Russia plans to update territorial boundaries in the Baltic Sea, Sweden "plays big" with Ukraine, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister will visit China

Russia drafts regulations to update territorial boundaries in the Baltic Sea, begins strategic nuclear military exercises, Spain-Argentina diplomatic tensions, China-Cambodia relations, the situation in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip... are some of the notable international events in the past 24 hours.

Russia is drafting regulations to update territorial boundaries in the Baltic Sea. (Source: Geostrategy)

Europe

* Russia drafts regulation updating territorial sea boundaries in the Baltic Sea: On May 21, the Russian Defense Ministry submitted a draft government regulation updating the coordinates of the state border off the coast and islands of Russia in the Baltic Sea. The document was published on the Federal Draft Legal Law Information Portal.

The draft states that the approval of this draft list of geographical coordinates will establish a missing straight baseline system on the southern part of the Russian islands in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, near Baltiysk and Zelenogradsk, and allow the use of this sea area as Russia's internal sea.

On May 22, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Russian Defense Ministry's proposal to update the coordinates of Russia's border in the Baltic Sea is not politically motivated.

Meanwhile, a Russian military-diplomatic source said that the country has no intention of modifying the width of its territorial waters, economic zone and continental shelf off the Baltic coast or the state border in the Baltic Sea. ( TASS)

* Finland is monitoring Russia's plans to update its maritime boundaries in the Baltic Sea, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said.

According to Mr. Stubb, Russia has not contacted Finland on this issue, but Helsinki always acts calmly and based on facts.

Meanwhile, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said that the country will ask Moscow to provide information through diplomatic channels regarding the intentions of the Russian Defense Ministry. (TASS, Reuters)

* Sweden provides $7 billion in military aid to Ukraine: On May 22, the Swedish government announced that it will provide military aid to Ukraine worth a total of 75 billion Kronor (about $7.01 billion) over 3 years, with a value of 25 billion Kronor (about $2.3 billion) per year.

The statement also said that military aid in the 2024-2026 period could take the form of equipment donations as well as financial contributions and support for the procurement of defense materials.

“Sweden will support Ukraine's struggle as long as necessary,” the statement stressed. (Reuters, AFP)

* Ukraine calls on allies to shoot down Russian missiles: On May 21, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the West to consider shooting down Russian missiles attacking Ukrainian territory to better protect the cities of the Eastern European country.

“There are no legal, security or moral arguments that would prevent our partners from shooting down Russian missiles on Ukrainian territory from their own territory,” Foreign Minister Kuleba said.

He also convinced the West that if it did not want to do it, then “just provide us with all the necessary means to do this.” (Pravda)

* Finland-US expand special forces cooperation: On May 21, the Finnish Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that Finland and the US have signed a statement of intent on cooperation between the two countries' special forces.

The statement said the deal "will help Finland develop its defense capabilities and further deepen defense cooperation with the United States." (Spuntik)

* More than 3,000 prisoners have applied to join the Ukrainian army, after parliament passed a law allowing some prisoners to join the armed forces. Only prisoners with less than three years left in their sentences can apply to join the Ukrainian army. The mobilized prisoners are being considered for parole rather than amnesty.

Ukrainian authorities have identified 20,000 eligible prisoners, of whom 4,500 have “expressed interest” in joining the army. (AFP)

* Russia has begun the first phase of strategic nuclear military exercises, including practical training on the preparation and use of non-strategic nuclear weapons” in the Southern Military District, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry on May 21.

The drills are aimed at "ensuring the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian State" as well as "responding to provocative statements and threats from some Western officials." (TASS)

* Spain has permanently withdrawn its ambassador to Argentina, Maria Jesus, after Argentine President Milei refused to apologize for comments criticizing Spanish Prime Minister Sanchez and his wife, the European country's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on May 21. (Reuters)

Asia-Pacific

* Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia visited China from May 23-25.

On May 21, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that Beijing highly appreciated the decision of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sok Chenda Sophea to choose this Northeast Asian country for his first official overseas trip since taking office.

