Mr. Zelensky 'straightforwardly' did one thing, Israel-Hamas denied ceasefire

US Defense Secretary visits Ukraine, IDF takes down another Hamas commander, Russia and China react to Argentina's election... are some notable international news in the past 24 hours.

Mr. Javier Milei won the Argentine presidential election. (Source: AP)

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

* Russia : Britain avoids involvement in the situation in Ukraine : On November 20, Mr. Sergei Belyaev, Director of the 2nd European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted: "The British leadership continues to show its focus on comprehensive support for Ukraine. The British have the view that it is necessary to deal a 'defeat on the ground' to Russia." According to him, since the Ukraine crisis, London has provided Kiev with a lot of military equipment with a total value of about 6.6 billion pounds (8.23 billion USD), ranking second in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), after the United States.

“However, London’s involvement in the Ukrainian conflict goes beyond supplying weapons and training Ukrainian Armed Forces (VSU) fighters on British soil. More than 30,000 individuals have taken part in this activity… British military instructors are directly involved in training and supporting Ukrainian special operations forces units… including carrying out sabotage operations in the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov, as well as attacking extremely important civilian infrastructure in our country,” Mr. Belyaev stressed.

In addition, he declared that Western mercenaries are not soldiers under international humanitarian law and have no right to prisoner of war status. (Xinhua)

* Ukrainian President fires military medical chief : On November 19, Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky demanded rapid changes in the activities of the VSU. Earlier, meeting with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, he stated: “We have set priorities. There is little time left. We need to act quickly before changes come.”

In addition, Mr. Zelensky appointed Major General Anatoly Kazmirchuk, head of a military hospital in Kiev, to replace Major General Tetiana Ostashchenko as commander of the military medical forces. “The task is clear, as has been emphasized many times, especially for combat medicine , we need a new level of basic medical support for soldiers,” the Ukrainian president said.

On Telegram, Minister Umerov acknowledged the change and set top priorities including digitalization, “tactical medicine” and troop rotation. (Reuters)

* Mr. Zelensky: The Russia-Ukraine conflict is unlikely to end quickly: On November 20, meeting with reporters and management of Fox News channel (USA), the leader expressed: “For some reason, people see this as a movie and hope that the events will not have long pauses, the image before their eyes will always change and there will be some surprises every day.

But for us and the soldiers, this is not a movie. It is our life. It is hard work every day. It will not end as quickly as we want, but we have no right to give up and will not do this job.

He also mentioned the situation on the ground, the high spirit and determination of the people.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak's chief of staff said the conflict was nearing an end. The official compared what was happening to a 100-meter race, noting that there were still 30 meters left. However, he could not say exactly when the conflict would end. (Reuters)

* US Defense Secretary visits Ukraine : On November 20, Mr. Lloyd Austin unexpectedly arrived in Kiev. The Pentagon stated that the Secretary of Defense "arrived in Ukraine today to meet with leaders and reinforce the United States' consistent support for Ukraine's struggle for freedom." (AFP)

* Israel and Hamas deny information about ceasefire from noon on November 20 : On November 20, a high-ranking source from Israel and a high-ranking member of Hamas denied previous information speculating about a ceasefire from 11:00 am on November 20 (local time).

A day earlier, the news site al - Ghad (Jordan) quoted a Hamas source as revealing that the two sides had reached a five-day ceasefire starting at 11:00 a.m. on November 20. Specifically, this force will release 50 hostages in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

However, a senior Israeli source confirmed that “there is nothing at the moment.” Meanwhile, senior Hamas member Izzat al-Risheq also stated on November 20: “The media reports, allegedly quoting Hamas, about an exchange agreement starting today are not true.” (Jerusalem Post)

* IDF neutralizes more Hamas commanders: On November 20, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had intensified operations across the Gaza Strip and killed three more Hamas division commanders. Israeli ground and air forces continued to destroy many Hamas infrastructures, including tunnels. The IDF neutralized a group of Palestinian militants hiding in a warehouse with many weapons.

The IDF also announced two more soldiers killed in fighting with Hamas. Since the conflict broke out on October 7, a total of 387 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including 65 since the IDF landed in the Gaza Strip. (Times of Israel)

* IDF maintains a 4-hour daily ceasefire in the Gaza Strip : On November 20, writing on social network X , Israeli military (IDF) spokesman Avihai Edri stated: "Today (November 20), the army (Israel) temporarily ceases fighting to serve humanitarian purposes in the area west of Rafah from 10:00 to 14:00 local time (15:00-19:00 the same day Hanoi time)". According to him, the humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the vicinity of Daraj-Tuffah, Jabalia and Shujaiya, Gaza City will operate until 14:00 GMT (21:00 Hanoi time). This corridor stretches from Salah al-Din Street to the southern Gaza Strip.

Previously, from November 12, the IDF began implementing a four-hour ceasefire in various areas of the Gaza Strip. On November 19, the IDF announced a four-hour ceasefire in the Rafah refugee camp area. On November 18, fighting was halted for four hours in the Al-Shabura refugee camp in the same area. (TASS)

* Palestinian Authority: Israel caused casualties at music festival: On November 19, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry denied that Hamas was responsible for the deaths of 350 people attending the Re'im music festival on October 7. The PA cited Israel's Hanniball Directive, which allows soldiers to shoot and kill suspected kidnappers even if there is a risk of harming the hostages. They said that the directive allowed "Israeli police and military to cause casualties to everyone."

