barysevich is a correspondent for the Belarusian popular outlet Tut.by, whose staff members are facing detentions and harassment by the authorities amid a brutal crackdown on dissent and media following a disputed presidential election in August.
She has spent six months behind bars for her reporting on the death of a protester, Raman Bandarenka, during an unprecedented wave of open opposition to authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Barysevich's articles included medical details that contradicted official claims that Bandarenka was drunk at the time of his death.
The winners of the 2021 International Press Freedom Awards will be honored during an annual ceremony in New York on November 18.
- By RFE/RL
U.S., EU Pledge To 'High-Level Dialogue On Russia' Going Forward
The United States and European Union have announced an agreement to "establish an EU-U.S. high-level dialogue on Russia" to better coordinate policies and actions.
The pledge came after a summit between President Joe Biden and the heads of two major EU institutions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council chief Charles Michel.
"We stand united in our principled approach towards Russia and we are ready to respond decisively to its repeating pattern of negative behavior and harmful activities, which Russia must address to prevent the further deterioration of relations including on the list of so-called unfriendly states," the declaration said.
Russia's government last month approved a list of "unfriendly countries" that included two states: the United States and the Czech Republic, the latter of which recently traded diplomatic expulsions with Moscow over evidence that Russian agents were behind a deadly explosion at an ammunition depot in 2014.
At a trio of international summits over the past five days -- with the Group of Seven (G7), NATO allies in Brussels, and senior EU officials -- Biden has sought to gather widespread European support for his efforts to counter Russia ahead of a key summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva on June 16.
Biden has pledged to more directly challenge Putin on Russian actions like cyberattacks emanating from Russia, security issues like Ukraine and other European hot spots, and election meddling, while leaving a door open to cooperation in areas like climate change, arms control, and strategic security.
The European Union has shown divisions in its approach to Moscow, which is the bloc's biggest natural-gas supplier and a key player in international issues such as the Iran nuclear deal and conflicts in Syria and Libya.
The joint U.S.-EU statement includes a long list of warnings on topics like "continued actions to undermine Ukraine's and Georgia's sovereignty," where Russia has aided armed separatists or has troops.
They offered support for the "sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity" of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, which also has a contingent of Russian troops in its breakaway region of Transdniester.
The message also urged Russia's cooperation to ensure diplomatic protections, and demanded that Russia "stop its continuous crackdown on civil society, the opposition and independent media and release all political prisoners."
Moscow and the West have locked horns over the fate of jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny since his near-fatal poisoning last summer with a Soviet-era nerve agent, after which he was medically evacuated to Germany.
"At the same time," the statement said, "we keep channels of communication open and possibilities for selective cooperation in areas of common interest."
With reporting by AP
Jailed Russian Activist Pivovarov's Appeal Rejected
KRASNODAR, Russia -- A court in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar has rejected an appeal against the continued detention of the jailed former executive director of the pro-democracy Open Russia movement, Andrei Pivovarov.
The court ruled on June 15 that Pivovarov's arrest last month was legal and refused to transfer him to house arrest.
The activist took part in the hearing via video link from the detention center where he is being held due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pivovarov was detained after being removed from a Warsaw-bound plane just before takeoff from St. Petersburg in late May.
He is facing charges of "participating in the activities of an undesirable group," an accusation that he denies, and which stems from a Russian law that has repeatedly been used to target critical voices.
On June 2, a lower court in Krasnodar ruled that Pivovarov should be held for two months after he was accused of publishing a post on social media supporting a local candidate last year on behalf of an "undesirable" organization.
Pivovarov and his lawyers insist that he didn't publish the post but rather it was posted by a former member of his group, Maria Kuznetsova, who confirmed that version of events at the hearing.
Leaders of the Open Russia dissolved the Russian-based group in late May after it was designated an "undesirable" organization, saying they wanted to protect supporters from further "harassment" by the Russian authorities.
Open Russia was financed by Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who moved to London after spending 10 years in prison in Russia on charges widely seen as political revenge for challenging Putin politically.
The "undesirable organization" law, adopted in 2015, was part of a series of regulations pushed by the Kremlin that squeezed many nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that received funding from foreign sources -- mainly from Europe and the United States.
The Russian State Duma on June 9 approved the third and final reading of a bill to widen the scope of the law.
Under that bill, Russian nationals and organizations located anywhere in the world will be barred from taking part in the activities of foreign NGOs labeled "undesirable" in Russia.
Hungarian Lawmakers Vote To Donate State Land For Planned Chinese University
BUDAPEST -- Hungary's parliament has approved a proposal to donate state land to build a controversial Chinese university in Budapest despite a storm of local protests and criticism that the government is getting overly cozy with Beijing.
Lawmakers of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party on June 15 voted overwhelmingly to donate several plots along the Danube River to the Fudan Hungary University Foundation.
That group will be in charge of the campus, which is slated to be built at a cost of around $1.8 billion at a site where affordable housing for Hungarian students had previously been planned.
The law requires the government to present the final plans of the project to parliament by the end of 2022, following a general election.
Orban said last week that the project would be put to a referendum.
The plan is unpopular in Budapest and nationally, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets of the capital this month to protest against it.
The decision to build the campus by 2024 using a $1.5 billion loan from a Chinese bank has raised concerns about the long-term impact of such a project on the country's higher-education system.
