Hungary’s Orban, a NATO outlier on Ukraine, talks ‘peace mission’ with Trump

Hungary’s Orban, a NATO outlier on Ukraine, talks ‘peace mission’ with Trump
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban attends a Working Session of the NATO Summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, July 11, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 12 July 2024
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Hungary’s Orban, a NATO outlier on Ukraine, talks ‘peace mission’ with Trump

Hungary’s Orban, a NATO outlier on Ukraine, talks ‘peace mission’ with Trump

WASHINGTON: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump on Thursday and the pair discussed the “possibilities of peace,” a spokesperson for the prime minister said as he pushes for a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Trump and Orban met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida “as the next stop of his peace mission,” Orban’s spokesperson said. “The discussion was about the possibilities of peace“

Nationalist leader Orban, a long-time Trump supporter, made surprise visits to Kyiv, Moscow and Beijing in the past two weeks on a self-styled “peace mission,” angering NATO allies.

His meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin in particular vexed some other NATO members, who said the trip handed legitimacy to Putin when the West wants to isolate him over his war in Ukraine.

Orban traveled to Kyiv before visiting Moscow but did not tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his mission to Russia, Zelensky said, dismissing Orban’s ambition of playing the peacemaker.

“Not all the leaders can make negotiations. You need to have some power for this,” Zelensky said earlier at a news conference at the NATO summit.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, when asked about Orban’s initiative, said Ukraine would be rightly concerned about any attempt to negotiate a peace deal without involving Kyiv.

“Whatever adventurism is being undertaken without Ukraine’s consent or support is not something that’s consistent with our policy, the foreign policy of the United States,” Sullivan said.

Orban’s self-styled peace mission has also irked many members of the European Union, whose rotating presidency Hungary took over at the start of this month.

The Hungarian embassy in Washington declined to comment on the planned meeting with Trump, which was first reported by Bloomberg.

Orban has been attending a NATO summit hosted by Democratic President Joe Biden. Hungary’s delegation voiced opposition to key NATO positions, while not blocking the alliance from taking action.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Reuters on Wednesday that Hungary believes a second Trump presidency would boost hopes for peace in Ukraine.

Orban hoped to bring an end to the war through peace talks involving both Russia and Ukraine, according to Szijjarto.

Trump has said he would quickly end the war. He has not offered a detailed plan to achieve that, but Reuters reported last month that advisers to the former president had presented him with a plan to end the war in part by making future aid to Kyiv conditional on Ukraine joining peace talks.

In the past several months, foreign officials have regularly sought meetings with Trump and his key advisers to discuss his foreign policy should he beat Biden in the Nov. 5 election. Polls show Trump widening his lead over Biden.

One adviser, Keith Kellogg, has met with several high-ranking foreign officials on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Reuters reported this week.

NATO FRUSTRATION

Orban appeared isolated at the opening of a NATO meeting on Ukraine on Thursday, sitting alone while other leaders talked in a huddle.

Two European diplomats told Reuters that NATO allies were frustrated with Orban’s actions around the summit, but stressed that he had not blocked the alliance from taking action on Ukraine.

Multiple EU leaders made clear Orban was not speaking for the bloc in his discussions on the war in Ukraine.

“I don’t think there’s any point in having conversations with authoritarian regimes that are violating international law,” said Finnish President Alexander Stubb.

Hungary also diverged from its NATO allies on China, which the alliance said is an enabler of Russia’s war effort and poses challenges to security. Hungary does not want NATO to become an “anti-China” bloc, and will not support it doing so, Szijjarto said on Thursday.


Indian women entrepreneurs to visit UAE to study AI governance, medical innovation

Indian women entrepreneurs to visit UAE to study AI governance, medical innovation
Updated 31 October 2024
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Indian women entrepreneurs to visit UAE to study AI governance, medical innovation

Indian women entrepreneurs to visit UAE to study AI governance, medical innovation
  • Delegation will attend panel discussions, networking opportunities with UAE industry leaders in Dubai
  • India, UAE have witnessed significant rise in bilateral exchanges since signing free trade pact in 2022

NEW DELHI: Dozens of women entrepreneurs from the Indian Women Network of the Confederation of Indian Industry will depart to the UAE next week to study AI governance in education and medical innovation.

IWN was launched in 2013 by India’s largest and oldest industrial body, the CII, to create the largest network for professional women and promote their participation, growth and leadership in the workplace. Today, it has established chapters in almost two dozen Indian states.

For its first international trip, IWN will lead a 35-member delegation comprising women entrepreneurs from various sectors of Indian industries for a two-day visit to the UAE’s commercial capital, Dubai, starting Nov. 4.

“Dubai was chosen as the destination because of its progressive strides in areas such as AI governance in education, medical innovation, R&D and women’s empowerment,” Megha Chopra, co-chair of CII’s IWN chapter in New Delhi, told Arab News on Thursday.

“The delegation will explore how Dubai has successfully implemented forward-thinking strategies in these sectors, drawing valuable insights to inspire similar growth and innovation in India.”

