rferl--2020-02-04--Lukashenka Says Possible Talks With Putin Will Be 'Moment Of Truth'

DOBRUSH , Belarus -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to discuss ongoing disagreements over tariffs for Russian oil .
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on February 4 an earlier statement by the Belarusian leader that the two heads of state will gather in Moscow in three days ' time .
The meeting comes at a crucial time in relations between the two countries .
Lukashenka has accused Moscow of pressuring his country to merge with Russia , something the Belarus leader has vowed to not let happen .
On February 1 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talks with Lukashenka in Minsk , at which the U.S. diplomat said that Washington is seeking closer ties with Minsk , though Belarus does n't need to choose between the two superpowers .
`` We want fair , clear , and transparent ties [ with Russia ] .
If they do n't want them , then should tell us .
And do n't cry 'Oh , Pompeo came , tomorrow [ U.S. President Donald ] Trump will come !
And what will [ Minsk ] do next ? ''
Lukashenka said on February @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the southeastern city of Dobrush .
In addition , Russia 's dominance over Belarus , which is heavily reliant on Moscow for cheap oil and billions in annual subsidies to prop up its Soviet-era economy , has exacerbated tensions between the two and sparked protests on the streets of Minsk .
Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement in 1999 to form a unified state , but little progress has been made in the ensuing two decades .
Belarus was a Soviet republic until the Soviet Union 's collapse in 1991 .
Meetings between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bring the two sides together as the Belarusian president noted he was merely seeking `` equal '' terms .
Belarus was hit by rare public demonstrations in December , with protesters expressing anger over the perceived secrecy of the talks and objecting to closer ties to Russia .
The Kremlin , in defending higher energy prices and lower subsidies for Belarus , argues that Minsk should accept greater economic integration if it wants to continue receiving energy resources at Russia 's domestic prices .
`` I will directly tell him [ Putin ] @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has come ... .
If you have promised to bring the [ oil ] prices to the level of domestic ones like in Russia , then do so .
Why are you deceiving us ? ''
Lukashenka said on February 4 .
When meeting with Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey , Pompeo said U.S. `` energy producers stand ready to deliver 100 percent of the oil you need at competitive prices . ''

DOBRUSH, Belarus -- Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to discuss ongoing disagreements over tariffs for Russian oil.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on February 4 an earlier statement by the Belarusian leader that the two heads of state will gather in Moscow in three days' time.
The meeting comes at a crucial time in relations between the two countries.
Lukashenka has accused Moscow of pressuring his country to merge with Russia, something the Belarus leader has vowed to not let happen.
On February 1, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks with Lukashenka in Minsk, at which the U.S. diplomat said that Washington is seeking closer ties with Minsk, though Belarus doesn't need to choose between the two superpowers.
"We want fair, clear, and transparent ties [with Russia]. If they don't want them, then should tell us. And don't cry 'Oh, Pompeo came, tomorrow [U.S. President Donald] Trump will come! And what will [Minsk] do next?" Lukashenka said on February 4 while visiting an industrial facility in the southeastern city of Dobrush.
In addition, Russia's dominance over Belarus, which is heavily reliant on Moscow for cheap oil and billions in annual subsidies to prop up its Soviet-era economy, has exacerbated tensions between the two and sparked protests on the streets of Minsk.
Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement in 1999 to form a unified state, but little progress has been made in the ensuing two decades. Belarus was a Soviet republic until the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991.
Meetings between Lukashenka and Putin last year failed to bring the two sides together as the Belarusian president noted he was merely seeking "equal" terms.
Belarus was hit by rare public demonstrations in December, with protesters expressing anger over the perceived secrecy of the talks and objecting to closer ties to Russia.
The Kremlin, in defending higher energy prices and lower subsidies for Belarus, argues that Minsk should accept greater economic integration if it wants to continue receiving energy resources at Russia's domestic prices.
"I will directly tell him [Putin] that some sort of moment of truth has come.... If you have promised to bring the [oil] prices to the level of domestic ones like in Russia, then do so. Why are you deceiving us?" Lukashenka said on February 4.
When meeting with Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey, Pompeo said U.S. "energy producers stand ready to deliver 100 percent of the oil you need at competitive prices."
With reporting by BelTA


rferl--2020-02-04--Georgian Opposition Postpones Rally In Tbilisi Over Deadly Fire