The government has argued that having a campus of the Shanghai-based Fudan University would allow Hungarian and international students to acquire high-quality qualifications.
But critics fear a lack of transparency and academic freedom.
Orban, who has notched three successive election landslides since 2010, faces stiff opposition for the first time in more than a decade, especially from Budapest's liberal mayor, Gergely Karacsony, who is eyeing a run against the right-wing nationalist in April 2022.
Earlier this month, Karacsony renamed streets surrounding the project site "Free Hong Kong Road", "Dalai Lama Road," and "Uyghur Martyrs Road" to highlight Chinese human rights sore points.
Orban has dismissed accusations that allowing a Chinese campus would open the door to greater influence for Beijing, which has also defended the project.
The Hungarian prime minister has built friendly ties with China, Russia, and other illiberal governments, while repeatedly clashing with the EU by curbing the independence of the Hungarian judiciary and media.
Orban's government this month blocked a proposed EU text criticizing Beijing's recent actions in Hong Kong, where it has dramatically boosted its reach on political and security affairs and cracked down hard on a major pro-democracy movement.
With reporting by Reuters
Turkish President Visits Azerbaijani-Controlled City In Nagorno-Karabakh
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited a part of Nagorno-Karabakh that is under Azerbaijan's control along with one of the seven districts adjacent to the breakaway region that Baku regained control over last autumn as a result of a six-week war against Armenian forces.
Erdogan's June 15 visit, which was condemned by the Armenian Foreign Ministry as an "an outright provocation against regional peace and security," came a day after he met with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels.
Upon his arrival in Baku, Erdogan traveled to the decimated town of Fuzuli to the southeast of Nagorno-Karabakh -- the first town that Azerbaijani forces recaptured last autumn from ethnic Armenian forces who'd controlled it since the early 1990s.
Erdogan was met in Fuzuli by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his wife. They then traveled into Azerbaijani-controlled territory within Nagorno-Karabakh to visit the strategic city of Susa, which is known in Armenian as Shushi.
Azerbaijan's seizure of the mountain fortress city in early November was a key moment in the war. It gave Baku a tactical advantage over the Armenian forces and led to a Russian-brokered cease-fire that brought an end to the fighting.
Erdogan was honored there on June 15 with an official greeting ceremony. Afterward, he and Aliyev signed a document called the Susa Declaration on Allied Relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey.
Turkey provided Azerbaijan with both diplomatic and military support during the recent conflict.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. But ethnic Armenians who make up most of the region's population and still control part of the territory there reject Baku's rule.
During the early 1990s, ethnic Armenian fighters forced out some 750,000 Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan in a war that claimed the lives of some 30,000 people.
EU, U.S. React Sharply After Hungary Passes Bill Banning LGBT Content In Schools
BUDAPEST -- The European Union and United States have issued separate warnings to Budapest after Hungary's parliament approved a controversial bill that bans discussions and dissemination of information in schools that is deemed by authorities to promote homosexuality and gender change.
Critics have slammed the legislation as an attack on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
A total of 157 lawmakers backed the legislation on June 15 in the 199-seat parliament, which is controlled by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party.
Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote with the exception of those from the right-wing Jobbik party, which supported the bill.
After passage, Washington warned against the imposition of such laws on a free society.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter said the new law "raises concerns" about "freedom of expression" and included restrictions that "have no place in democratic society."
European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli warned shortly before the bill's approval that the European Union could withhold funding over Hungary's move, echoing moves after six Polish regions declared themselves "LGBT-free."
"The message is that if you don't uphold the values of democracy or equality of the European Union, you are not entitled to take money for your project," Dalli was quoted by Reuters as saying in a video call earlier on June 15.
Asked if the bloc might take steps to block funding to Hungary if the legislation becomes law, Dalli said: "Yes, of course. Definitely."
In a reference to the Polish example, she said that "we think that if we extrapolate that to what is happening in Hungary, there might be also the same effect."
On June 14, thousands of protesters gathered in Budapest to condemn the legislation. It calls for a ban on books, films, and other content that are accessible to children and young people and in which sexuality is depicted other than heterosexuality.
The ban also applies to advertising in which homosexuality or transgender people are presented as being normal.
It was not clear what punishments could be meted out for those convicted of breaking the new law.
Orban's government has said that the legislation is needed to protect the "right of children to their gender identity received at birth."
Associations of the LBGT community and human rights advocates have said the law will "trample on the rights of homosexual and transgender youth."
They compared the ban to a discriminatory 2013 Russian law banning so-called "gay propaganda," which is viewed by human rights defenders as a tool of discrimination.
The legislation also has been criticized by the European Parliament's rapporteur on the situation in Hungary, French lawmaker Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield from the Group of the Greens.
"Using child protection as an excuse to target [LGBT] people is damaging to all children in Hungary," she has said.
Orban's government has backed a strongly conservative social agenda and stepped up anti-LGBT measures during the coronavirus pandemic.
His government has already embedded language in the constitution stating that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. It also has banned adoptions by same-sex couples.
Hungary's government has also retroactively prohibited legal status for transgender people, in a move ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.
With reporting by AFP, dpa, and Reuters
- By Ray Furlong
Restricted In Russia: As COVID-19 Surges, Protective Measures Are Reimposed
A host city for the Euro 2020 soccer tournament, St. Petersburg, has introduced new anti-COVID-19 restrictions as daily case loads in Russia reach their highest levels since February. The move follows a decision by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to declare a weeklong public holiday to stem the surge and a raffle to boost low take-up rates on vaccines.
