Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for September 27, 2022
Newsline: Iranian Foreign Minister tells Western diplomats protests won’t lead to regime change
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says he is telling Western diplomats that the protests in his country will not destabilize Iran. In an interview with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep in New York City, Amirabdollahian acknowledged the tragedy of Amini’s death, but said such incidents happen around the world and downplayed the significance of the nationwide protests. “I’m assuring them that there is not a big deal going on in Iran,” he said of his message to his Western counterparts. “There is not going to be regime change in Iran. Don’t play to the emotions of the Iranian people.” (https://www.kpbs.org/news/news/national/2022/09/27/the-protests-wont-lead-to-regime-change-irans-foreign-minister-tells-npr) Protests erupted across dozens of cities in Iran in recent days, triggered by the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody in mid-September. The foreign minister insisted that Amini’s death is being “seriously investigated.” At the same time, Amirabdollahian cast many protests as a product of foreign media and outside agitation, though they appear to be widespread in his country. Amirabdollahian is a veteran Iranian diplomat who has been involved with long-running negotiations over its nuclear program. The U.S. is seeking to rejoin an agreement with world powers that limited Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Those talks seemed near a conclusion this year but appear to have stalled.
Newsline: Turkey summons German ambassador after politician likens President to ‘sewer rat’
Turkey’s foreign ministry summoned the German envoy to Ankara on Tuesday to protest over comments made by a senior German politician who likened President Tayyip Erdogan to a “little sewer rat”. “We condemn in the strongest terms the insulting statements made by Wolfgang Kubicki, the vice-speaker of the German Federal Parliament, about our president (Erdogan) in a speech during he Lower Saxony state election campaign,” Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement. (https://news.yahoo.com/turkey-summons-german-envoy-politician-140015574.html) Contacted by Reuters, Kubicki confirmed making the comment during an election campaign rally while trying to draw attention to a rise in the number of illegal migrants moving from Turkey along the so-called Balkan route towards Germany. “A sewer rat is a small, cute, but at the same time clever and crafty creature that also appears in children’s stories,” Kubicki said, citing the popular animated movie “Ratatouille” as an example. Insulting the president is a criminal offence in Turkey, where Erdogan and his ruling AK Party have held power for two decades.
Newsline: Japan Demands Russian Apology Over Detention of Diplomat
Japan demanded an apology from Russia for what it saw as the unjust detention of one of its diplomats in Vladivostok, who Tokyo said was blindfolded and physically restrained after the Kremlin falsely accused him of spying. Top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told a regular news briefing in Tokyo on Tuesday that the diplomat committed no illegal activity and Russia had violated international conventions through the detention. “The treatment and accusations are absolutely unacceptable,” Matsuno said, adding the diplomat, who was detained on Monday, is facing no major health issues. (https://news.yahoo.com/japan-demands-russian-apology-over-024811870.html) Russia expelled a Japanese consul in Vladivostok, accusing the diplomat of paying for sensitive information. Tatsunori Motoki was given 48 hours to leave the country, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, according to Tass.
Diplomatic Briefing 