TBILISI -- Georgian opposition groups have postponed a rally in the capital , Tbilisi , due to a deadly fire in the central town of Baghdati that claimed six lives , including four children , a pregnant woman , and an elderly female .
Gigi Ugulava , a leader of the European Georgia party , confirmed the rally scheduled for February 4 in front of the parliament has been postponed and expressed condolences to friends and relatives of the deceased .
He also called on lawmakers to postpone their session due to the tragedy .
`` In the wake of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , we all need time to mourn , to commemorate , to contemplate , and postpone our ambitions .
I would like to call the current parliament to move today 's session to another day , '' Ugulava said .
Parliament opened its session on February 4 with an expression of condolences to the relatives of the fire victims .
The head of the parliamentary committee for human rights , Sopio Kiladze , said that despite the tragedy , parliament `` had to follow the requirements of the constitution . ''
`` Under @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open the session on the first Tuesday of February , '' Kiladze said .
Georgian opposition parties have complained that the country 's electoral system unfairly favors the ruling Georgian Dream party .
Several mass protests were held in Tbilisi over the summer , which were violently dispersed by police .
Changing the electoral system to a proportional one from 2020 was one of the demands of the thousands of demonstrators who rallied for weeks in Tbilisi in June and July .
The United States and the European Union have called on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ civil society to engage in a `` calm and respectful dialogue . ''
U.S. lawmakers recently expressed their frustration over what they call `` backsliding '' on Georgia ’ s commitments to build democratic institutions in the country , a development that could potentially result in the United States reducing support to the Caucasus nation .
In a letter to Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia that was released on January 29 , Senator Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen wrote that they were `` increasingly concerned '' about the state of democracy and governance in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , while Shaheen is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation .
That letter followed on the heels of a similar warning from Republican Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Michael McCaul and Democrats Gerald Connolly and Eliot Engel , who wrote a letter to Georgian officials dated January 21 that said it was `` unacceptable '' that the ruling Georgian Dream party had funded `` an extensive network of accounts '' on Facebook , `` apparently spreading antidemocratic , anti-Western sentiments '' just a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Minister David Zalkaliani is currently in Washington on an official visit .

TBILISI -- Georgian opposition groups have postponed a rally in the capital, Tbilisi, due to a deadly fire in the central town of Baghdati that claimed six lives, including four children, a pregnant woman, and an elderly female.
Gigi Ugulava, a leader of the European Georgia party, confirmed the rally scheduled for February 4 in front of the parliament has been postponed and expressed condolences to friends and relatives of the deceased. He also called on lawmakers to postpone their session due to the tragedy.
"In the wake of a dramatic tragedy of such a scale, we all need time to mourn, to commemorate, to contemplate, and postpone our ambitions. I would like to call the current parliament to move today's session to another day," Ugulava said.
Parliament opened its session on February 4 with an expression of condolences to the relatives of the fire victims.
The head of the parliamentary committee for human rights, Sopio Kiladze, said that despite the tragedy, parliament "had to follow the requirements of the constitution."
"Under the constitution, we are obliged to open the session on the first Tuesday of February," Kiladze said.
Georgian opposition parties have complained that the country's electoral system unfairly favors the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Several mass protests were held in Tbilisi over the summer, which were violently dispersed by police.
Changing the electoral system to a proportional one from 2020 was one of the demands of the thousands of demonstrators who rallied for weeks in Tbilisi in June and July.
The United States and the European Union have called on the Georgian government, political parties, and civil society to engage in a "calm and respectful dialogue."
U.S. lawmakers recently expressed their frustration over what they call "backsliding" on Georgia’s commitments to build democratic institutions in the country, a development that could potentially result in the United States reducing support to the Caucasus nation.
In a letter to Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia that was released on January 29, Senator Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen wrote that they were "increasingly concerned" about the state of democracy and governance in the country.
Risch is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, while Shaheen is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation.
That letter followed on the heels of a similar warning from Republican Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Michael McCaul and Democrats Gerald Connolly and Eliot Engel, who wrote a letter to Georgian officials dated January 21 that said it was "unacceptable" that the ruling Georgian Dream party had funded "an extensive network of accounts" on Facebook, "apparently spreading antidemocratic, anti-Western sentiments" just a year before parliamentary elections.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani is currently in Washington on an official visit.


