Month: January 2022

Geneva, dubbed the capital of peace, is a favored spot for meetings between the two great post-World War II powers and once again hosts talks between Russia and the United States on Monday. The tranquil Swiss city held the 1985 summit between US president Ronald Reagan and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev. Geneva also staged last June’s talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden.   On Monday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and her Russian opposite number, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, will hold much-anticipated discussions on European security and the Ukraine conflict. Neutral …

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The European Union is under increasing pressure to further ease rules on airport take-off and landing slots to cut the number of “ghost flights” airlines are running to retain them. Carriers say the requirement for them to use 50% of their slots — down from 80% in pre-pandemic days — or lose them is forcing them to operate empty or half-empty flights. A sluggish return to air travel, as travelers shrink away from the omicron COVID variant and quickly changing rules for passengers, is dragging out the practice longer than they planned. Belgium’s Brussels Airlines, for instance, says it will …

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The United States and allies are prepared to discuss with Russia the possibility of each side restricting military exercises and missile deployments in the region, a senior U.S. administration official said on Saturday.  With crucial talks about Ukraine set to start on Monday in Geneva, the senior Biden administration official said the United States is not willing to discuss limits on U.S. troop deployments or the U.S. force posture in NATO countries in the region.  President Joe Biden has warned Russia that it will face severe economic consequences if President Vladimir Putin were to launch an invasion of Ukraine. U.S. …

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Novak Djokovic’s legal challenge to the Australian government’s decision to cancel his visa on arrival this week says a certified COVID-19 infection in December meant he qualified for a medical exemption to the county’s vaccination requirements. A 35-page document lodged in the Federal Circuit and Family Court by his legal team Saturday outlines the Serbian’s case for challenging the visa cancellation which would prevent him from playing in the Australian Open. The challenge will be heard in court on Monday morning. The tennis world No. 1 has been held in immigration detention in a hotel in Melbourne since Thursday morning …

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Ukraine is sharpening its accusation that Iran played a sinister role in the 2020 shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger plane over Tehran as the world marks the second anniversary of the tragedy. “What happened on January 8th, 2020, was a terrorist act committed against a civilian aircraft,” Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s National Defense and Security Council secretary, said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with VOA Persian. Danilov also expressed frustration with what he said was Iran’s refusal to cooperate in investigating and providing compensation for the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752. Iran has acknowledged firing missiles that struck the plane …

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The top men’s tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, spent Orthodox Christmas in an immigration detention hotel in Australia on Friday as he sought to fend off deportation over the country’s COVID-19 rules and compete in the Australian Open. Djokovic received calls from his native Serbia, including from his parents and the president, who hoped to boost his spirits on the holiday. On Instagram, he posted: “Thank you to the people around the world for your continuous support. I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated.” The 34-year-old athlete and vaccine skeptic was barred from entering the country …

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The United States is accusing Russia of trying to “gaslight” the world regarding tensions with Ukraine, continually seeking to portray Kyiv as the aggressor even as Moscow plans to mobilize as many as 300,000 troops for a potential invasion. The accusation came Friday from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, following a virtual meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers, and ahead of a series of talks involving the U.S., NATO and Russia set for the coming week.  “We’ve seen this gaslighting before,” Blinken told reporters, referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its illegal seizure of Crimea in 2014. Gaslighting …

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Talks between U.S. and Russian diplomats will begin Monday in Geneva after a weekslong standoff over Russian troop deployments near its border with Ukraine. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this preview. …

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The speed with which Russia dispatched troops this week to help quell violent demonstrations in neighboring Kazakhstan is testimony to the Kremlin’s recurring fear of “color revolutions,” say Western diplomats and analysts. Moscow must have been horrified by how quickly the protests spread in Kazakhstan, long seen as one of the most stable of the former Soviet countries, they emphasize.   Sparked by a fuel price hike and cost of living grievances, the protests, which began in the oil-rich western part of the country, rapidly escalated this week into the worst violence the Central Asian nation has seen since turning …

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The Turkish lira had a very bad year in 2021 and lost a significant amount of its value against the U.S. dollar. That’s led to a cross-border shopping spree from neighboring Bulgaria. VOA’s Umut Colak filed this report from Edirne, Turkey, narrated by Ezel Sahinkaya. …

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