Closing summary
The Ukrainian foreign ministry responded to the compromised joint declaration by G20 leaders, describing the sections relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as “nothing to be proud of”. Foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko called out the declaration for not outright naming Russia. “It is clear that the participation of the Ukrainian side would have allowed the participants to better understand the situation,” Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.
Meanwhile, an adviser to the head of the office of Volodymyr Zelenskiy, warned about the consequences of lifting sanctions against Russia as Russia pushed for a grain deal in the joint G20 declaration that would lift the ban on some Russian banks from the international Swiftbank payments system. “Even the slightest lifting of sanctions on Russia or any discussions suggesting such an option have consequences,” Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.
G20 adopted a consensus declaration on issues facing the bloc after some disagreement over the wording on the war in Ukraine. Western countries had pushed for strong condemnation of Russia while Russia blocked a compromise that was “acceptable otherwise for everyone else”, an EU diplomat told Reuters.
The wording on the Ukraine portion of the declaration noted the “different views and assessments” on Russia’s war on the country, but underscored that all states must act in a manner “consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN charter in its entirety”. It called for the “timely and effective” implementation to ensure “immediate and unimpeded” deliveries of grain, food stuff and fertilisers from Ukraine and Russia. In July, Russia quit the Black Sea grain deal, which brokered by the UN and Turkey to ensure the safe transport of products from and to Ukraine, and has since repeatedly bombed Ukrainian ports and grain stores.
New fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military were found on Romanian soil, the president and defence ministry said Saturday – the second discovery of its kind in Romanian territory this week.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is warning of a potential threat to nuclear safety following a surge in fighting near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The IAEA, the United Nations atomic watchdog, said its experts deployed at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday he had agreed to begin bilateral talks with Japan over security guarantees at a meeting with Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Kyiv,
Fragments of possible Russian drone found on Romanian soil
New fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military were found on Romanian soil, the president and defence ministry said Saturday.
President Klaus Iohannis said this indicated a violation of Romania’s sovereign air space had occurred, a threat to Romanian civilians in the area.
During the phone call 📞 I had today with @NATO Secretary General @jensstoltenberg, we discussed about the identification, by the Romanian 🇷🇴 authorities, on our soil of new drone parts, similar to those belonging to drones used by the Russian military.
— Klaus Iohannis (@KlausIohannis) September 9, 2023
I strongly condemned this violation of our sovereign air space, which is a threat to 🇷🇴 citizens in the area. @NATO SecGen expressed full solidarity of the Alliance & of the Allies with Romania, which is fully protected & benefits from the highest security guarantees in history.
— Klaus Iohannis (@KlausIohannis) September 9, 2023
Iohannis said he had informed NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg about the pieces of drone - the second to crash in Romanian territory this week - and that Stoltenberg reiterated the alliance’s “full solidarity” with Romania.
