Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for January 26, 2023
Newsline: Peru ambassador to Honduras recalled
Peru withdrew its ambassador to Honduras, Jorge Raffo, due to Honduras’ “unacceptable interference” in the internal affairs of Peru, the South American nation’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. “As a consequence of the position adopted by Honduras, bilateral relations with said country will be maintained, indefinitely, at the level of chargé d’affaires,” the foreign ministry said on Twitter. (https://neuters.de/world/americas/peru-recalls-ambassador-honduras-unacceptable-interference-diplomatic-spat-2023-01-26/) The step is part of a deepening showdown between Peru President Dina Boluarte and her regional peers, including the leftist leaders of Mexico, Bolivia and Honduras. At the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Argentina earlier this week, Honduran President Xiomara Castro called Boluarte’s ascension to power a “coup d’état.” Boluarte became president in December after Castillo attempted to illegally dissolve Congress, was ousted and detained. Boluarte has struggled to calm political unrest as protests have left dozens dead, although she has called on Congress to move up elections.
Newsline: France recalls ambassador from Burkina Faso
The French foreign ministry said on Thursday it was recalling its ambassador to Burkina Faso, citing “the context of recent developments”. “We have decided to recall our ambassador in Paris, to conduct consultations on the state and perspectives of our bilateral cooperation”, the ministry said in a statement. (https://neuters.de/world/africa/france-recall-burkina-ambassador-over-tensions-foreign-ministry-says-2023-01-26/) Protests by opponents of the French military presence have surged in Burkina, partly linked to perceptions that France has not done enough to tackle an Islamist insurgency that has spread in recent years from neighbouring Mali.
Newsline: Estonia’s top diplomat denies plans to close Russian embassy
Estonia has no plans to expel all Russian diplomats or close the Russian embassy, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said. “Though both Estonia and Russia have taken steps to reduce the numbers of diplomats in their countries, there are currently no plans to expel or recall all diplomats from both countries,” the ERR news website quoted Reinsalu as saying. “Our embassy [in Moscow] will stay. We have no plans to liquidate the Russian embassy on the territory of Estonia, and Russia has not voiced such intentions either,” the minister said. (https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/87249/) There is now no point in speaking about the termination of diplomatic relations between the two countries, “because Estonia needs its representation in Moscow for pragmatic reasons,” he said.
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