Morning Briefing: June 25, 2023
ISTANBUL
Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Sunday, including the head of Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and his fighters, leaving the southern Russian city of Rostov-Na-Donu following an attempted armed rebellion, Russia dropping a criminal case against Prigozhin plus the Turkish and Russian presidents talking in the telephone about the developments.
TOP STORIES
- Head of Wagner paramilitary group, fighters leave Russian city: Official
The head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, along with his fighters, have left the southern Russian city of Rostov-Na-Donu, an official said Sunday.
“A Wagner column left Rostov and headed to their field camps,” the Governor of Rostov oblast Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.
Images on social media showed Wagner leaving the building of the Russian Southern Military District Headquarters in Rostov-Na-Don and removing military equipment from the city.
Video also showed Prigozhin leaving Rostov-Na-Don by car.
Meanwhile, road restrictions imposed following the paramilitary group’s armed rebellion against Moscow have been lifted, Russia’s Federal Road Agency, Rosavtodor, told the media early Sunday.
- Criminal case against Wagner head to be dropped: Kremlin
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday that a criminal case will be closed against the head of the Wagner paramilitary group following an attempted armed rebellion.
He said Evgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus but Peskov indicated that he did not know what line of work in Belarus Prigozhin will pursue.
The spokesman noted that Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko volunteered to serve as a mediator between Prigozhin and Russian authorities because he has personally known Prigozhin for 20 years.
“There was a supreme goal — to avoid bloodshed, to avoid internal confrontation, to avoid a collision with unpredictable results. It was in the name of these goals that Lukashenko’s mediation efforts were implemented. (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin has made the appropriate decision,” he said at a news conference in Moscow.
- ‘Türkiye ready do its part for peaceful resolution of recent events in Russia’: Erdogan
The Turkish president, in a telephone call Saturday with his Russian counterpart expressed his country’s readiness to do its part for a peaceful resolution to incidents in Russia as soon as possible.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin addressed the latest developments in Russia after Wagner launched an armed rebellion against the Russian state, according to a statement by the Turkish Communications Directorate.
Erdogan stressed the significance of acting with common sense.
“We as Türkiye stand ready to do our part in order for the incidents to be resolved in a calm and peaceful manner,” Erdogan said, according to the statement.
NEWS IN BRIEF
· US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed on the phone the latest developments in Russia following an attempted armed rebellion by Wagner.
· Polish President Andrzej Duda summoned the National Security Bureau, the presidential body for executing security and defense tasks, for an emergency meeting to discuss the latest developments in Russia, local media said Saturday.
· Former Russian President Dimitri Medvedev said it is highly likely for “foreign specialists” to participate in the current armed rebellion.
· The people of the West African country of Sierra Leone voted Saturday for a new president, along with parliamentary and municipal representatives.
· Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian authorities.
· Violent clashes renewed Saturday between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group in the capital Khartoum, according to witnesses.
· Saudi Arabia said 1.2 million Muslim pilgrims have arrived in the kingdom for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
· A group of Israeli settlers erected a new settlement outpost in the occupied East Bank, according to a Palestinian official.
· UN human rights chief Volker Turk voiced concern about Tunisia’s regression in human rights.
· European nations are closely monitoring events unfolding in Russia as tensions escalate between the Kremlin and Wagner.
SPORTS
- Türkiye reach final in CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2023
Türkiye beat Czech Republic 3-2 in the Final Four on Saturday to reach the final in CEV Volleyball European Golden League 2023.
The Crescent Stars beat the Czech Republic in five sets — 22-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-23 and 15-12 — in Zadar, Croatia to grab the final ticket.
Burutay Subasi led Türkiye with 17 points. Czech Republic’s Marek Sotola scored 23 points in a losing effort.
The Crescent Stars will take on Ukraine, which beat Croatia 3-1 in the other Final Four clash.
The Czech Republic will play the third-place match Sunday against Croatia.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
- Türkiye breaks daily export record
The Turkish trade minister said Saturday that the country reached a historic high of $2.121 billion in daily exports June 23.
“Our exports amounted to $2.121 billion with a daily historical record on June 23. The threshold of 2 billion dollars in daily exports has been exceeded,” Omer Bolat said in a tweet.
He also highlighted that the current daily export value surpasses the annual export figures of 1977 ($1.753 billion) and the monthly export figures of 1999 ($1.940 billion in August).
- EU invests €3.7 million to support green, circular economy in Lebanon
The European Union plans to allocate €3.7 million ($4 million) to support the green and circular economies in Lebanon.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) said the EU-funded project will be titled “2Circular.”
“The 2Circular project aims to partner with over 50 food and beverage companies to create momentum for green and circular production in Lebanon,” it said.
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