The US is determined not to send troops to Ukraine, is NATO giving Russia a reason to act? Britain and Germany plan to do this in North Korea?

NATO countries continue to react to the issue of sending troops to Ukraine, Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, the situation on the Korean peninsula and the Middle East, the US election... are some of the outstanding international events in the past 24 hours.

Diplomatic delegations from Armenia and Azerbaijan work in Berlin, Germany, on February 28. (Source: Armenian Foreign Ministry)

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's outstanding international events:

Russia-Ukraine

* Ukraine withdraws from 2 villages near Avdiivka: On February 27, Ukrainian military spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy said that Kiev has withdrawn its troops from the villages of Sievierne and Stepove near the eastern town of Avdiika, which were recently controlled by Russian forces.

In addition, Mr. Lykhoviy commented, Ukraine is retreating to positions equal to the rest of the front line, which is believed to have terrain more suitable for defense. (Reuters)

* The Ukrainian President arrived in Albania late on February 27 and convinced Balkan countries to continue providing weapons to Kiev.

After meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Mr Zelensky said the two sides were looking to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation and discussed Ukraine's defence needs and the potential for joint arms production. (AFP)

* The US will not send troops to Ukraine, according to a statement from the White House on February 27.

In a statement, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said that US President Joe Biden has made this clear and believes that the "path to victory" is for Congress to pass the blocked military aid "so that the Ukrainian army has the weapons and ammunition it needs."

* NATO troops will become Moscow's target if they appear in Ukraine, according to Chairman of the Federation Council (Upper House) Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev on February 28.

Mr. Kosachev emphasized that this move by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could cause a military conflict in the region.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that NATO's "development of military infrastructure towards Russia's borders and hostile rhetoric from its members are reasons for Russia to express deep concern and are grounds for taking additional measures to ensure security."

According to him, Moscow "does not pose a threat to any country that is not hostile and does not try to oppose Russia... Therefore, concerns about this issue are unfounded, we are trying to ensure our own security". (Sputnik)

Europe

* EU prepares 14th package of sanctions against Russia related to military conflict in Ukraine.

Izvestia newspaper quoted the European Parliament (EP) as saying that the European Union (EU) could introduce this package before the Parliamentary elections (June 6-9, 2024). This is also a measure for the EP to gain the support of European voters.

The 14th package of sanctions could include a list of politicians, government officials and business leaders involved in the defense industry. The EU could also expand the list of goods banned from export to Russia, according to the source.

* Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations in Berlin: On the morning of February 28 local time, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov began a meeting in Berlin (Germany) to negotiate a resolution to the disagreement between the two countries.

“A meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations led by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov has begun in Berlin,” the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (Reuters)

* UK, Germany plan to reopen embassies in North Korea: For the first time since the German Embassy in North Korea closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a delegation from the European country's Foreign Ministry is in Pyongyang to inspect the technology, offices and locations of the representative agency.

However, the ministry noted that so far, there has been no official decision on reopening the embassy, ​​which has been closed since March 2020.

The UK, which closed its embassy and withdrew all diplomatic activity from North Korea in May 2020, is also looking to send a delegation to look into the matter.

“We are pleased that some diplomats are returning to Pyongyang and welcome moves by North Korea to reopen the border,” a British Foreign Office spokesman said. (Reuters)

Asia-Pacific

* China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui visited Ukraine, Russia and the EU headquarters this week to hold a conference on the two-year-old Moscow-Kiev conflict.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning, the visit will represent "the second round of shuttle diplomacy to seek a political solution to the Ukraine crisis", and also stated that Mr. Li Hui will also visit France, Germany and Poland.

Ms. Mao Ning pointed out that over the past two years, China has been working hard to communicate closely with all parties to build consensus to end the conflict and pave the way for peace talks. (THX)

* North Korea's reconnaissance satellite changes orbit for the first time: On February 27, a space expert in the Netherlands said that the "Malligyong-1" reconnaissance satellite that North Korea launched last year is still operating and Pyongyang is still controlling the device, after detecting changes in its flight orbit.

A day earlier, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said the satellite showed no signs of activity.

According to Mr. Langbroek, from February 19 to 24, Malligyong-1 moved, raising its orbit from 488 km to 497 km. This expert assessed that this orbit increase was a surprise, because previous North Korean satellites had never done this. (Reuters)

* South Korea will respond strongly to any provocative actions from North Korea , ahead of the South Korean parliamentary elections next April.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to complete the integrated extended nuclear deterrence mechanism between his country and the United States through the Nuclear Consultative Group and accelerate the development of a domestic three-axis system to deter these threats at their source.