Russia Reportedly Removes Belarusian Opposition Leader From Wanted List
Russian police have removed Belarusian opposition politician Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya from their wanted list at the initiative of the Belarusian authorities, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reports.
The report on June 15 comes a day before U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Geneva for their first face-to-face talks since Biden was inaugurated in January.
Tsikhanouskaya was the main challenger of authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus's August 2020 presidential election.
She left Belarus immediately after the vote, fearing for her family's security. She currently lives with her children in Lithuania, where she has continued to oppose the official election results as being rigged in favor of Lukashenka.
Authorities in Minsk placed her on a "most wanted list" after she called for her supporters to stage mass demonstrations against the official election results -- which gave Lukashenka a landslide victory widely seen as fraudulent.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
The European Union and the United States refuse to recognize the results and do not consider Lukashenka the country's legitimate president.
Russia, a key ally of Belarus, added Tsikhanouskaya to its wanted list in solidarity with Lukashenka's regime.
Lukashenka has since overseen a violent crackdown against those who've answered Tsikhanouskaya's calls to protest the results.
Thousands of people have been detained, including journalists working to cover the developments.
Most leading opposition figures have been driven from the country, while many of those still in Belarus have been detained by the police.
Belarusian authorities have filed more than 1,800 criminal cases against protesters.
Based on reporting by Reuters and RIA Novosti
Trial Date Set For Belarusian Vlogger Tsikhanouski, Other Defendants
MINSK -- A court in Belarus has set June 24 as the date for the start of a trial of Belarusian video blogger Syarhey Tsikhanouski, a leading opposition figure who was arrested after expressing his willingness to challenge Alyaksandr Lukashenka in last year's disputed presidential election.
Tsikhanouski is married to Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the election campaign after her husband's detention and ran against Lukashenka but has since been forced to flee Belarus out of concern for her safety.
Several opposition figures and political prisoners charged in Tsikhanouski's high-profile case are also going on trial on June 24 inside a detention center in the southeastern city of Homel on charges widely considered to have been trumped-up.
They include popular blogger and RFE/RL consultant Ihar Losik, as well as Mikalay Statkevich, Uladzimer Tsyhanovich, Artsyom Sakau, and Dzmitry Papou.
Relatives of Tsikhanouski and the other defendants told RFE/RL on June 15 that they had been officially informed of the date and location of the trial.
Tsikhanouski is accused of organizing mass disorder, inciting social hatred, impeding the activities of the Central Election Commission, and organizing activities that disrupt social order. If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Tsikhanouski was the owner of a popular Belarusian YouTube channel called The Country For Life when he announced his willingness to run against Lukashenka early in 2020. He had used the channel to challenge and criticize the Belarusian authorities.
He was arrested in May 2020 shortly after election officials rejected his candidacy. He has remained in pretrial detention since then.
His wife took over the election campaign and ran as a candidate in the August 2020 presidential poll. She became the main challenger to Lukashenka, who has been the autocratic ruler of the country since 1994.
The European Union and the United States refuse to recognize Lukashenka as the legitimate president of Belarus after he claimed a landslide victory in the August 9 election.
The official election tally has been widely criticized as fraudulent. Tsikhanouskaya and her supporters claim that she won the vote.
The official results sparked months of mass protests.
Lukashenka has overseen a violent crackdown on the protesters which has seen thousands of people detained, including journalists working to cover the developments.
Many have been injured by baton-wielding riot police. There are also widespread allegations of systemic torture by authorities within Belarusian detention centers.
More than 1,800 criminal cases have been filed against demonstrators.
Tsikhanouskaya and other leading opposition figures have been forced from the country. She currently lives in Lithuania with her children.
Losik, who is among hundreds of political prisoners caught up in the crackdown, has been in pretrial detention since June 2020. He was initially charged with allegedly using his popular Telegram channel to "prepare to disrupt public order" ahead of the August election.
In April, he tried to slit his wrists and launched a four-day hunger strike after being informed of new, unspecified charges. He had previously launched a six-week hunger strike to protest the original charges.
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly on June 15 reiterated his call for Belarusian authorities to immediately release Losik and cease their "systematic targeting of journalists."
"On June 25, a year will have passed since Ihar Losik was unjustly seized in his own home by Belarusian authorities," Fly said.
"Since then, Ihar has endured mistreatment and psychological torture while in pretrial detention, which is about to be compounded by what can only be termed a show trial."
Kazakh Activist Convicted Of Having Ties To Banned Political Groups
SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan -- A court in Kazakhstan's southern city of Shymkent has given a parole-like sentence to an activist after convicting him on charges of having ties with two banned opposition groups.
The Qaratau district court on June 15 found 46-year-old Nurzhan Mukhammedov guilty of having ties with the banned Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan (DVK) movement and the Koshe (Street) party.
The court also found Mukhammedov guilty of insulting traffic police.
He was sentenced to two years of "freedom limitation" plus 140 hours of community service. He is also barred from being involved in public and political activities for three years.
Mukhammedov took part in the trial via a videolink from a detention center due to coronavirus precautions.
He denied having ties with the DVK or the Koshe party. But he admitted he had insulted traffic police, saying they were "illegally" attempting to violate his constitutional right to free movement.
