29/09/2025

MONDAY | SEPT 29, 2025

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Russia tells West to back off

to do so in the future. He said that only the “politically blind” would expect Ukraine to one day return to the borders it had before Russia invaded in February 2022, an indirect response to Trump’s assertion that Kyiv could retake all its occupied land from Russia. Lavrov also singled out German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, referring to what he said was “militaristic rhetoric” and said Moscow was alarmed by remarks by politicians in EU and Nato capitals of a looming World War Three as a “likely scenario”. Despite taking aim at Nato and the European Union, Lavrov made clear Moscow remained hopeful of “frank dialogue” with the United States under Trump despite the US president’s recent shifting stance. The US and Russia, he said, will hold a third round of talks in the coming months aimed at improving each other’s embassy operations, which have been severely curtailed by a decade of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and other curbs. Lavrov met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday on the sidelines of the annual

o A‘ ny aggression will be met with decisive response’

NEW YORK: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the West on Saturday that any aggression against Moscow would face a “decisive response”, warning against attempts to down aircraft in Russian airspace and accusing Germany of militaristic rhetoric. Tensions have mounted along Nato’s eastern flank in recent weeks as Estonia said Moscow sent three fighter jets into its airspace and Nato warplanes shot down Russian drones over Poland. “Any aggression against my country will be met with a decisive response. There should be no doubt about this among those in Nato and the EU who ... are telling their voters that war with Russia is inevitable,” he told the UN General Assembly. The spate of airspace incursions linked to Russia has unnerved countries in eastern Europe where Russia is seen as the biggest threat since the end of the Cold War.

Hopes have dimmed of any imminent end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said last week that he endorsed the idea of shooting down Russian jets that violate Nato airspace, part of a rhetorical shift that saw him mock Russia’s military performance in Ukraine and call it a paper tiger. Lavrov brushed off Trump’s most recent remarks during a press conference that followed his General Assembly speech, but issued a warning about any moves against aircraft inside Russia. “If there are attempts to down any flying object, any object ... in our airspace, then I think people will very much regret undertaking such an egregious violation of our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said. Lavrov told the UN General Assembly that Russia had never targeted EU or Nato countries with drones or missiles, and that it had no plans

gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly. Lavrov said he did not see economic relations between Russia and India as under threat, as Trump has placed tariffs on products from India, calling on it – and China – to stop buying Russian oil. Despite his cautious tone on Trump, Lavrov voiced alarm over a US naval build-up and military action in international waters around Venezuela to combat drug cartels, describing the situation as “very serious”. – Reuters Moscow loses aviation council seat MONTREAL: Russia failed to win enough support on Saturday to get elected to the UN aviation agency’s governing council, in the latest rebuke of Moscow for actions taken after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia received 87 votes, just short of the 93 votes it needed to win back a seat on the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s 36 nation governing council during the agency’s assembly, which runs through Friday in Montreal. Russia in 2022 lost its spot on the first part of the council, which includes countries like China, Brazil, the United States and Australia as “states of chief importance in air transport”, following its invasion of Ukraine. A Russian representative immediately called for “a repeat round of voting”, which was not accepted by the assembly. A spokesperson for Russia’s Transport Ministry was not immediately available for comment. The ICAO sets global safety standards for civil aviation with the governing council playing a critical role in that process. In addition to the war in Ukraine, Russia faces council condemnation for disturbing signals used in navigation, the Global Navigation Satellite System and Global Positioning System, charges that Moscow denies. “They are the most aggressive abuser and violator of international agreements and international norms,”US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy told Reuters by phone earlier this week about Russia. “How could we let someone come into a world organisation that is truly making the airspace more dangerous, not more safe?” – Reuters Lavrov said Moscow remains hopeful of ‘frank dialogue’ with the United States. – REUTERSPIC

Tanks thrust deeper into Gaza City CAIRO: Israeli tanks moved deeper into Gaza City’s residential districts yesterday, as local health authorities said they have been unable to respond to dozens of desperate calls, expressing concern about the fate of residents in the targeted areas.

Witnesses and medics said Israeli tanks had deepened their incursions in the Sabra, Tel Al Hawa, Sheikh Radwan and Al-Naser neighbourhoods, closing in on the heart and the western areas of Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering. The Israeli military launched its long threatended ground offensive on Gaza City on Sept 16 after weeks of intensifying strikes on the urban centre, forcing hundreds of Palestinians to flee although many still remain. Hamas said yesterday it had not received a new proposal from mediators, after President Donald Trump said on Friday that “a deal on Gaza” seemed likely. Trump is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today. A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Israel said that Ambassador Mike Huckabee would travel to Egypt to meet Egyptian officials “as part of regular diplomatic consultations conducted between US embassies in the region”. Egypt is among those mediating between Israel and Hamas. The Civil Emergency Service in Gaza said late on Saturday that Israel had denied 73 requests, sent via international organisations, to rescue injured Palestinians in Gaza City. Israeli authorities had no immediate comment. The military earlier said forces were BERLIN: Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of the German capital on Saturday to demand that Israel halt its military campaign. Large crowds waved Palestinian flags and banners reading “Free Palestine” and “Food and water are human rights” as they marched from Berlin’s town hall. “Today we can send a signal that the majority, who are against Israel’s policies and against this genocide, are visible on the streets and can take action,” said Dustin Hirschfeld, who took part in the “Together for Gaza” demonstration. The protesters finished their march at Berlin’s Victory Column monument, the site of a rally and concert.

A mobile artillery unit fires towards Gaza yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Israel’s military siege has caused a humanitarian catastrophe across Gaza. Four health facilities in Gaza City have shut down this month, the World Health Organisation has said. Some malnutrition centres have also closed, the UN says. The World Food Programme estimates that between 350,000 and 400,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City since last month. The Israeli military estimates that around a million Palestinians were in Gaza City in August. – Reuters

expanding operations in the city and that five men firing an anti-tank missile towards Israeli troops had been killed by the Israeli air force. Over the past 24 hours, the air force had struck 140 military targets across Gaza, including what it described as military infrastructure, the military said. At least five people were killed in an airstrike in Gaza’s Al Naser area, local health authorities said. Medics reported 16 more deaths in strikes on houses in central Gaza, bringing yesterday’s death toll to at least 21. Police estimated some 60,000 people took part in both the march and the rally, which was organised by Die Linke political party and civil society groups. Organisers put the figure at around 100,000. About 1,800 police were deployed to monitor the protests. Die Linke party has accused the German government of staying largely silent as the humanitarian situation worsens in Gaza. The government “must finally take action and increase pressure on the Israeli government to force it to change course,” the party urged. By sunset, the event had been peaceful. – AFP

Huge Berlin protest urges end to offensive

Demonstrators switch on phone flashlights during the ‘All eyes on Gaza’ rally in Berlin. – REUTERSPIC