The trip, which also includes panel discussions and networking opportunities, aims to “foster knowledge-sharing, networking and leadership development” as well as making connections with UAE-based industry pioneers, she added.

For Chopra, executive director at software company RateGain Travel Technologies, the learning retreat is an important extension of the India-UAE economic partnership.

“This trip also highlights the significance of women’s roles in enhancing bilateral ties and contributing to economic progress, with IWN creating a platform where Indian women entrepreneurs can not only draw inspiration, but also forge connections that could lead to tangible business partnerships and investments,” she said.

India and the UAE have significantly advanced bilateral exchanges since they signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022.

The UAE is the largest Middle Eastern investor in India, with investments amounting to about $3 billion in the financial year 2023-24, according to Indian government data.

The two countries also expect to increase the total value of bilateral trade in non-petroleum products to more than $100 billion and trade in services to $15 billion by 2030.

“By connecting 35 women entrepreneurs from diverse Indian industries with eminent leaders and disruptors in Dubai, the delegation fosters knowledge exchange and cultivates potential avenues for cross-border collaborations,” Chopra said.

“In essence, the IWN delegation strengthens the India-UAE economic bond, championing women’s leadership as a key driver of continued growth and collaboration between the two nations.”


Taliban FM goes viral riding motorcycle through Kabul

Taliban FM goes viral riding motorcycle through Kabul
Updated 33 min 12 sec ago
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Taliban FM goes viral riding motorcycle through Kabul

Taliban FM goes viral riding motorcycle through Kabul
  • Amir Khan Muttaqi filmed on a motorbike in Wazir Akbar Khan area
  • Kabul residents admit that public safety has been increasing in the city

Kabul: A video of Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister riding a motorcycle through Kabul has gone viral on social media, with people saying it showed improving security under Taliban rule.

Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Arab News that the video shot this week shows Amir Khan Muttaqi riding after sunset in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the Afghan capital.

The street where Muttaqi was driving is less than 1 km away from the Arg — the presidential palace, which since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan three years ago has served as the meeting place of the country’s interim government.

The surrounding neighborhood was known as the diplomatic zone of Kabul before most representatives of the international community left the country after its Western-backed government collapsed and US-led troops withdrew in August 2021.

The sighting of a minister riding on the street was for some residents a reflection of the country being safer now than during the two-decade period of foreign military presence following the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

“The security is very good now. The security forces are trying day and night to make sure people live in peace without any fear,” Hamza Kawsar, a resident of Kabul, told Arab News on Thursday.

“Unlike the leaders in previous regimes, our current leaders are not hiding from the people. They live a simple life. The foreign minister’s move to come out alone is proof of this.”

While people generally acknowledged that security had improved, many other pending issues were left unaddressed or aggravated.

“It’s been two weeks, and I can’t get my national ID. I go from one office to the other and my work is delayed,” said Rahmanullah, 22, who came from Logar province to Kabul to have his documents issued.

“It’s good that the ministers and other people are able to go around in the city without any worries. But in some offices it’s very difficult to see director-level officials, let alone a minister.”

For Javed Rahimi, a shopkeeper, the motorcycle video was a PR stunt and many new problems emerged with Taliban rule, including huge unemployment, poverty and bans on women’s education and work.

He admitted, however, that cases of theft, robbery, and deadly blasts, which were common before, had decreased.

“The good thing is that there’s no war and conflict anymore,” he said. “Our countrymen are not dying in explosions and attacks every day.”


Russia’s ‘comprehensive’ treaty with Iran will include defense, Lavrov says

Russia’s ‘comprehensive’ treaty with Iran will include defense, Lavrov says
Updated 31 October 2024
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Russia’s ‘comprehensive’ treaty with Iran will include defense, Lavrov says

Russia’s ‘comprehensive’ treaty with Iran will include defense, Lavrov says
  • The United States accused Tehran in September of delivering close-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine
MOSCOW: A treaty that Russia and Iran intend to sign shortly will include closer defense cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
Military ties between the two countries are a source of deep concern to the West as Russia wages war in Ukraine while Iran and Israel have exchanged missile and air strikes in the Middle East.
“The treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran that is being prepared will become a serious factor in strengthening Russian-Iranian relations,” Lavrov told state television.
He said the agreement was being prepared for signing “in the near future.” Russia has said it expects Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian to visit Moscow before the end of the year.
“It will confirm the parties’ desire for closer cooperation in the field of defense and interaction in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global levels,” Lavrov said. He did not specify what form the defense ties would take.
Russia has deepened its ties with Iran and North Korea, which are both strongly antagonistic toward the United States, since the start of its war with Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a similarly titled “comprehensive” treaty in June, including a mutual defense clause, and the US and NATO say Pyongyang has sent some 10,000 soldiers to Russia for possible deployment in the war.
Russia has not denied their presence, and says it will implement the treaty as it sees fit.
The United States accused Tehran in September of delivering close-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine, and imposed sanctions on ships and companies it said were involved in delivering Iranian weapons.
Tehran denies providing Moscow with the missiles or with thousands of drones that Kyiv and Western officials have said Russia uses against military targets and to destroy civilian infrastructure, including Ukraine’s electrical grid.
The Kremlin declined to confirm its receipt of Iranian missiles but acknowledged that its cooperation with Iran included “the most sensitive areas.”