Mukhammedov was arrested in January and went on trial on May 18. He was released from custody after his sentence was pronounced.
Mukhammedov held two hunger strikes while in detention to demand that all the charges against him be dropped.
He has been fined and sentenced to jail terms ranging from five days to 15 days over his previous participation in unsanctioned rallies. Human rights organizations in Kazakhstan have recognized Mukhammedov as a political prisoner.
Several Activists Sentenced
Kazakhstan's courts have issued prison sentences or parole-like sentences to several activists in recent years for their support or involvement in the activities of the DVK and the Koshe party. Other activists have also spent time in jail for taking part in unsanctioned rallies that were organized by the two groups.
The DVK is led by Mukhtar Ablyazov, a fugitive former head of Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and an outspoken critic of the Kazakh government.
Kazakh authorities banned the DVK as an extremist group in March 2018.
Human rights groups say Kazakhstan's law on public gatherings contradicts international standards.
The law requires rally organizers to obtain preliminary permission from authorities. It also calls for the prosecution of those who organize or participate in unsanctioned rallies -- despite constitutional guarantees stating that citizens have the right to freely assemble.
Serbia-Kosovo Talks Fail To Make Progress Despite EU Optimism
A first round of talks between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on June 15 in Brussels failed to make progress towards normalizing relations between the two Balkan neighbors.
Within hours of the meeting, the United States and European Union reiterated that they would keep up joint efforts at reconciliation between the bitterly divided former Yugoslav republics.
"We intend to further strengthen our joint engagement in the Western Balkans, including through the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on normalization of their relations, and by supporting key reforms for EU integration," said a combined statement following a summit among U.S. President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council chief Charles Michel.
Serbian and Kosovar leaders last met a year ago as part of decade-long negotiations aimed at resolving disputes that continue to taint relations more than 20 years after the 1998-1999 Kosovo War.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nearly a decade after the war between ethnic Albanian separatists and the forces of rump Yugoslavia. The war ended after a 78-day NATO bombing campaign that drove Belgrade's troops out.
For nearly a decade, a NATO-led peacekeeping force (KFOR) provided security while a United Nations administration temporarily ran Kosovo.
Kosovo's independence has been recognized by more than 100 countries including the United States and all but five of the European Union's 27 member states. But Serbia still considers the territory a southern province, and is supported by Russia and China.
The meeting in Brussels on June 15 was also the first since Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, a left-wing reformist, claimed a landmark victory in February's parliamentary elections -- pledging to take a new tack in talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
The two leaders gave slightly differing accounts of the meeting, although both acknowledged the lack of progress.
Vucic said Kurti had "demanded" Serbian recognition and refused to discuss a 2013 deal to establish 10 Serbian-majority "municipalities" in Kosovo that has never been implemented
"I've never attended this kind of a meeting in my life. Complete lack of responsibility," Vucic said in televised comments.
"The man [Kurti] came to ask me -- when are you going to recognize independent Kosovo. I told him, 'Never,' and he exploded."
For his part, Kurti called the talks "constructive."
"We will take part in this process which is difficult," he told Kosovar media, adding: "The Serbian side talked about old proposals, we brought four new proposals which were refused by the Serbian side."
Despite EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's initially optimistic assessment that "there is a new momentum" in discussing the unsolved issues of the Western Balkans, EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak admitted that "it was not an easy meeting."
"Both leaders had a very open and frank exchange on what they each want from the dialogue," Lajcak said.
Both sides agreed to push ahead with the talks and Lajcak said a new round would happen before the end of July.
Both Washington and Brussels insist that normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina is essential for their further integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions.
With reporting by AFP
- By RFE/RL's Radio Farda and
- Stuart Greer
Hardship And Homelessness Amid Iran's Presidential Race
Iranians are due to go to the polls on June 18 to elect a successor to President Hassan Rohani amid a deep and ongoing economic crisis. Crippling U.S. sanctions, rampant inflation, government mismanagement, and the COVID-19 pandemic have caused widespread hardships. From rising food prices to homelessness, Iranians are facing an array of financial challenges, making the economy the number one issue in this election.
Navalny's Lawyer Quits Parliamentary Elections Over Draconian Law
MOSCOW -- Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer for jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), says she is quitting her bid to become a member of parliament in order to protect her campaign team from being prosecuted under a draconian law that targets Navalny's associates.
Her announcement follows a move by Russian authorities last week that banned all organizations associated with Navalny and labeled them as extremist groups.
Sobol told reporters in Moscow on June 14 that she cannot ensure the safety of her campaign team or sponsors in the run-up to September's elections for Russia's lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma.
Sobol said the banning of Navalny's organizations was politically motivated. She said Russian authorities are "scared" to allow her to take part in the elections because recent polls show her popularity among Moscow residents is much higher than the candidate representing Russian President Vladimir Putin's ruling United Russia party.
Sobol also said Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation will fight in all available courts, including the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, to reverse the June 10 decision by the Moscow City Court that labels the group as extremist.
On June 4, six days before the Moscow court's ruling, Putin signed a bill into law that bans supporters and members of organizations deemed by authorities as "extremist" from being elected to any public post.
Many in Russia see the law as an attempt to make it impossible for anyone connected with Navalny to gain public office.
While Russian authorities have been ramping up pressure on dissent ahead of the September election, public opinion polls have shown that support for Putin's United Russia party is at the lowest level ever.
