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The European Union’s executive arm on Monday denounced bans imposed by Poland and Hungary on imports of grain and other food from Ukraine. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog for all the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT + 2).
1:10pm: Putin praises Pacific drills as China minister visits
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday praised the “very high level” of military drills in the Pacific as Moscow seeks closer ties with China amid a stand-off with the West.
The surprise drills announced last week come as Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu is in Russia on a visit which will last until Wednesday.
Putin received Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Moscow for a summit showing the nations’ united front against the West.
12:49pm: Ukraine spurns Iraqi offer to mediate talks with Russia
Iraq on Monday offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia to try and find an end to the war, but Ukraine’s top diplomat rejected the offer during a rare visit to Baghdad.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reiterated his country’s position that it would not engage in any peace talks unless Russia withdraws from all Ukrainian territory.
The Kremlin wants Kyiv to acknowledge Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea, which Moscow took over in 2014, and to also recognize September’s annexation of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine has rejected those demands and insists it won’t hold talks with Russia until Moscow’s troops pull back from all occupied territories.
In Iraq, Kuleba met with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein. It was the first visit by a Ukrainian official to Baghdad since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the first visit by a Ukrainian foreign minister in 11 years.
Hussein pointed to Iraq’s years of experience with war and conflict, as well as with hosting negotiations between hostile parties –…
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