India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’

India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’
Updated 31 October 2024
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India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’

India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’
  • The two countries reached a new pact on military patrols that aims to end a four-year standoff that hss strained relations
  • Ties between the two countries deteriorated in July 2020 after a military clash killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese

NEW DELHI: India and China have moved most of their frontline troops further from their disputed border in a remote region in the northern Himalayas, India’s defense minister said Thursday, some 10 days after the two countries reached a new pact on military patrols that aims to end a four-year standoff that’s strained relations.
Rajnath Singh said the “process of disengagement” of Indian and Chinese troops near the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh is “almost complete.”
The Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India and China fought a deadly war over the border in 1962.
Ties between the two countries deteriorated in July 2020 after a military clash killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese. That turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, as each side stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets in close confrontation positions.
Earlier this month the two neighbors announced a border accord aimed at ending the standoff, followed by a meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the recent BRICS summit in Russia, their first bilateral meeting in five years.
It’s not clear how far back the troops were moved, or whether the pact will lead to an overall reduction in the number of soldiers deployed along the border.
“Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer,” Singh said.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said Thursday that the frontline troops were “making progress in implementing the resolutions in an orderly manner.”
The pact called for Indian and Chinese troops to pull back from the last two areas of the border where they were in close positions. After the deadly confrontation in 2020, soldiers were placed in what commanders called “eyeball to eyeball” positions at least six sites. Most were resolved after previous rounds of military and diplomatic talks as the two nations agreed to the creation of buffer zones.
However, disagreements over pulling back from in the Depsang and Demchok areas lasted until the Oct. 21 pact.
“It is a positive move,” said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who from 2014 to 2016 headed Indian military’s Northern Command, which controls Kashmir region, including Ladakh. “Given how deep mistrust has been between the two countries and how all confidence building measures collapsed, it is quite a positive beginning,” he said.
However, Hooda added, it will take time for both countries to return to their pre-2020 positions. “It does not mean everything is going to as normal as it existed earlier. We have to re-establish traditional patrolling and also the buffer zones need to be sorted out,” he said.
The border standoff also damaged business ties between the two nations, as India halted investments from Chinese firms and major projects banned.


India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’

India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’
Updated 31 October 2024
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India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’

India says frontier disengagement with China along their disputed border is ‘almost complete’
  • Two countries have reached new pact on military patrols that aims to end four-year standoff that has strained relations
  • India says “process of disengagement” of Indian and Chinese troops near Line of Actual Control is “almost complete”

NEW DELHI: India and China have moved most of their frontline troops further from their disputed border in a remote region in the northern Himalayas, India’s defense minister said Thursday, some 10 days after the two countries reached a new pact on military patrols that aims to end a four-year standoff that’s strained relations.
Rajnath Singh said the “process of disengagement” of Indian and Chinese troops near the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh is “almost complete.”
The Line of Actual Control separates Chinese and Indian-held territories from Ladakh in the west to India’s eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims in its entirety. India and China fought a deadly war over the border in 1962.
Ties between the two countries deteriorated in July 2020 after a military clash killed at least 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese. That turned into a long-running standoff in the rugged mountainous area, as each side stationed tens of thousands of military personnel backed by artillery, tanks and fighter jets in close confrontation positions.
Earlier this month the two neighbors announced a border accord aimed at ending the standoff, followed by a meeting between India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the recent BRICS summit in Russia, their first bilateral meeting in five years.
It’s not clear how far back the troops were moved, or whether the pact will lead to an overall reduction in the number of soldiers deployed along the border.
“Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer,” Singh said.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said Thursday that the frontline troops were “making progress in implementing the resolutions in a orderly manner.”
The pact called for Indian and Chinese troops to pull back from the last two areas of the border where they were in close positions. After the deadly confrontation in 2020, soldiers were placed in what commanders called “eyeball to eyeball” positions at at least six sites. Most were resolved after previous rounds of military and diplomatic talks as the two nations agreed to the creation of buffer zones.
However, disagreements over pulling back from in the Depsang and Demchok areas lasted until the Oct. 21 pact.
“It is a positive move,” said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who from 2014 to 2016 headed Indian military’s Northern Command, which controls Kashmir region, including Ladakh. “Given how deep mistrust has been between the two countries and how all confidence building measures collapsed, it is quite a positive beginning,” he said.
However, Hooda added, it will take time for both countries to return to their pre-2020 positions. “It does not mean everything is going to as normal as it existed earlier. We have to re-establish traditional patrolling and also the buffer zones need to be sorted out,” he said.
The border standoff also damaged business ties between the two nations, as India halted investments from Chinese firms and major projects banned.