Navalny's regional headquarters has been instrumental in implementing a so-called Smart Voting strategy -- a project designed to promote candidates who are most likely to defeat those from United Russia.
Navalny is currently serving a prison sentence on embezzlement charges that he says were trumped up because of his political activity and criticism of Putin.
Navalny has been in custody since January when he returned to Russia following medical treatment in Germany for a nerve-agent poisoning he suffered last August.
Navalny and his associates say the poisoning was carried out on orders from Putin by agents of the Federal Security Service (FSB). The Kremlin denies any role in the poisoning.
Since Navalny was jailed, the Kremlin has stepped up a crackdown against his associates. Many have fled the country in fear of being arrested.
- By RFE/RL
Both Sides Say Deals At Putin-Biden Talks Unlikely, But Meeting Useful
Both sides have downplayed the chances of breakthroughs at a summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Switzerland, as the U.S. leader arrived in Geneva on the third leg of a major European trip.
The meeting at Lake Geneva on June 16 is their first since Biden became president, as the bilateral relationship is at what both men said this week was its lowest point in years.
A Kremlin aide said on June 15 that he still thought the summit would be useful, while a Biden administration official cautioned against expecting a lot of "deliverables."
"We're not expecting a big set of deliverables out of this meeting," the unnamed Biden team member said as Air Force One landed.
During a news conference on June 14 in Brussels, Biden was asked about the specifics of the agenda of the summit, but he declined to provide any or assess how he'll measure success.
He suggested he'd be looking for areas of agreement with Putin, while also warning him against continued aggression toward the United States and its allies.
Putin's foreign policy adviser, Yury Ushakov, told reporters on June 15 that the agenda -- apart from the final communiques -- was confirmed in his phone call with White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan on June 14.
Nuclear stability, climate change, cybersecurity, and the fate of U.S. and Russian nationals who are in prison in each other's countries would be on the agenda, Ushakov said.
"I'm not sure that any agreements will be reached. I look at this meeting with practical optimism," Ushakov told reporters in comments cleared for publication on June 14. TASS also quoted Ushakov as saying the meeting was set to start at 1 p.m. local time.
"I'm gonna make clear to President Putin that there are areas where we can cooperate, if he chooses, and if he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past relative to cybersecurity and other activities, then we will respond, we will respond in kind," Biden said.
Biden who in March said he believed Putin was a "killer," described the Russian president on March 14 as "bright," "tough," and a "worthy adversary."
But he indicated he would remain wary of any commitments coming out of their meeting, saying he would "verify first and then trust."
Russian-U.S. ties reached a post-Cold War low following Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014. Washington also accuses Moscow of interference in the 2016 presidential election and has imposed sanctions on Russian companies and individuals.
"The situation is just close to critical. Of course, something should be done in this context," said Ushakov, who was the Russian ambassador to the United States from 1998 to 2008.
With reporting by Reuters and TASS
- By RFE/RL
Biden Says Relations With Russia Would Be 'Hurt' If Navalny Were To Die
U.S. President Joe Biden says if jailed Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny were to die, it would be a “tragedy” that would damage Russia’s relationship with the United States and the rest of the world.
Biden was asked about the potential death of Navalny on June 14 during a news conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels that covered several other topics ahead of his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier this month, in a U.S. television interview by NBC News, Putin was asked whether he was willing to "personally ensure that Aleksei Navalny will leave prison alive" after completing his 32-month prison sentence.
Putin was unable to do so, saying "such decisions in this country are not made by the president," and claiming that Navalny will not be treated "any worse than anybody else who happens to be in prison."
Biden on June 14 said: "Navalny's death would be another indication that Russia has little or no intention of abiding by basic fundamental human rights, it would be a tragedy, it would do nothing but hurt relations with the rest of the world, and me."
Navalny was the target of a poisoning attack last year that he and his supporters have said was ordered by Putin. The Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Kremlin have denied any role in the poisoning.
In April, Navalny went on a 24-day hunger strike that raised fears he could die, and at one point he described himself as looking like a "skeleton staggering around his cell.” He ended the hunger strike on April 23 and last week was transferred from a prison hospital back to his cell.
During the news conference Biden was asked about the specifics of the agenda of the June 16 summit with Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, but he declined to provide any or assess how he’ll measure the success of the summit.
He suggested he would be looking for areas of agreement with Putin, while also warning him against continued aggression toward the United States and its allies.
“I’m gonna make clear to President Putin that there are areas where we can cooperate, if he chooses, and if he chooses not to cooperate and acts in a way that he has in the past relative to cybersecurity and other activities, then we will respond, we will respond in kind,” Biden said.
Biden described Putin as “bright,” “tough,” and a “worthy adversary.” But he indicated he would remain wary of any commitments coming out of their meeting, saying he would “verify first and then trust.”
Biden also said the NATO leaders he had spoken with about his meeting with Putin thanked him for planning it. Biden has faced questions about the possibility that it would only elevate Putin’s stature.
That sentiment also was brushed aside in the communique issued by the NATO leaders, which said Russia "continues to breach the values, principles, trust, and commitments outlined in agreed documents that underpin the NATO-Russia relationship."
Mentioning Russia more than 60 times, the lengthy document said there can be no return to “business as usual" until Russia “demonstrates compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities.”
The statement also included language about updating Article 5 in relation to major cyberattacks, which have become a significant and growing concern after a number of intrusions of U.S. government and corporate networks by hackers who U.S. officials have said are based in Russia.