However, the IDF rescinded this directive in 2016. According to a preliminary investigation by the Israeli police, when Hamas gunmen stormed the music festival, several police patrol helicopters detected them and opened fire to stop them. However, due to confusion, the fire from the IDF helicopters killed 17 festivalgoers.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the statement as “absurd” and “completely reversing the facts.” On the same day, a spokesman for the US National Security Council said the PA had “disrespected the family of the person killed in the Hamas attack on October 7. We see that the PA has deleted the statement and are pleased that the PA has clarified that this is not their position.” (Reuters)

* Russia evacuates more than 500 citizens from Gaza Strip : On November 19, the Russian Foreign Ministry website reported that 558 Russian citizens have been evacuated. Of these, 408 were transported from Egypt to Russia by the Ministry of Emergency Situations aircraft. The Russian Foreign Ministry also assessed that the situation at the Rafah border crossing is very difficult. Therefore, the evacuation is being carried out in stages.

Earlier, a special plane of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations landed at Domodedovo Airport, Moscow carrying 120 Russians evacuated from the Gaza Strip. The flight was accompanied by doctors and psychologists of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. (TTXVN)

* Chinese and French leaders discuss Hamas-Israel conflict : On November 20, according to China Central Television ( CCTV ), President Xi Jinping had a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron about the Hamas-Israel conflict. The two sides agreed to promote a solution to "avoid a worsening humanitarian crisis". Exchanging views on the Hamas-Israel conflict, the two sides said that the top priority is to avoid worsening the current situation, especially avoiding a worsening humanitarian crisis. (CCTV)

Southeast Asia

* Philippines pushes for code of conduct to keep peace in South China Sea : Speaking at a forum in Hawaii (USA) broadcast live in the Philippines on November 20, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned that tensions in the South China Sea require Manila to cooperate with its allies and neighbors to maintain peace in the region, including establishing rules of conduct when the situation becomes “more serious”. According to this leader, the current priority is to maintain order and have unified rules to follow. The Philippines has approached other Southeast Asian countries with territorial disputes “to have their own codes of conduct”. (Reuters)

Northeast Asia

* China reaffirms support for new BRICS members : On November 20, China reaffirmed its support for new BRICS members, despite some statements from Argentina. Speaking at a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning affirmed: "What I want to say is that the BRICS cooperation mechanism serves as an important platform for emerging markets and developing countries to strengthen solidarity, cooperation and maintain common interests. BRICS is also an open platform and we welcome any country interested in becoming a member of the BRICS family."

Earlier, RIA (Russia) quoted Diana Mondino, an economist who is expected to become the new Foreign Minister in the Argentine government of President-elect Javier Milei of Argentina, as saying that Buenos Aires will not join BRICS. Previously, Argentina was among six countries invited to join BRICS at the summit in South Africa last August. This is part of the group's efforts to reform the Western-dominated world order that they consider outdated.

Mr Milei, a right-wing libertarian politician who has been a fierce critic of China and the BRICS group, was elected Argentina’s new president on November 19. Both he and Ms Mondino have opposed Argentina’s inclusion in BRICS. (Reuters)

* Russian leader will mention the "unstable" world situation at G20 : On November 20, the Kremlin said that in his speech at the upcoming online summit of the Group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies (G20), Russian President Vladimir Putin will clearly state his views on the "unstable world situation".

Writing on Telegram on November 19, Russian state television presenter Pavel Zarubin stressed that this would be “the first event in a long time” involving both President Putin and Western leaders.

According to RIA , the summit will be held on November 22. (Reuters)

* NATO supports Bosnia's territorial integrity : On November 20, speaking in Sarajevo (Bosnia), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "NATO fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina... We are concerned about separatist figures and divisive statements, as well as malicious interference from foreign countries, including Russia... These actions risk undermining stability and hindering reform.... All political leaders must strive to maintain unity, build national institutions and achieve reconciliation."

“NATO has been committed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for many years. The security of your country is important for the Western Balkans and for Europe,” he stressed. Regarding efforts by the Serbian and Russian leaders to prevent Bosnia from joining NATO, Stoltenberg said these actions must end. “Every country has the right to choose its own security arrangements without foreign interference,” the NATO Secretary General asserted.

Sarajevo is the first stop on his tour of the Western Balkan countries and territories: Bosnia, Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia. (AP)

* Slovakia extends border controls with Hungary : On November 20, Bratislava decided to maintain temporary controls in the border area with Hungary until December 23 to prevent the return of illegal immigration.

The country had previously imposed border controls on October 5, after neighboring Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria tightened their borders with Slovakia. According to a statement accompanying the measure approved by the government on November 20, Bratislava had recorded an increase in the number of illegal migrants detained from the beginning of 2023 to November 12 by more than 500% compared to the same period last year. As of November 12, the number of detentions had dropped to 29 per week, compared to 1,690 in the first week after the border controls were introduced.

“It can be concluded that the package of internal border control measures, together with similar measures in neighbouring countries, is of a preventive nature,” the Slovakian Interior Ministry said. (Reuters)

* Russia wants to maintain relations with Argentina : On November 20, speaking by phone with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated: "We noted some statements that Mr. Milei made during the election campaign, but we will focus and evaluate mainly on the statements he made after the inauguration. We support the direction of developing relations with Argentina."

Previously, on November 19, Mr. Milei was elected President of Argentina when he won nearly 56% of the vote in the second round of the presidential election. During the previous election campaign, the right-wing politician had disagreed with the policies of Russia, China and Brazil. He had supported the Ukrainian government in the conflict with Russia and declared that the US and Israel were Argentina's main partners.

In contrast, Argentina’s government, led by current President Alberto Fernández, has maintained close ties with Russia. Buenos Aires has imported the Sputnik V vaccine and is pushing to join BRICS. (Reuters)

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