Europe wants to turn Ukraine into a "steel hedgehog", Russia announces missile launch, Iran's Vice President suddenly resigns

World and Vietnam Newspaper reviews some international events in the past 24 hours.

Russia successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b rocket carrying the spacecraft into space on the morning of March 3. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense)

Europe

* European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for providing as many weapons as possible to Ukraine to turn it into a "steel hedgehog" that any future enemy would not be able to "digest". The statement was made by Ms. von der Leyen after a summit of Western leaders in London.

According to her, weapons, along with financial support, energy infrastructure and security guarantees for Ukraine should come from the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The President of the European Commission also called on EU countries to urgently arm themselves by starting a new conventional arms race. (TASS)

* Russia successfully launched the Soyuz-2.1b rocket into space, carrying the Defense Ministry's spacecraft, according to the ministry's announcement on March 3.

The launch was carried out at 1:22 a.m. on March 3, Moscow time (5:22 a.m. the same day, Hanoi time) from the Russian Defense Ministry's national test site in the Arkhangelsk region. (TASS)

* The European summit in London (UK) on March 2 agreed on 4 points for Ukraine including: maintaining military aid, ensuring Kiev's presence in peace talks, aiming to prevent any future attacks and establishing a "voluntary alliance" to protect the Eastern European country and peace there.

The countries have agreed to work with Ukraine on a plan to end the conflict and will discuss it with the United States to implement it together.

Britain said it would provide Ukraine with a £1.6 billion ($2.01 billion) export credit package to buy more than 5,000 new air defense missiles to help Ukraine gain a stronger footing in negotiations with Russia. (Reuters)

* France and Britain have proposed a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said on March 2.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that if accepted, the deal could help Ukraine and its allies determine whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to seriously negotiate a long-term peace deal. (Reuters)

* Russia criticized the commitment made by European leaders at the London Summit on Ukraine regarding increased funding for Kiev.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the outcome of the conference would allow hostilities to continue, and said it was important for Zelensky to change his stance and seek peace. (Reuters)

* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out the possibility of signing a peace agreement that would recognize the loss of the country's territories to Russia. Mr. Zelensky stressed that such an agreement would not be a real peace agreement, but a forced division of Ukrainian territory.

He warned that such a solution would create a significant risk of new military conflicts in the future. (RIA Novosti)

* Hungary considers Ukraine's accession to the EU "unrealistic" and will make this statement at the bloc's summit in Brussels (Belgium) on March 6.

In Hungary's view, Ukraine's immediate accession to the EU would cause irreparable damage to the agricultural sector and the entire European economy. However, Prime Minister Orban did not rule out the possibility of Ukraine being accepted into the EU in the future if it meets all the necessary requirements. (TASS)

* Germany is considering setting up two special funds for defense and infrastructure worth hundreds of billions of euros, according to unnamed officials. The sources predicted that Germany's new coalition government could need about 400 billion euros ($415 billion) for defense and 400-500 billion euros for infrastructure. (Reuters)

Asia-Pacific

* Thailand is studying building a border wall with Cambodia to prevent illegal border crossings, amid multinational efforts to crack down on a growing network of fraud centers, according to Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub.

Thailand and Cambodia share an 817-kilometer border. The Thai Defense Ministry has previously proposed building a wall along a 55-kilometer natural boundary between Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province and Cambodia’s Poipet, which is currently separated by barbed wire. (Bangkok Post)

* Beijing has reached agreements to ensure lasting and sustainable peace in Ukraine, supports all efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully and expects all sides to find solutions to each other's concerns, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on March 3. (TASS)

* Beijing will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate interests, as Washington prepares to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods from March 4, according to a spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry on March 3. (THX)

* Japan attaches importance to all diplomatic efforts being made by a number of countries to end hostilities in Ukraine, including those by the United States and the EU.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa stressed that Tokyo attaches great importance to patiently continuing dialogue and seeking agreements to protect the unity of the Group of Seven (G7) and the international community to achieve this goal. (Kyodo)

* Singapore sets up a task force to deal with threats from unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

In addition, the Singapore military will build new capabilities – a range of sensors, jammers and weapons solutions to detect and neutralize smaller UAS, complementing its existing island air defence capabilities. (CNA)

Middle East-Africa

* Iranian Vice President Javad Zarif submitted his resignation on March 3. President Masoud Pezeshkian has received the letter but has not yet responded.

In a post on social network X, Vice President Zarif said that he "had to face the most terrible insults, slander and threats against myself and my family", so the official accepted to resign as soon as the Iranian Justice Minister suggested to "avoid putting more pressure on the government". (IRNA)

* Syria has established a seven-member transitional constitutional drafting committee , including one woman, according to an announcement by Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. (AFP)

* A knife attack at a bus and train station in the Israeli city of Haifa has left one person dead and several injured. Police have called it a "terrorist attack" and the suspect has been killed. (AFP)

* Taliban rejects Trump's accusations of Chinese presence at Bagram airport. Speaking in an interview with Afghanistan's national television station RTA published on March 3, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Trump's comments were "emotional" and "uninformed".

Earlier, Mr. Trump announced that Bagram air base - the largest US base during the military intervention in Afghanistan - is now controlled by China and asked the Taliban to return military equipment produced by Washington. (DPA)

America

* Canada is considering all options to ensure Ukraine's security , including the option of deploying troops to the devastated Eastern European country, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on March 2, after attending a summit of European leaders on Kiev in London, England. (RBC-Ukraine)

* The United Nations (UN) is concerned about "fundamental changes" in the US , according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on March 3.

Speaking at a meeting of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Mr. Turk said: "We have had bipartisan support in the United States on human rights for decades... Now, I am deeply concerned about the fundamental change in direction that is taking place both domestically and internationally." (Reuters)

* Cuba has received assistance from Russia to ensure food security. A Russian ship carrying 100 tons of wheat docked at Havana port on March 1, helping the Caribbean island nation ensure bread production to serve its people's diet until the end of this month. (TASS)

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