He also affirmed that he will strengthen security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan, as well as unite with the international community, based on the strong South Korea-US alliance. (Yonhap)

* India has banned rice exporters from bidding for United Nations (UN) food aid, a move that risks raising concerns about global food security. It is the first time New Delhi has taken such a step and the move has not been officially announced.

India is working to ensure domestic food security and control inflation, a senior official said, but the view is at odds with a recent call for tenders by the World Food Programme (WFP) to supply broken rice to Spain, Cameroon, Togo and Algeria.

WFP provides food relief to people affected by conflict, natural disasters and the impacts of climate change. (Bloomberg)

* Indonesian Defense Minister promoted to General: On February 28, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) promoted the honorary rank of General to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, who just declared victory in the general election held in mid-February.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Jokowi emphasized: “This honorary promotion is to honor Mr. Prabowo's contributions and affirm his commitment to working for the people, the nation and the country.”

General is the second-highest military rank in Indonesia, after the president, and is usually held by the defense minister. Prabowo is the seventh person to be promoted to general in Indonesia since 1998. (Reuters)

* Philippine President visits Australia: On February 28, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. paid a 2-day visit to Australia.

He said that during the visit, the two countries will sign three agreements to strengthen bilateral relations.

According to the leader, mutual understanding between the Philippines and Australia “will be enhanced as we share a common vision not only for our bilateral relationship but also for the peace and security of the region.” (PIA)

Middle East-Africa

* Israel will lose international support because of its "ultra-conservative government", US President Joe Biden said on February 27.

“The only way for Israel to survive is to seize the opportunity to achieve peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians,” he stressed.

In response to the above statement, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that there is widespread support in the US for the Israeli government, emphasizing: "From the beginning of the war, I led a diplomatic campaign with the goal of preventing pressure to end the conflict early, while gaining support for Israel."

Mr. Netanyahu cited the results of a poll by the Harvard Center for Political Research (USA) published on February 26 showing that 82% of people in the world's number 1 power support Israel in the fight against Hamas. (Times of Israel)

* Hamas launches rocket attack towards Israel: On February 28, the Hamas movement confirmed that its Lebanese branch launched 40 Grad rockets at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) military base near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona.

The IDF said only four rockets crossed the border, one of which hit a residential building but caused no casualties. Earlier, four Hamas rockets also fell on the town of Kiryat Shmona. (Times of Israel)

* The US and UK imposed sanctions on Iran and the Houthis, targeting an official in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a senior Houthi figure in Yemen.

The sanctions list includes IRGC Quds Force deputy commander Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh and Houthi security chief Ibrahim al-Nashiri.

In addition, the US Treasury Department also announced sanctions against Cap Tees Shipping Co., based in Hong Kong (China), the owner of the ship used to transport Iranian goods. (Reuters)

* The UN Security Council met on the situation in Syria and the Gaza Strip on the morning of February 28 (Vietnam time).

The meetings warned of the dire humanitarian crisis in Syria and the Gaza Strip, which are engulfed in conflict.

In the Gaza Strip, the UN warns of food insecurity with famine likely before May, with some 500,000 people at real risk and almost all of Gaza's 2.2 million people now in need of aid.

The UN stressed that the world's largest multilateral relief agency is ready, just waiting for a ceasefire.

Meanwhile, UN officials called for more international efforts to immediately de-escalate tensions across the Middle East in general and in Syria in particular, urging parties to the conflict to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure. (UN News)

* Alarming food insecurity in the Greater Horn of Africa, according to a joint report released on February 27 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) for East Africa.

According to FAO and IGAD, about 58.1 million people are facing this situation, of which 30.5 million come from 6 of the 8 IGAD member countries: Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda; the remaining 27.6 million come from Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania.

America

* US Election 2024: US media reported that President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both easily won the primary elections in Michigan held on February 27 (local time), although the final results have not been announced.

According to AP statistics, with 73% of votes counted in the Democratic primary election as of 2:00 p.m. on February 28 (Vietnam time), President Biden received 81.5% of the votes.

Biden has temporarily won 86/117 delegates from Michigan, bringing his total number of delegates to 177. To win the nomination to run for US president next November, the Democratic candidate must win at least 1,968 delegates.

On the Republican side, with 86% of the votes counted, former President Trump won 68.2% of the votes, temporarily winning 9/55 delegates from Michigan.

Thus, Mr. Trump currently has 119 delegates and is expected to reach the goal of 1,215 delegates by mid-March to win the Republican nomination.

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