Day: June 29, 2023

Russia has launched efforts to seize full control of the ‘global empire’ built by the leader of the mercenary Wagner Group, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Senior figures from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the governments of Syria, Central African Republic and Mali, according to the Journal. The report said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin flew to Damascus to establish direct contact with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, urging him to stop Wagner forces from leaving Syria without Moscow’s oversight. A statement issued by Assad’s office after the meeting said developments regarding Wagner’s presence in Syria were discussed “in the light of recent events.” According to two people close to the subject, Wagner forces, which act largely independently in Syria, were ordered to go to an air base in the Syrian port city of Latakia under the control of the Russian Ministry of Defense and they followed this instruction. Russian officials call president of Central African Republic The next leg of the Kremlin’s attempts to take control of Wagner and to ensure the continuation of Wagner-supported operations in Africa was the Central African Republic, according to the Journal. In this context, Russian Foreign Ministry officials held phone conversations with Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera, whose personal bodyguards include Wagner mercenaries. In these talks, Russian officials assured that the crisis that broke out on Saturday would not hinder Russia’s activities in Africa. Presidential Security Adviser Fidele Gouandjika emphasized that the Wagner issue is an internal matter of Russia and noted that the developments are not of great importance for his country. “It is reassuring to see that nothing has changed. If Moscow decides to call them back and send us Beethoven or Mozart, we will get them,” said Gouandjika. Russian jets fly to Mali Jets belonging to the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry shuttled between Syria and Mali to ensure the continuity of the Wagner Group’s presence in Mali and to protect its interests in the region. In Mali, Wagner forces supported by Russian warplanes and helicopters have been helping to battle an insurgency since 2012. “Wagner has helped Russia increase its influence, and the government is reluctant to give up,” J. Peter Pham, former US Special Envoy for the Africa Sahel, said in a statement. Around 6,000 Wagner personnel carry out activities outside of Russia and Ukraine ranging from private security and mine clearance in the Central African Republic, whose civil war dates back 10 years, to defending oil wells and government-held areas in Syria. While the US and Western countries have taken various steps to stop Wagner’s activities and reduce its influence, the US this week announced sanctions on Africa-based gold companies that Wagner has allegedly used to help finance its operations in Ukraine. US officials pointed out that additional sanctions against Wagner will be announced in the coming days. Revolt of Wagner Group against Russian rule Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the private security company, accused the Russian army of carrying out an attack on Wagner and threatened to retaliate. Wagner fighters left Ukraine and entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Amid the tensions, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case against Prigozhin and the Wagner fighters on the charge of an “armed riot.” Russian President Vladimir Putin described Wagner’s rebellion as “treason.” Prigozhin announced that they would go to Moscow, and the Kremlin administration had increased security measures in many parts of the country. It was reported that Prigozhin accepted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s proposal to de-escalate tensions in Russia. Prigozhin also announced that they would turn their convoys back and return to the field camps according to plan. The Kremlin said the criminal case against Prigozhin would be closed and announced that the “rebel leader” would go to Belarus. “Today you have the opportunity to continue serving Russia or to return to your family and friends, by concluding a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies. If you want, you can go to Belarus,” Putin said in a publicly televised address on June 26.

Source: EN – Anadolu Agency

Cypriot and Israeli groups on electricity and natural gas will begin meetings in the coming 15 days, Energy Minister George Papanastasiou has said. The formation of two expert groups between the two countries has been agreed during Papanastasiou’s visit to Israel with his counterpart Israel Katz, with whom he discussed the ‘Cyprus Gateway initiative,’ which entails the transfer of natural gas through Cyprus to Europe, including from Israeli natural gas resources. ‘There is strong interest from companies on out targets,’ he said in statements to the press after an electricity conference in Nicosia. He reiterated that the government’s plan is to transfer natural gas from the region to Cyprus which coupled with renewables could bring the electricity generation costs down. Stating that Cyprus is currently the fifth most expensive country within the EU in terms of electricity costs, the Minister said ‘it is well understood that it is necessary to reduce this cost, because it is a matter of whether electricity consumers could bear it but much more for the businesses to remain competitive which means a robust economy.’ Asked about his next trips regarding the issue of energy, Papanastasiou said the next travels will be to the US to discuss with energy companies based there and which hold concessions in the Cypriot EEZ and others in the Israeili EEZ. He noted that at this stage the interest is centred on the expert groups between Cyprus and Israel on natural gas and electricity which will begin meetings in the next two weeks.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

No ransom has been paid to recover any data from the organisations that suffered recently cyberattacks, was confirmed during Thursday’s meeting of the House Standing Committee on Development Plans and Public Expenditure Control, which discussed the economic impact of cyberattacks on the public and wider public sector following the recent attacks on the Land Registry, the University of Cyprus and the Open University. Deputy Minister of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, Philippos Hadjizacharias said after the meeting that the Committee discussed about the 13 Pillars of the Action Plan for Cybersecurity adding that they stressed the need of its implementation. Asked if the hackers have managed to steal any data, he said that it is confirmed that they have not stolen any data from the Land Registry adding that based on the information from the Police, they have not been identified. He explained that the cyber attack on the Land Registry was not like the one on the Open University, where personal data were stolen. Asked whether there are employees in the Deputy Ministry who have the know-how to prevent such attacks in the future, he replied negatively saying that their recruitment is included in the 13 Pillars Strategy Plan. For this reason, he concluded, the adoption of the plan is necessary.

Source: Cyprus News Agency

The EU should use the political momentum following the elections in Turkey to assume a more active role in trying to overcome the deadlock and resume negotiations within the agreed UN framework on the Cyprus problem, so as to end the almost 50-year-long occupation of Cyprus by Turkey and reunify the island, in line with relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, EU principles and the acquis, the EPP said in a joint statement. It also added that the EPP welcomes and supports President Christodoulides’ efforts in this regard, and in particular his proposal for a more active EU role, including through the appointment of a representative to facilitate the resumption of negotiations. Regarding migration, it is stated that in the first four months of 2023, more than 80,000 people crossed the EU’s borders illegally, a figure almost 30% higher than a year ago and the highest total for the same period since 2016, with the EPP expressing concern about the deteriorating situation at the EU’s external borders and the suffering of refugees. “We strongly welcome the breakthrough achieved by the Swedish EU Council Presidency in reaching a compromise on the New Pact on Asylum and Migration, as it includes long-standing demands of our party,” the EPP added, adding that it is absolutely necessary to adopt the new legislation before the European Elections in 2024. On Ukraine, it is noted that the EPP supports Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s proposal to continue financial assistance to Ukraine beyond 2023. It is also added that at the upcoming summit in Vilnius, NATO allies should address the Ukrainian membership perspective by extending an invitation to the country to join the alliance once the war is over. “The EPP firmly supports Ukraine’s applications to join both the EU and NATO and we will stand with Ukraine and its people, in particular children, until they win the war and peace returns to Europe. Moreover, we support the notion of providing Ukraine with the necessary security guarantees,” the party stressed.

Source: Cyprus News Agency