The communique also took China to task for “assertive behaviour” that challenges the rules-based international order. It noted that China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal and is also cooperating militarily with Russia.
The leaders called on China “to uphold its international commitments and to act responsibly in the international system, including in the space, cyber, and maritime domains, in keeping with its role as a major power.”
Biden began his trip to Europe -- his first since becoming president -- at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in England over the weekend. The two meetings with America's closest allies ahead of the summit with Putin was intentionally designed to show the Russian president that democracies of the world are once again aligned against Russian aggression.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and CBS
- By RFE/RL
Iran Approves Emergency Use Of Domestic COVID Vaccine
Iranian authorities say they have given emergency approval for a domestically developed vaccine against COVID-19 as the country battles the Middle East's deadliest coronavirus outbreak.
Health Minister Saeed Namaki told a press conference on June 14 that permission for the emergency use of the vaccine called COVIran Barekat was issued the previous day.
The move comes after the country is facing problems with importing enough vaccines.
The first study of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine developed by a subsidiary of state-owned conglomerate Setad began in late December 2020.
A Setad official told state news agency IRNA that production of the vaccine had started in early June, with "around 3 million doses" produced so far.
The coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 82,000 people in Iran, with over 3 million infected, according to official figures widely seen as understating the toll.
Iranian officials allege that U.S. sanctions have hampered the country’s efforts to inoculate its 83 million population. More than 4.3 million Iranians have received a first vaccine dose since February, but fewer than 1 million have received the two jabs necessary to be fully inoculated, according to the Health Ministry.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Belarus Opposition Says Detained Blogger Pratasevich Paraded As 'Trophy' At Media Event
MINSK -- Belarusian authorities have paraded detained opposition blogger Raman Pratasevich at a news conference during which they gave their disputed version of why they diverted a Ryanair commercial fight last month that has triggered international condemnation and sanctions.
Pratasevich was placed on stage with four officials, two of whom were in uniform, at the event on June 14, a move the opposition decried as “soul-crushing.”
“No matter what he says, let's not forget: he is a hostage. And the regime is using him as a trophy,” Franak Vyachorka, a senior adviser for Belarusian exiled opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, said in a tweet.
"This is not a press conference but a scene of either Kafka or Orwell," he added.
Several diplomats and reporters left the media briefing in Minsk when Pratasevich, who is being held at a KGB prison in the Belarusian capital, addressed the event.
"We have just walked out. Not taking part when [Pratasevich] is clearly there under duress,” BBC reporter Jonah Fisher tweeted.
Crisis In Belarus
Read our coverage as Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka continues his brutal crackdown on NGOs, activists, and independent media following the August 2020 presidential election.
On May 23, Belarusian authorities scrambled a military jet to escort the Ryanair passenger flight, which was en route from Athens to Vilnius, over its airspace to land in Minsk. Law enforcement immediately arrested the 26-year-old Pratasevich and his Russian girlfriend, Sofia Sapega.
Belarusian authorities have since released separate videos showing apparent forced confessions by Pratasevich and Sapega, who is a Russian national.
Belarusian authorities, who claimed a dubious bomb threat made it necessary to divert the flight, deny it was a forced landing.
Many countries regard the move as a "state hijacking."
The diversion of the flight between two European Union members outraged the bloc, Britain, and other Western nations, which in response have banned Belarus state carrier Belavia from their airports and have urged airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace, which keeps the country from collecting fees for the overflights.
Last week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told MEPs the bloc would likely adopt economic sanctions on Belarus later in June.
Pratasevich faces charges of being behind civil disturbances that followed a disputed presidential election in August last year, an offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
He was a key administrator of the Telegram channel, Nexta-Live, which has been covering mass protests denouncing the official results of the election, which handed authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka a sixth presidential term. The opposition says the vote was rigged and that Tsikhanouskaya was the victor.
Lukashenka, who refuses to negotiate with the opposition over stepping down and holding fresh elections, has become an international pariah for directing a brutal postelection crackdown in which almost 30,000 people have been detained, many sentenced to lengthy prison terms, hundreds beaten, several killed, and the free press harassed and almost completely shut down.
- By RFE/RL
Thousands Rally In Hungary Against Anti-LGBT Legislation
Thousands of protesters have gathered in Hungary’s capital to condemn a draft bill that would ban discussions on homosexuality or gender change in schools.
The demonstrators rallied outside the parliament building in Budapest on June 14, waving rainbow flags, a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s conservative ruling party, Fidesz, plans to vote on the controversial legislation on June 15.
The proposed amendment says children cannot be shown any content that encourages gender reassignment or same-sex relationships. The ban would also apply to advertising.
It also suggests the creation of a list of groups that would be allowed to conduct sex-education classes in schools.
One protester described the draft legislation as “horrible and inhumane.”
"This would lock some kids in the closet, and they should be given the opportunity to come out,” kindergarten assistant Dominika Pandzsa told Reuters.
Earlier on June 14, Dunja Mijatovic, the commissioner for human rights at the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights body, said the legislation “curtails the freedom of expression and education of all Hungarians.”
She urged the Hungarian lawmakers to reject the bill and “to remain vigilant against such initiatives to push through measures that limit human rights or stigmatize against some members of society.”
