Kiev to invite Russia to peace conference, North Korea sends 100 long-range artillery pieces to Russia, Iran sets conditions for US on nuclear deal

China stopped exporting semiconductor materials to the US, Estonia sanctioned 11 Georgian officials, Canada listed Houthi as a terrorist organization, Norway deployed 4 F-35 fighter jets to Poland... are some of the notable international events in the past 24 hours.

Syria situation: The US took a surprise action against Russia, firmly saying it would not send troops back to the Middle Eastern country. (Source: AFP)

The World & Vietnam Newspaper highlights some of the day's international news highlights.

Asia- Pacific

*China stops exporting semiconductor materials to the US: China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed that the country will ban exports to the US of "dual-use items" related to gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials, starting December 3.

China also requires tighter end-user and end-use checks for graphite dual-use items shipped to the United States.

The decision came after the United States on December 2 imposed its third round of restrictions on China's semiconductor industry in three years, imposing export restrictions on 140 companies, including chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group. (Reuters)

*Australia, Singapore promote reciprocal military access: On December 3, Reuters quoted Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles as saying that Singapore and Australia agreed to pursue opportunities to increase access to their respective defense facilities.

“This is a very important step forward in an already broad and unique relationship,” Mr. Marles stressed.

Mr Marles made the statement during a visit to Singapore, revealing that Singaporean fighter pilots would be trained in Australia but did not give details of what the two sides had agreed on. (AFP)

*Seoul calls on North Korea to "unconditionally" release South Korean citizens: On December 3, the South Korean Unification Ministry called on North Korea to "immediately and unconditionally" release Choi Chun Gil, a South Korean missionary detained in North Korea along with five other citizens after 10 years of captivity.

Choi Chun Gil is one of six South Koreans who have been held for years in North Korea, including two other missionaries, Kim Jung Wook and Kim Kook Kie. Choi was arrested in December 2014 and sentenced to life in prison with hard labor on charges of spying for South Korea's intelligence agency.

The South Korean government said it will continue efforts to confirm the fate of detained Koreans in close cooperation with the international community. (Yonhap)

*North Korea supplies 100 long-range artillery systems to Russia: Forbes (USA) economic magazine quoted Mr. Andrii Kovalenko, head of the anti-fake news department of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, saying that North Korea has supplied Russia with 100 main artillery systems such as the advanced long-range multiple rocket launcher M1991 and self-propelled artillery M1989.

The M1991 is a multiple rocket launcher capable of firing 240mm, 85kg shells with a maximum range of about 60km. Meanwhile, the M1989 self-propelled gun, known as the "Juche gun", is expected to be able to fire 170mm, 45kg shells with a maximum range of 40km. Last November, photos were circulated online that were said to show this type of gun being transported by rail in Russia. (Forbes/Reuters)

Europe

*Ukraine rejects any form of security guarantee other than NATO membership: On December 3, right before the NATO ministerial meeting on Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement affirming that the country rejects any form of security guarantee other than NATO membership.

"The only real security guarantee for Ukraine, and a deterrent to Russia and other countries, can only be full membership in NATO," the statement said.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said the country was "disappointed" with the Budapest Memorandum and would not accept any alternative to NATO membership.

There were claims before the meeting that Ukraine could join NATO without invoking the full security clause Article 5, but details were not released. (AFP)

*Sweden suspects that the Internet cable connecting to Finland was sabotaged: Swedish Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said on December 3 that the broken Internet cable between Finland and Sweden could have been caused by sabotage.

Earlier in the day, media reported that a new internet cable between Sweden and Finland had broken overnight. The Swedish Post and Telecommunication Authority said two cable breaks had occurred in the network of telecommunications company GlobalConnect. The damaged cable was located in Espoo and Vihti, Finland.

Speaking on SVT, Mr. Bohlin emphasized: "We consider this a serious matter. Finnish police are investigating the incident and suspect sabotage due to the circumstances of the incident. The government is in contact with the responsible agencies and monitoring the developments." (Sputniknews)

*Kiev will invite Russia to attend peace conference on Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced that he will invite Russia to attend the second "peace summit" on Ukraine.

The first peace summit on resolving the conflict in Ukraine was held in the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock on June 15-16. Representatives of 91 countries and 8 organizations attended, but the Russian Federation was not invited.

On November 28, Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine, Mr. Andriy Ermak, said that Kiev is ready to hold a new summit on President Zelensky's "peace formula" in the coming months.

On December 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was not opposed to considering initiatives to resolve the conflict, provided that the authors of these initiatives sincerely wanted peace. (AFP)

*Norway deploys 4 F-35 fighter jets to Poland: On social network X, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysh said Norway will send 4 F-35 fighter jets to Poland.

Earlier, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that it would send several F-35 fighter jets, NASAMS air defense missile systems and nearly 100 military personnel to Poland to support air defense.

“Starting in December, our border security will be strengthened. Four Norwegian F-35s, as well as their air defense systems, will protect our airspace and NATO’s eastern flank,” Kosiniak-Kamysh stressed.

In mid-November, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Warsaw would transfer its remaining MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine if NATO countries transferred their aircraft to Poland. (Sputnik)

*Estonia sanctions 11 Georgian officials: Estonia's Foreign Ministry announced on December 2 that Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna had imposed sanctions on 11 Georgian officials for allegedly "suppressing" protests in Georgia, as well as banning them from entering Estonia.

