Live blog: Ukraine peace talks turned into 'plot' against Moscow — Lavrov

Friday, September 15, 2023

1720 GMT — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the topic of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks has turned into "a plot" against Moscow.

Speaking at a roundtable on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with the participation of ambassadors of 35 countries in Moscow, Lavrov said the West is trying "to turn everything upside down."

"There is a real plot around the topic of the so-called (peace) negotiations, as well as attempts to turn everything upside down through pseudo diplomacy," he said.

Russia is ready to respond to all serious initiatives on the Russian-Ukrainian settlement, and this position has not changed, he said and added that "all the balls" regarding the organization of the process between Russia and Ukraine are on the side of Kiev.

He said the problem is that instead of promoting a fair process, the West is trying to pull the countries of the global majority towards supporting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s initiative, which he called a "peace formula."

More updates 👇

1814 GMT — Zelenskyy plans to visit Washington as Congress is debating $24 billion in aid for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is expected at the White House and on Capitol Hill next week as he visits the US during the United Nations General Assembly.

Zelenskyy's trip comes as Congress is debating President Joe Biden's request to provide as much as $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion.

Jake Sullivan, the president's national security adviser, has confirmed that the US president will host Zelenskyy at the White House. It will mark the third time that Biden and the Ukrainian leader have met at the White House.

1814 GMT — 'No war can stop us': Jewish pilgrims gather in Ukraine

Thousands of Jewish pilgrims gathered in the Ukrainian city of Uman to mark the Rosh Hashanah religious festival, despite warnings not to travel due to Russia's offensive.

Security was tightened ahead of this year's gathering, as Ukrainian officials urged pilgrims to follow warnings.

"At present, about 32,000 pilgrims have already arrived in Uman," said Iryna Rybnytska from the Historical Cultural Center of Uman, which looks after Jewish monuments and cemeteries in the city.

Uman has been a site of pilgrimage for over 200 years, as Jews from Israel and across the world celebrate the life of Hasidic leader Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who was buried in the city.

1808 GMT — Zelenskyy calls EU decision to lift grain export ban 'true unity'

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the EU's decision not to further expand the ban on grain exports from Ukraine and called it an example of true unity and trust.

As Poland, Slovakia and Hungary indicated they would impose their own ban after an EU decision to lift it, Zelenskyy said that if neighbouring countries violate EU law, "Ukraine will respond in a civilized manner".

"It is important now for European unity to work at the bilateral level as well. So that neighbours support Ukraine during the war," he said on the Telegram messaging app after talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

1807 GMT — Poland to extend embargo on Ukraine grain: govt

Poland said it would extend an embargo on Ukrainian grain, going against a European Commission decision announced earlier in the day to end the import ban.

"We do not agree with the European Commission's decision and in the interest of Polish farmers and consumers, we are introducing national measures," government spokesman Piotr Muller told state news agency PAP.

1545 GMT — Putin dismisses 'nonsense' rumours of North Korean soldiers joining war

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed as "nonsense" the rumours suggesting that North Korea plans to deploy its soldiers to participate in Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine.

During a news conference in Sochi following a meeting with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Putin stated that Russia has a sufficient number of its own combatants and does not need to invite people from outside for combat operations.

"I want to emphasise this again, 300,000 people signed contracts and came as volunteers," he stressed.

1321 GMT — Romania plan to boost Ukraine grain transport achievable, minister says

Romania's plan to double Ukrainian grain transit capacity through its Constanta port to 4 million tonnes in the coming months remains achievable, the country's Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said.

Grindeanu was meeting with officials from Ukraine, Moldova, the European Commission and the United States as the parties seek to help Ukraine, a top global grain exporter, keep up exports after Russia refused to extend a safe passage corridor.

1302 GMT — Moscow 'searching' for Ukrainian warplanes used in Crimea strikes

Kiev said a Russian drone attack overnight on a region that hosts a Ukrainian military airfield showed Moscow was searching for warplanes involved in strikes this week on Russian-occupied Crimea.

Ukraine's air force said Russia had fired 17 "kamikaze" drones at the central Khmelnytskyi region that is home to the Starokostiantyniv air base, which has been attacked repeatedly during the war. In a statement, it said it downed all of them.

