???? Live: Ukraine considering ‘strategic’ withdrawal from Bakhmut

Issued on: 02/03/2023 – 08:01Modified: 02/03/2023 – 08:05

9:19am: Germany’s Scholz says Putin not ready for peace talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin was not currently open to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine started by Moscow’s invasion just over a year ago, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday.

“Is Putin even ready… to negotiate a just peace? Nothing suggests it at the moment,” Scholz said in a speech to the German parliament. 

9:17am: Russia says West is ‘burying’ Black Sea grain deal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the West of “shamelessly burying” the Black Sea grain initiative that facilitates the export of Ukraine’s agricultural products from its southern ports, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

While remaining in the agreement, Russia has repeatedly railed against the West’s approach to the deal, struck last July, saying countries that have imposed sanctions on Moscow are not doing enough to ease restrictions on Russia’s own exports, in particular of fertilisers.

9:14am: Russia’s Lavrov calls for ‘fast and fair’ investigation into Nord Stream blasts

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday called for a “fast and fair” investigation into last year’s still-unexplained explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea, the TASS news agency reported.

Speaking ahead of a G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in India, Lavrov also said Moscow must be involved in the probe into the blasts.

9:08am: Italy hopes India as G20 president may facilitate peace in Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Thursday she hoped that India, as G20 president, may facilitate the path towards “just peace” in Ukraine.

Speaking during a press conference with Indian president Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Meloni added that Italy aimed to strengthen its partnership with India on defence and energy security, as well as cybersecurity and other areas. Meloni landed in Delhi on Thursday for a visit until Friday.

9:06am: Germany’s Scholz calls on China to not arm Russia, but to engage in Ukraine peace talks

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday urged China not to send weapons to help Russia’s war in Ukraine and instead asked Beijing to exert pressure on Moscow to pull back its forces. In a speech to the German parliament, Scholz said it was disappointing that Beijing had refrained from condemning the Russian invasion, though he welcomed its efforts towards nuclear de-escalation.

“My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to urge the withdrawal of Russian troops,” he said. “And don’t deliver any weapons to the aggressor Russia”.

8:06am: German foreign minister calls on Russia to return to new START at G20

German Foreign Minister Baerbock on Thursday called on her Russian counterpart to return to the full implementation of the new START nuclear arms control treaty. “I ask you, Mr (Sergei) Lavrov, to return to full implementation of new START,” Baerbock said during the first G20 session on multilateralism, according to the German delegation.

7:46am: Ukraine says two killed in Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia apartment block

A Russian strike on an apartment block in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia has killed at least two people, the city’s acting mayor said Thursday.

The five-storey building was “almost completely destroyed” in the strike overnight, said Anatoly Kurtev on social media.

5:07am: India PM Modi calls for common ground on global issues at G20 meeting 

Top diplomats from the world’s major industrialised and developing nations on Thursday opened what are expected to be contentious talks dominated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s moves to boost its global influence. 

Host India appealed for all members of the fractured Group of 20 to reach consensus on issues of deep concern to poorer countries even if the broader East-West split over Ukraine cannot be resolved. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on world leaders to find common ground on divisive issues on Thursday as he inaugurated a ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 bloc where Russia’s year-long war in Ukraine is taking centre-stage. “We should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to come in the way of those we can,” Modi said in a video message that was broadcast before the first session of the foreign ministers’ meeting in the Indian capital of New Delhi.

>> East-West showdown over Ukraine war looms at G20 meeting in India

10:06pm: Ukraine considering ‘strategic’ withdrawal from Bakhmut, Zelensky aide says

The Ukrainian military might pull troops back from the key stronghold of Bakhmut, an adviser to Ukraine’s president said Wednesday in remarks that suggested Russia could capture the city that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Kremlin forces have waged a bloody, months-long offensive to take Bakhmut, a city of salt and gypsum mines in eastern Ukraine that has become a ghost town. 

“Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told CNN.

“We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.”

02:13

>> Ukraine’s Bakhmut: Inside the frontline city

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)