The ministry issued a statement confirming: "Today, December 2, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna imposed sanctions on 11 Georgian officials, including Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and Bidzina Ivanishvili, Honorary Chairwoman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, banning them from entering Estonia."

On December 1, Mr. Tsahkna said that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will impose sanctions on those involved in suppressing protests in Georgia.

A wave of protests swept through Georgia's capital last week after Prime Minister Kobakhidze said the government had decided to postpone debate on opening EU accession talks until 2028. (Sputniknews)

Middle East – Africa

*Iraqi armed group calls on government to deploy troops to Syria: Kataeb Hezbollah, a powerful armed organization in Iraq and linked to Iran, on December 3 called on Baghdad to send troops to Syria to support the Damascus government against the rebel attack.

Kataeb Hezbollah has previously fought in Syria alongside forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The group has not yet decided to send troops to support the Syrian government.

A day earlier, Iraq deployed armoured vehicles to reinforce security along its 600km border with Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said about 200 pro-Iranian Iraqi fighters had deployed in Syria’s Aleppo region to support government forces. (Al Jazeera)

*The US will not redeploy military forces in Syria: US Defense Department spokesman Patrick Ryder said the US government sees no need to redeploy forces after recent attacks in Syria.

"As far as I know, there's been no change," Mr. Ryder said. "As you know, we've said publicly before that there are approximately 900 US troops deployed to Syria in support of the long-term mission to defeat the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS).

On November 27, Syrian rebels, led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), launched a large-scale attack on government positions in the western countryside of Aleppo city (Syria's second largest city) and gained control of many areas. Currently, the Syrian army is reorganizing its forces and preparing a counterattack to repel the rebels. (Al Jazeera)

*Russia, Iran, Turkey and Qatar meet on Syria: Foreign ministers of Russia, Iran, Turkey and Qatar will meet next week on the sidelines of the Doha forum (December 7-8) to discuss the Syria issue.

"It was decided to continue these consultations (on Syria) and resume the Astana process," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted by TASS news agency as saying. According to him, a meeting with the participation of Iran, Russia, Turkey and Qatar could take place in Doha next week.

Since last week, terrorists from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group have violated the de-escalation agreement and attacked the provinces of Aleppo and Idlib. On November 30, Aleppo and the surrounding area, including the international airport and the Kuweiris military airport, fell under the control of terrorists. (Al Jazeera)

*Iran sets conditions for US on nuclear deal: Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif said the country is ready for mutually beneficial dialogue with the US on the nuclear deal if President-elect Donald Trump takes concrete actions to ensure that Iran also benefits economically from the deal.

In an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, Mr. Zarif said: "Instead of increasing pressure on Iran, the West should look for mutually beneficial solutions. The nuclear deal is unique and the West should seek to restore it."

Negotiations on Iran's nuclear program between Iran and the European Three (E3 - Britain, France, Germany) countries took place on November 29 in Geneva after a two-year suspension. Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Majid Takht-Ravanchi led the Iranian delegation at the talks. According to the Iranian government, the negotiations will continue in the near future. (Sputnik)

America - Latin America

*US activates communication channel with Russia on Syria issue: Pentagon press secretary Patrick Ryder said on December 2 that the US Department of Defense has activated a communication channel with Russia on the Syria issue.

According to Mr. Ryder, the commander of the "Firm Resolve" operation contacted the Russian Federation "to ensure that a communication channel is open." He noted that the US side contacted Moscow because the US and Russian troops in Syria are geographically close to each other.

On December 2, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller refused to directly answer a reporter's question about whether the US supports the rebel attack in Syria.

Also on December 2, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, affirmed that the rise of terrorists in Syria is part of a plan by the US and Israel to destabilize the situation in the Middle East. (Reuters)

*US to impose more sanctions on Russia before Biden leaves office: White House Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the US will impose more sanctions on Russia's financial sector before President Joe Biden leaves office.

"To disrupt Russia's war machine, the United States has imposed large-scale sanctions on Russia's financial sector, with more sanctions to follow," the statement stressed. (Sputniknews)

*US, Ukraine concerned about Russia's use of new missiles: On the evening of December 2, the US and Ukrainian defense ministers discussed Russia's use of new ballistic missiles, preparations for the upcoming meeting of arms donors and Washington's military aid plan for next year.

The meeting comes as the United States announced it would provide $725 million in military aid to Ukraine, including missiles, ammunition, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, and as President Joe Biden's administration seeks to shore up Kiev before leaving office. (Reuters)

*Canada puts Houthi on terrorist organization list: On December 2, the Canadian government announced that it has put the Houthi Islamic movement on the list of terrorist organizations.

According to Canada, the Iran-backed group, officially known as Ansarallah, has been active in Yemen since the early 2000s and has been contributing to unrest in the Middle East by attacking numerous commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea for more than a year.

Canada supported British and US airstrikes on Houthi facilities earlier this year in response to attacks in the Red Sea.

Under Canadian law, the move would allow criminal penalties to be imposed on any individual or entity that knowingly does business with the Houthis. Anyone found to be a member of the Houthis could be banned from entering Canada. (AFP)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tin-the-gioi-312-kiev-se-moi-nga-du-hoi-nghi-hoa-binh-trieu-tien-gui-100-phao-tam-xa-toi-nga-iran-ra-dieu-kien-voi-my-ve-thoa-thuan-nhan-296010.html