Debris damaged 12 homes and shattered windows in a school, but no one was hurt, regional official Serhiy Tiurin said.

"Khmelnytskyi region was attacked. We understand what the enemy is looking for: where the command has hidden our bombers after the events that happened recently in the sea near Crimea," Air Force Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said in televised comments.

1140 GMT — Putin meets the leader of Belarus, who suggests joining Russia's move to boost ties with North Korea

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting with his Belarusian ally, who suggested that Minsk could could join Moscow's efforts to revive an old alliance with Pyongyang after this week’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made the proposal as he met with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Russian leader said he would brief him about the talks with Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny spaceport in Russia's Far East.

“I would like to inform you about the discussion on the situation in the region, which was quite important, and also to touch on the most acute issue, the situation in Ukraine,” Putin said at the start of the meeting.

Lukashenko responded by saying that “we could think about three-way cooperation," adding that "I think a bit of work could be found for Belarus to do there as well."

1022 GMT — Russia is ready to meet Vatican envoy on Ukraine: Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow was expecting a visit from the Vatican's envoy on Ukraine and was ready to meet with him.

Lavrov said in televised comments: "Now the efforts of the Vatican, whose envoy is going to come once again, are continuing. We are ready to meet with everyone, ready to talk to everyone".

Vatican envoy Matteo Zuppi has been in China this week as part of a diplomatic push to facilitate peace in Ukraine. Lavrov did not say when he was expected in Russia.

0930 GMT — Village near Bakhmut 'liberated' — Ukraine

Ukraine's armed forces have said the village of Andriivka near the key frontline town of Bakhmut had been "liberated", a day after claims it had been retaken were dubbed premature

On Thursday, deputy defence minister Ganna Malyar backtracked on an announcement that Kiev had wrested control of the eastern village from Russian forces after Ukrainian troops on the ground said fighting was still ongoing.

But Ukraine's General Staff said that the village was back under Ukrainian control.

"In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy does not stop trying to break through the defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Bogdanivka," it said on Facebook.

0531 GMT — Ukraine lawmaker says ship leaves port in Odessa

A ship has left port in Ukraine's southern city of Odessa, lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko said, posting photographs on the Telegram messaging app of the vessel in the water.

"A few minutes ago, the Cayman Islands-flagged Puma vessel left the port of Odessa into the Black Sea," he said on the app.

0115 GMT — Zelenskyy expected to visit US as Congress debates $24B in aid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected on Capitol Hill and at the White House next week as he visits the US during the United Nations General Assembly.

Zelenskyy's trip comes as Congress is debating providing as much as $24 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as it fights the Russian military operation.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive visit, said Zelenskyy will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House next Thursday.

Two congressional aides confirmed the trip to the Capitol granted anonymity to discuss the plans.

Details of Zelenskyy's visit next week were not yet being made public.

Biden has sought a package of $13 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine and $8 billion for humanitarian support.

But some conservative Republican lawmakers have been pushing for broad federal spending cuts, and some are specifically looking to stop money to Ukraine as Congress works to pass its annual appropriations bills before a September 30 deadline to keep the US government running.

0100 GMT — Cuba issues conflicting statements on use of its citizens in Ukraine war

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said his country rejects the participation of its citizens as mercenaries in war, contradicting a statement by Cuba's ambassador in Moscow hours earlier saying his government did not oppose the legal participation of its citizens in Russia's war in Ukraine.

The apparently conflicting statements follow Cuban state-run and foreign media reports suggesting that young Cuban men have enlisted in the Kremlin's military in recent months as mercenaries and victims in alleged human trafficking schemes.

"The unequivocal and unswerving position of the Cuban government, in accordance with its national legislation, is contrary to the participation of Cuban citizens in conflicts of any sort and against mercenaries and trafficking in persons," Rodriguez said on social media.

Cuba's top diplomat in Moscow, Julio Antonio Garmendia Pena, told Russia's state-run RIA news agency that those arrested in Cuba, all Cuban citizens, had been engaged in illegal activities and had broken the law.

"We have nothing against Cubans who just want to sign a contract and legally take part with the Russian army in this operation. But we are against illegality and these operations that have nothing to do with the legal field," RIA quoted the ambassador as saying.

Cuba has denied any involvement in the war in Ukraine.

For our live updates from Thursday [September 14], click here.