Rights advocates have compared the planned ban to a discriminatory 2013 Russian law banning “gay propaganda,” viewed by human rights defenders as a tool of discrimination.
Orban and his Fidesz allies hold a supermajority in parliament that virtually ensures passage of priority legislation.
Orban's government has backed a strongly conservative social agenda and stepped up anti-LGBT moves as woes mounted amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It has already embedded a requirement that marriage be between a man and a woman in the constitution and banned adoption by same-sex couples.
The government also retroactively prohibited legal status for transgender people in a move that the country's constitutional court ruled was unconstitutional.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa
- By RFE/RL
NATO Sees No Return To 'Business As Usual' With Russia
Leaders of NATO member states have said there could be no return to normal relations between the Western military alliance and Russia until it complies with international law.
"Until Russia demonstrates compliance with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities, there can be no return to 'business as usual,'" the leaders said on June 14 in a joint communique after their one-day summit in Brussels.
“Russia’s aggressive actions constitute a threat to Euro-Atlantic security,” the leaders said, citing its “growing multi-domain military build-up, more assertive posture, novel military capabilities, and provocative activities, including near NATO borders,” among other things.
"Russia's nuclear strategy and comprehensive nuclear weapon systems modernization, diversification, and expansion, including the qualitative and quantitative increase of Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons, increasingly support a more aggressive posture of strategic intimidation."
The allies also denounced Moscow's "hybrid actions," "widespread disinformation campaigns," "malicious" cyberactivities, and election interference directed against NATO members.
NATO “will continue to respond to the deteriorating security environment by enhancing our deterrence and defense posture, including by a forward presence in the eastern part of the alliance,” the communique said.
“NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia.”
- By RFE/RL
Former U.S. Marine Jailed In Russia Urges Biden To Intercede In His Case
The family of a former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges has released a statement from him calling for President Joe Biden to push for his release during his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later this week.
“I implore you to bring this appalling case of hostage diplomacy to an end,” Paul Whelan said in an audio file distributed by his family on June 14.
“I remain innocent. No crime of espionage occurred. The secret trial, without evidence, proves those facts.”
Whelan’s family said he made the statement in a May 30 telephone call with his parents, ahead of the June 16 summit between Biden and Putin in Geneva.
Whelan, 50, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in May 2020 following a trial that was condemned by the United States as a "mockery of justice.”
In an interview aired by CNN on June 14, the parents of Trevor Reed, another former U.S. Marine imprisoned in Russia, expressed hope the upcoming Biden-Putin talks will lead to their son's release.
The parents, Joey and Paula Reed, made the comments after Putin expressed readiness to discuss a possible prisoner exchange when he meets with Biden.
Asked if he would consider a prisoner swap, Putin told NBC News in an interview aired on June 14: "Yes, yes of course."
Reed, 29, was sentenced in July 2020 to nine years after being convicted of endangering two Russian police officers while drunk in Moscow. The former U.S. Marine, who denies the charge, was diagnosed with COVID-19 last month.
The U.S. government has protested the detention of both Reed and Whelan and repeatedly demanded their release.
White House spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters in May that such detainments by Russia were being raised "at the highest level, and...through many diplomatic channels."
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN
RFE/RL Contributor Files Lawsuit Against Russian Police After Attack
BLAGOVESHCHENSK, Russia -- A contributor to RFE/RL's Siberia.Realities project in Russia's Far Eastern city of Blagoveshchensk says he has filed a lawsuit against local police, accusing them of inaction after he was attacked by three unknown men last week.
Andrei Afanasyev told RFE/RL that he filed the lawsuit with the local prosecutor’s office on June 14. It charges that police have been reluctant to investigate the attack that took place against him on June 9.
"It looks like police are waiting for the noise around the situation to calm down in order to sweep the case under the carpet," Afanasyev said. "Also, the obstruction of my journalistic activities must be investigated by the Investigative Committee, not just by police."
Afanasyev says one of the attackers knocked him to the ground late at night near his apartment block by hitting him with a metal bar. He says he was then beaten for about 10 minutes by all three assailants.
Afanasyev says he believes the attack was retribution for a recent investigative report he filed about the Akhmat martial arts club in Blagoveshchensk. The manager of that club, Adam Magomadov, is a former leader of the Chechen diaspora community in Russia's Far Eastern Amur region.
Magomadov was arrested in April on an extortion charge.
Afanasyev's reporting revealed that Andrei Domashenkin, a local lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, had founded the martial arts club.
When questioned by RFE/RL on June about the attack against Afanasyev, Domashenkin said "law enforcement is taking care of that case." He did not elaborate further.
RFE/RL President Jamie Fly has urged Russian authorities to investigate the attack against Afanasyev.
"Russian authorities must thoroughly investigate and hold accountable anyone involved in the attack on Andrei. Investigative journalism is not a crime,” Fly said in a Twitter post on June 11.
The Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based media-rights watchdog, also has called for an immediate investigation into the attack.
Minsk Court Rejects Appeal Of Woman Arrested On Diverted Flight
MINSK -- A court in Minsk has rejected an appeal by a Russian citizen who was arrested with her boyfriend, Belarusian blogger Raman Pratasevich, after their international flight was diverted by a Belarusian warplane last month and forced to land in Minsk.
The Partyzanski district court on June 14 ruled that Sofia Sapega's arrest was legal under Belarusian law and that she must remain in pretrial detention.
