Russia brushes aside Ukraine's new idea, French President plans to visit Southeast Asia, China reminds US about Taiwan issue

The World and Vietnam Newspaper highlights some outstanding international events in the past 24 hours.

Former Speaker of Parliament Constantine Tassoulas becomes the new President of Greece. (Source: X)

Europe

* Russia has rejected a territorial exchange proposal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in an interview with the Guardian on February 11 to end the conflict.

According to Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on February 12, Kiev's proposal to exchange territories in Russia's Kursk region that Ukraine controls for Ukrainian regions currently controlled by Moscow is "nonsense".

According to Mr. Medvedev, Russia has proven that peace can be achieved through strength. (Reuters)

* Ukraine is ready for negotiations with Russia to end the conflict, but a just and lasting peace can only be achieved if Kiev is strong on the front, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said as he arrived in Brussels, Belgium, to attend a meeting of the Contact Group on Defense Issues of Ukraine (Rammstein format) on February 12.

Ukraine "is working to strengthen the defense and security of all of Europe," the Ukrainian official added. (UNN)

* Europol has dismantled and arrested four Russian hackers in the 8Base ransomware group, with the participation of law enforcement forces from 14 countries, amid the increasing number of cyber attacks of this type.

8Base was one of the most active ransomware groups in 2024. They used a variant of the Phobos ransomware to attack and extort businesses and organizations across Europe and several other regions. (AFP)

* Greece has a new president , former Speaker of Parliament Constantine Tassoulas. Mr. Tassoulas of the ruling conservative New Democracy (ND) party won 160 votes in the fourth round of voting in Parliament, similar to previous rounds.

Mr. Tassoulas, a veteran politician of the ND party, has served as the Speaker of the Greek Parliament for three terms since 2019. He also served as Minister of Culture and Sports in 2014. ( Reuters)

* Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico left open the possibility of adjusting government personnel if the two parties, Social Democratic Voice (Hlas-SD) and Slovak National (SNS), in the ruling coalition cannot resolve internal disagreements.

In a statement on social media, Prime Minister Fico asked the two parties to reach an agreement with the group of lawmakers who left the party by February 17. If not, he would submit a proposal for a cabinet reshuffle to President Peter Pellegrini on the same day. (Slovak Spectator)

Asia-Pacific

* The French president is scheduled to visit Indonesia in May, according to a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Communications and Digital on February 12 after Mr. Macron shared the information with the minister of the ministry Meutya Hafid during a meeting in Paris on February 11.

President Macron's visit will mark the first state visit by a French leader since the strategic partnership between the country and Indonesia was established in 2011. (Antara)

* China said it has "full confidence and ability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity", after two US Navy ships passed through the Taiwan Strait this week.

At a regular press conference, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office Zhu Fenglian said that the US needs to handle issues related to Taiwan cautiously and appropriately, and not send the wrong signal to independence-seeking forces on the peninsula. (THX)

* Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi began a tour of Europe from February 12-17 with stops in the UK, Ireland and Germany.

In the UK, Mr. Wang Yi will co-chair the 10th China-UK Strategic Dialogue with his host counterpart David Lammy.

The top Chinese diplomat will then visit Ireland for talks with Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Simon Harris. Wang Yi will then attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany (February 14-16).

* China patrols around the disputed islands with Japan called Diaoyu/Senkaku. The statement of the China Coast Guard (CCG) affirmed that the patrol is to protect China's rights and interests according to the law.

However, Japan has sent a diplomatic protest to China after detecting four Chinese coast guard ships entering the disputed territory. (Kyodo)

* South Korea and Japan reaffirmed trilateral cooperation with the United States , during talks on February 12 between South Korean National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik and his Japanese counterpart Okano Masataka.

"The two sides reaffirmed the need to continue bilateral cooperation, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, to cope with the grave situation caused by the country's growing nuclear and missile threats and its illegal military cooperation with Russia," the South Korean presidential office said in a statement. (Yonhap)

* Bangladesh has set a date for its general election in December and preparations are underway, the country's Election Commission (EC) has said.

The statement came after a meeting between Election Commissioner Abul Fazal Mohammad Sanaullah and diplomats from 17 Western countries, along with representatives of the United Nations and the European Union (EU). (Reuters)

Middle East-Africa

* Israel sent more troops to the Gaza Strip on orders from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on February 11, after Hamas threatened to cancel the scheduled hostage release on February 15. Prime Minister Netanyahu also ordered military commanders to prepare for any situation if Hamas did not release the hostages on time.

Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel should cut off electricity, water and humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, and warned Hamas that each hostage killed would lead to Israel annexing 5% of the territory . (AP)

* The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting to reaffirm “the long-standing position of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims on the Palestinian issue”, referring to the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, especially the right to self-determination and the right to live in their homeland.

Over the past few days, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has held phone calls with his counterparts from OIC member states such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and Jordan to discuss the Palestinian issue and has reached an agreement in principle to convene the emergency meeting.

The meeting is expected to take place after the Arab League (AL) Summit, scheduled for February 27 in Cairo. (Arab News)

* A bloody attack by rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo has left at least 51 people dead in the northeastern province of Ituri, raising concerns about further escalation of ethnic violence in the region. (Al jazeera)

America

* US President Donald Trump said there had been "big progress" in Ukraine peace talks after American citizen Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia, was released.

Speaking at the White House reception for Mr. Fogel on February 11, President Trump assessed that Russia's release of Mr. Fogel could be a very important factor in ending the conflict in Ukraine, and expressed his gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin. (RIA)

* The US sent Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Ukraine and met with host country President Volodymyr Zelensky, but the time has not been announced.

In a post announcing the news on Truth Social , US President Donald Trump stated that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine "must and will soon end", adding that there had been "too much death and destruction". (AFP)

* Mexico does not rule out the possibility that the US has increased its surveillance of the border area in recent weeks, according to Mexican Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla, on February 11.

The statement came after US and Mexican media continuously reported that the US military was increasing its surveillance of drug gangs in Mexico. (CBS News)

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