During the visit, Chinese leaders and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will meet and hold talks with Mr. Sok Chenda Sophea to exchange views on bilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. (Khmer Times, China Daily)

* President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited South Korea from May 28-29, marking the first state visit to this Northeast Asian country by a UAE President.

According to the announcement, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet with his counterpart Mohammed to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in various areas, including investment, energy and defense industry. (Yonhap)

* South Korean and Japanese foreign ministers hold phone talks: On May 22, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul had a phone call with his Japanese counterpart Kamikawa Yoko, during which the two sides discussed the upcoming trilateral summit with China and issues of mutual concern as well as outstanding bilateral issues.

The summit between the three leaders of Japan, China and South Korea is expected to take place at the end of May.

This will be the first summit between the three countries in more than four years, with many issues to be discussed such as North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, the issue of abducted Japanese citizens... (Yonhap)

Middle East-Africa

* Aid to Gaza is being delivered via new routes after some trucks were blocked and is being moved from staging areas to warehouses in Gaza, the Pentagon said on May 21. (Reuters)

* Egypt opposes the relocation of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip , according to the North African country's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in a phone call with his Dutch counterpart Hanke Bruins Slot on May 21.

Mr. Shoukry stressed the importance of coordinated international efforts to stop the conflict in the Gaza Strip and launch a political process to establish an independent Palestinian state in accordance with international resolutions.

Claiming that Israel's control of the Rafah border crossing on the Palestinian side has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching the strip, the Egyptian foreign minister demanded that Israel end its military operations in the area near the Rafah border crossing and ensure the safety of humanitarian workers receiving and distributing aid. (Ahram Online)

* More countries recognize the State of Palestine, Israel recalls ambassadors: On May 22, Norway, Ireland and Spain all announced that they will recognize Palestine as a state from May 28.

In response to this move, on the same day, Israel recalled ambassadors from Ireland and Norway for "urgent consultations" on the issue, affirming that the Middle Eastern country would react to the "hasty decisions" of the above countries.

To date, eight member states of the European Union (EU), including Slovakia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden, have recognized the State of Palestine.

Meanwhile, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) praised the decision of the three European countries as a "victory for truth and justice". The Hamas movement called it an "important step" and called on other countries to follow suit. (AFP)

* Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad Succes Masra resigns: On May 22, Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad, also opposition leader Succes Masra announced that he had submitted his resignation after interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby was confirmed as the winner of the presidential election on May 6.

Chad's electoral authority announced that Mr. Deby had won the election outright, with 61% of the vote, and the Constitutional Council later confirmed him as the winner. (Ahram Online)

America

* The US accused Russia of launching a space weapon into the orbit of Washington's spy satellite last week, which according to intelligence officials of this number one power, is a weapon capable of inspecting as well as attacking other satellites.

Russia's Soyuz rocket launched from the Plesetsk launch site, about 800 km north of Moscow, on May 16, deploying into low Earth orbit at least nine satellites, including Cosmos 2576, a military "inspection" spacecraft.

On May 22, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov rejected the US assertion that Russia had put anti-satellite weapons into space, noting that Moscow opposes the deployment of weapons in orbit.

In addition, he also emphasized that Russia still complies with the restrictions on the number of nuclear weapons as stipulated in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between Moscow and Washington. (Reuters, Interfax)

* Cuba reaffirms its stance against terrorism in all its forms: On May 21, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez reaffirmed his country's position of absolutely and unequivocally rejecting all acts, methods and activities of terrorism, in all their forms and manifestations.

According to the highest representative of the Cuban diplomatic sector, the above position is maintained regardless of the motives, perpetrators, victims and places where terrorist acts take place, emphasizing: "Cuba's policy is clear: say No to terrorism". (Prensa Latina)

* Colombia appoints Ambassador to the US as Foreign Minister: On May 21, Colombian President Gustavo Petro appointed Ambassador to the US Luis Gilberto Murillo as Foreign Minister to replace Mr. Álvaro Leyva, who was dismissed in January due to investigation for violations related to bidding for passport issuance.

President Petro also appointed historian Daniel García Peña, who served as Peace Commissioner under President Ernesto Samper, as Ambassador to the United States. (Prensa Latina)

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