Sapega's lawyer, Alyaksandr Filanovich, said on June 13 that criminal charges had been filed against her. But he did not elaborate, saying that he was under a court order not to release details of the cases to the public.
The Vyasna human rights center in Minsk says Sapega was charged with organizing and preparing activities that violate civil order, organizing "mass disturbances," and inciting hatred.
Sapega and Pratasevich were arrested on May 23 after Belarusian authorities claimed a dubious bomb threat made it necessary to divert a Ryanair flight between Athens and Vilnius to Minsk's international airport.
The international backlash against what many countries regard as a "state hijacking" has been fierce. Fresh Western sanctions have been imposed that target Belarusian officials. Bans and other measures target air travel to and from Belarus or, in some cases, from even flying over Belarus.
Western governments had already imposed multiple rounds of sanctions against the regime of Alyaksandr Lukashenka since he launched a violent crackdown against peaceful protests last August over official election results that gave him a sixth term in office.
Videos and other evidence of brutal physical abuse of detainees has multiplied as authorities have arrested thousands.
Belarusian authorities have released separate videos showing apparent forced confessions by Sapega and Pratasevich in connection the work of opposition Telegram channels that have covered the anti-Lukashenka protests.
Chechen Authorities Claim They 'Saved' Abused Woman From Rights Activists
GROZNY, Russia -- Authorities in Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya are claiming that a woman removed against her will from a shelter for domestic abuse victims was taken by police in order "to prevent her abduction" by local human rights activists.
Khalimat Taramova, the daughter of a close associate of Chechnya's authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov, was forcibly taken by police on June 10 from the shelter in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia's neighboring region of Daghestan.
Authorities promptly returned Taramova to her native Chechnya, where rights activists warn she is at risk of becoming a victim of a so-called "honor killing."
In a video published online earlier last week by rights activists, Taramova said she'd fled her home in Chechnya due to "regular beatings and threats" she received there.
In an effort to prevent police from searching for her, she'd pleaded in the video for authorities not to add her to Chechnya's missing persons list.
Activists with Russia's LGBT Network said Taramova fled her home because she was being intimidated for her sexual orientation.
Rights defenders in Daghestan told RFE/RL that Taramova had been staying at the shelter with her girlfriend, whom the LGBT Network identified as Anna Manylova.
But Akhmed Dudayev -- Chechnya's minister for national politics, external ties, and information -- gave a conflicting version of the situation in a statement broadcast by state television on June 13.
Dudayev claimed that "well-coordinated and professional efforts of police in Chechnya and Daghestan" had prevented "an attempt to abduct" Taramova.
"There were no violations of law by law enforcement or relatives of Khalimat Taramova," Dudayev said.
The Chechen minister also claimed Taramova has "health issues" and "was regularly treated in our medical institutions."
"We fully understand that those who ordered these provocative actions against the Chechen Republic, who are also based in Western countries, are concerned that rights and freedoms in the Chechen Republic are well-respected and guaranteed by Ramzan Kadyrov," Dudayev said.
Dudayev described human rights activists as "a fifth column in Russia" that works for the enemies of the country.
He also claimed there are no homosexuals in Chechnya. he accused rights activists of trying to invent "some sort of minorities" that "do not exist here and have never been here."
Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya for more than a decade, is frequently accused by Russian and international groups of overseeing grave rights abuses that include abductions, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
Chechnya was the site of a so-called "gay purge" in 2017 in which dozens of homosexual men say they were abducted and tortured by Chechen authorities.
Moscow Protest Artist In Pretrial Detention Over Red Square 'Suicide' Performance
MOSCOW -- Russian protest artist Pavel Krisevich has been sent to pretrial detention over a so-called "suicide" performance in which he fired blanks from a pistol in Moscow's Red Square.
In a June 13 ruling, Moscow's Taganka district court ordered Krisevich to be held in pretrial detention for up to two months over his protest -- which used a modified handgun that could only fire blanks.
Krisevich was detained on June 11 on Moscow's Red Square and charged with hooliganism after he fired two blanks into the air while shouting: "There will be shots before the Kremlin's curtain." He then held the gun to his head and fired another blank.
If convicted on the hooliganism charges, he could face up to seven years in prison.
Krisevich's girlfriend, Anastasia Mikhailova, said the goal of the protest performance was to support political prisoners in Russia.
The Open Media Telegram channel published a picture of the modified pistol along with a statement from Krisevich.
Declaring that his protest was aimed at "state intimidation," Krisevich described the performance as "a kill shot" -- an expression used by hired assassins in Russia's criminal underworld to describe a gunshot to the head of a victim to ensure they are dead.
"The state labels protests as crimes," Krisevich's statement said. "It forces us to think that we are criminals in our cells and chats. But what is it without state intimidation? Clearly, it is an empty space."
Police also detained Nika Samusik, a journalist who recorded the protest performance on video. She was released on June 13.
Krisevich has been jailed in the past over his protests in the Russian capital.
In November, he was sentenced to 15 days in jail for a protest in front of the Federal Security Service's headquarters in Moscow in which he was staged a mock crucifixion of himself over burning files. He said that protest symbolized criminal cases against Russian citizens.
In addition to jail time, he was also expelled from the university in Moscow that he had been attending.
In May, Krisevich was sentenced to 10 days in jail for taking part in an action to support political prisoners in Russia by displaying their paintings in central Moscow.
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