WASHINGTON, APR 14 – U.S. President Joe Biden emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions, the White House said.

Biden expressed concern about Russia’s military buildup in the Crimea region of Ukraine and on Ukraine’s border, the White House said in a statement.

It said Biden also made clear that the United States will act “firmly” to defend its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference. Biden also proposed holding a summit with Putin in a third country in coming months.

ANKARA, APR 14 – Reciprocal visits with Egypt might take place in the new period Turkey and Egypt are entering, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated Tuesday.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting, Çavuşoğlu stated that a meeting on the level of deputy ministers is planned while there are currently no plans yet to appoint mutual ambassadors.

The relations between Turkey and Egypt deteriorated after Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi toppled the country’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in a coup after only a year in office.

Ankara has maintained its position that a democratically elected president cannot be deposed by a military coup and thus, has voiced its criticism of el-Sissi and his backers, including the West and some of Ankara’s rivals in the Gulf region. The Egyptian government, on the other hand, urged Turkey not to intervene in an issue that it considers as belonging to the country’s internal affairs. The dispute led to bilateral relations remaining deadlocked for many years.

Recently, however, signs of a possible reconciliation have come from both countries, particularly due to the changing dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Turkey-Greece crisis over the region’s energy resources.

Most recently, Çavuşoğlu and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry spoke by phone Saturday, their first direct contact since a push by Ankara to improve strained ties between the regional powerhouses.

The two ministers exchanged good wishes for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the ministry added but gave no further details.

Another significant issue straining relations between Cairo and Ankara was the Eastern Mediterranean conflict. In November 2019, Turkey and Libya signed a maritime delimitation deal that provided a legal framework to prevent any fait accompli by regional states. The agreement also confirmed that Turkey and Libya are maritime neighbors. The delimitation starts from Fethiye-Marmaris-Kaş on Turkey’s southwestern coast and extends to the Derna-Tobruk-Bordia coastline of Libya.

In response, Egypt and Greece signed an agreement in August 2020, designating an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Eastern Mediterranean between the two countries.

Ankara stated however that Turkey may negotiate a maritime demarcation agreement with Egypt in the Eastern Mediterranean, depending on the condition of bilateral ties.

‘NO POLITICAL MOTIVE BEHIND RUSSIAN FLIGHT SUSPENSION’

Çavuşoğlu also touched upon Moscow’s recent statement saying it was suspending most air travel with Turkey, a popular destination for millions of Russian tourists, citing rising coronavirus infections in a move that comes amid growing political tensions over Ankara’s support for Ukraine.

Most charter and regular flights to and from Turkey will be restricted from April 15 to June 1, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said Monday.

Still, two flights per week will continue between Moscow and Istanbul, Golikova told a televised briefing.

Yet, Turkey’s top diplomat stated there was no political motive behind Moscow’s move and was rather related only to health concerns.

He added that tourism will be surely affected by this decision, “the Russians wants to come but the decision was taken due to health issues.”

Special Correspondent

ISLAMABAD: The first Virtual Summit between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was held on Wednesday. During the wide-ranging talks, views were exchanged on bilateral, regional and international issues.

The two sides highlighted the depth of Pakistan-Uzbekistan relations rooted in common faith, shared history and cultural affinities. They also reiterated their determination to maintain momentum of high-level exchanges and further enhance the upward trajectory of the relationship.

The two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations — with particular focus on political, trade, security and defence, educational and cultural domains. They also agreed to encourage more people-to-people contacts including through spiritual (ziyarat) tourism.

Prime Minister Imran Khan underlined the importance of enhancing political and diplomatic linkages, fast tracking trade and economic cooperation, ensuring early finalization of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Transit Trade Agreement (TTA), increasing security and defence cooperation, and taking steps to deepen mutual collaboration in the fields of education, culture and tourism.

The Prime Minister also underscored the importance of rail, road and air connectivity and highlighted the enormous potential that exists in diverse fields to build an expanded mutually-beneficial partnership.

The Prime Minister highlighted Pakistan’s economic security paradigm and the shifting focus to geo-economics. He stressed that Central Asia was a region of particular focus in this vision.

The level of progress on the Trans-Afghan Railway Line Project, agreed between Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan earlier this year, was reviewed. The project would be a first step in linking the Central Asian transport network with Pakistani seaports of Gwadar, Karachi and Qasim. Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that, once completed, the initiative would transform the geo-economic dynamics of the entire regime.

The two leaders also discussed important global and regional matters of mutual interest, and reaffirmed the commitment to continue supporting each other at all international and regional fora, including the UN, OIC, SCO and ECO.

Prime Minister Imran Khan apprised on the latest situation in IIOJK, shared Pakistan’s perspective on issues of peace and security in South Asia, and underlined the imperative of peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

The Prime Minister also highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate the Afghan peace process for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. He stressed that this historic opportunity must be seized by the Afghan parties to achieve an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive negotiated political settlement.

The Prime Minister also underscored the importance of countering Islamophobia and promoting inter-faith harmony. 

Following Agreements/MoUs were signed on the eve of the Virtual Summit:

i.          MoU for Developing Further Cooperation in the Field of Agriculture.

ii.         Agreement on Mutual Recognition in the Fields of Conformity Assessment of Products, Standardization, Metrology and Technical Assistance.

iii.        MoU on Defence Cooperation.

President Mirziyoyev reiterated his invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the high-level International Conference on regional connectivity, to be held in Tashkent in July 2021. Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked President Mirziyoyev and reiterated his invitation to him to visit Pakistan at the earliest convenience.

The two leaders expressed confidence that the understandings reached during the Virtual Summit will further deepen bilateral cooperation and contribute towards forging a stronger, multi-dimensional relationship between the two countries. It was agreed to continue the Summit-level political dialogue in future.

A Joint Declaration was adopted at the conclusion of the Summit.

RAWALPINDI, APR 14 (DNA) – General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken had a telephone conversation.

During the meeting matters of mutual interest, regional security situation including latest developments in Afghan Peace Process and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed.

COAS said that Pakistan will always support “Afghan led-Afghan Owned” Peace Process based on mutual consensus of all stakeholders.

The US dignitary also acknowledged Pakistan’s continuous efforts for peace and stability in the region and pledged to further enhance bilateral relations between both countries.