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Johnson Urges Putin to De-escalate Tension with the West

The national flag of Ukraine flies over the town of Kramatorsk, Ukraine November 25, 2021. Picture taken with a drone on November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
The national flag of Ukraine flies over the town of Kramatorsk, Ukraine November 25, 2021. Picture taken with a drone on November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
    London, Moscow - Asharq Al-Awsat
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Johnson Urges Putin to De-escalate Tension with the West

The national flag of Ukraine flies over the town of Kramatorsk, Ukraine November 25, 2021. Picture taken with a drone on November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko
The national flag of Ukraine flies over the town of Kramatorsk, Ukraine November 25, 2021. Picture taken with a drone on November 25, 2021. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that any destabilizing action against Ukraine would be a strategic mistake with significant consequences, Downing Street said.

Downing Street said Johnson "emphasized the UK's commitment to Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and warned that any destabilizing action would be a strategic mistake that would have significant consequences".

During a phone call, the Kremlin said that NATO’s active use of the Ukrainian territory poses a direct threat to Russia’s security.

"Bearing this in mind, Vladimir Putin stressed that it is necessary to immediately begin talks to reach clear agreements excluding NATO’s further expansion eastwards and the deployment of weapons threatening Russia in neighboring countries," it said.

The Kremlin denies it plans to invade Ukraine, an accusation made by Washington, the Europeans and Kyiv.

European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday that any Russia aggression against Ukraine would trigger economic sanctions on Moscow.

"The European Union stands united in support of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference.

"The ministers, all of them, have been very clear today that any aggression against Ukraine will come with political consequences and with a high economic cost for Russia."

In a related context, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has arrested 106 suspected members of a Ukrainian neo-Nazi group.

Authorities carried out a number of raids across Russia on Monday against the "MKU" youth group, the FSB said in a statement.

The group is accused of using social media and online messaging forums to plan "terrorist acts and mass murders".

The FSB insisted that MKU had been operating "under the auspices of the Ukrainian special services".

Russia's domestic intelligence service was accused by its Ukrainian counterpart on Monday of waging information warfare after it said it had arrested 106 supporters of a Ukrainian neo-Nazi youth group for planning attacks and mass murders.

Ukraine's SBU security service said: "The current statements of the FSB are part of a coordinated information operation which should only be viewed through the prism of hybrid warfare."

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First Candidate Drops Out of Iran Presidential Election, Due to Take Place Friday Amid Voter Apathy

Iran's conservative Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf addresses the crowd during an election campaign two days ahead of a presidential vote to replace the late president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 26, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Iran's conservative Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf addresses the crowd during an election campaign two days ahead of a presidential vote to replace the late president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 26, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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First Candidate Drops Out of Iran Presidential Election, Due to Take Place Friday Amid Voter Apathy

Iran's conservative Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf addresses the crowd during an election campaign two days ahead of a presidential vote to replace the late president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 26, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Iran's conservative Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf addresses the crowd during an election campaign two days ahead of a presidential vote to replace the late president, in the Iranian capital Tehran on June 26, 2024. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

A candidate in Iran's presidential election withdrew from the race late Wednesday, becoming the first to back out in order for hard-liners to coalesce around a unity candidate in the vote to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi.
Amirhossein Ghazizadeh Hashemi, 53, dropped his candidacy and urged other candidates to do the same “so that the front of the revolution will be strengthened,” the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Ghazizadeh Hasehmi served as one of Raisi’s vice presidents and as the head of the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs. He ran in the 2021 presidential election and received just under 1 million votes, coming in last place, The Associated Press said.
Such withdrawals are common in the final hours of an Iranian presidential election, particularly in the last 24 hours before the vote is held when campaigns enter a mandatory quiet period without rallies. Voters go to the polls Friday.
Ghazizadeh Hasehmi's decision leaves five other candidates still in the race. Analysts broadly see the race at the moment as a three-way contest.
Two hard-liners, former nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, are fighting over the same bloc, experts say. Then there's the sole reformist in the race, Masoud Pezeshkian, a cardiac surgeon who has associated himself with the former administration of the relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani, who reached Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
Iran’s theocracy under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has maintained its stance of not approving women or anyone calling for radical change to the country’s government for the ballot. However, Khamenei in recent days has called for a “maximum” turnout in the vote, while also issuing a veiling warning to Pezeshkian and his allies about relying on the United States.
A widespread public apathy has descended in the Iranian capital over the election, coming after the May helicopter crash that killed Raisi.
After the promise nearly a decade ago of Tehran’s nuclear deal opening up Iran to the rest of the world, Iranians broadly face crushing economic conditions and a far-more uncertain Middle East that already has seen Iran directly attack Israel for the first time. Iran also now enriches uranium at nearly weapons-grade levels and has enough of it to produce several nuclear weapons if it choses.
The limited options in the election, as well as widespread discontent over Iran's ongoing crackdown on women over the mandatory headscarf, has some saying they won't vote.
“I did not watch any of the debates since I have no plan to vote,” said Fatemeh Jazayeri, a 27-year-old unemployed woman with a master’s degree. “I voted for Rouhani seven years ago, but he failed to deliver his promises for better economy. Any promise by any candidates will remain on paper only.”
Worshippers in Tehran at Friday prayers, typically more conservative than others in the city, appeared more willing to vote.
Mahmoud Seyedi, a 46-year-old shopkeeper, said he and his wife alongside two young daughters will vote,
“My wife and I have decided to vote for Qalibaf since he knows how to solve problems of the country because of years of experience but my daughters are thinking about Jalili, too,” he said. “By the way, voting is a duty for us.”
Parivash Emami, 49, another at prayers, said she hoped his vote could help Iran overcome its problems.
“Qalibaf knows details of problems in details, the rest are either critics or promise to solve problems without offering any program,” Emami said.