rferl--2020-02-04--Turkmen Leader Dedicates $1.5 Billion To Build New City

Turkmenistan 's authoritarian leader , Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov , has ordered the government to allocate $ 1.5 billion to buy equipment and materials from foreign nations to build a new city from scratch .
The gas-rich Central Asian nation 's state-run media said on February 3 that the president signed a decree allocating the funds towards the import of construction materials , equipment , and other items needed for the new city .
The city , which has yet to be named , will be a new capital of the south-central region of Ahal , which has been governed since June @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Berdymukhammedov .
The leader 's only son is considered by some observers as a possible successor .
The move comes amid the government 's policy of limiting imports against a backdrop of foreign currency shortages and depressed energy prices .
Berdymukhammedov , 62 , has run the former Soviet republic since 2006 , tolerating no dissent and becoming the center of an elaborate personality cult .
Turkmens often refer to him as Arkadag ( The Protector ) .
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov .
Like his late predecessor , Berdymukhammedov has relied on subsidized prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on power .
With reporting by Altyn Asyr and Reuters

Turkmenistan's authoritarian leader, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, has ordered the government to allocate $1.5 billion to buy equipment and materials from foreign nations to build a new city from scratch.
The gas-rich Central Asian nation's state-run media said on February 3 that the president signed a decree allocating the funds towards the import of construction materials, equipment, and other items needed for the new city.
The city, which has yet to be named, will be a new capital of the south-central region of Ahal, which has been governed since June by Berdymukhammedov's 38-year-old son, Serdar Berdymukhammedov. The leader's only son is considered by some observers as a possible successor.
The move comes amid the government's policy of limiting imports against a backdrop of foreign currency shortages and depressed energy prices.
Berdymukhammedov, 62, has run the former Soviet republic since 2006, tolerating no dissent and becoming the center of an elaborate personality cult. Turkmens often refer to him as Arkadag (The Protector).
Government critics and human rights groups say Berdymukhammedov has suppressed dissent and made few changes in the secretive country since he came to power after the death of autocrat Saparmurat Niyazov.
Like his late predecessor, Berdymukhammedov has relied on subsidized prices for basic goods and utilities to help maintain his grip on power.
With reporting by Altyn Asyr and Reuters


rferl--2020-02-04--Chechen Blogger Known For Criticizing Kadyrov Reportedly Murdered In France

Chechen blogger Imran Aliyev , known for his criticism of the Kremlin-backed leader of the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya , Ramzan Kadyrov , has been found dead with multiple stab wounds in a hotel in France , according to reports .
AFP quoted unnamed sources close to the investigation late on February 3 as saying that the 44-year-old blogger , who resided in Belgium and was known online as Mansur Stary ( Old Mansur ) , was found dead on January 30 in his hotel room in the northern city of Lille .
According to the source , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with another man , `` who presumably had the same nationality . ''
The prosecutor 's office in Lille said no one had been detained so far in the investigation but declined to provide further details , according to AFP .
On January 30 , a local newspaper , La Voix du Nord , reported that a man 's body was found with multiple stab wounds in a hotel in Lille .
The report did not identify the man .
The Chechenskiye Novosti ( Chechen News ) account on Telegram on February 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citing relatives and friends of the deceased .
It is not the first time that a critic of Kadyrov has been killed in Europe .
In August 2019 , a former Chechen separatist fighter , Georgian native Zelimkhan Khangoshvili , was shot dead in Berlin .
A 49-year-old man with a Russian passport has been detained in connection with the killing .
The suspect , also implicated in the murder of a Russian businessman in 2013 , has maintained his right to keep silent .
Berlin expelled two Russian diplomats over the apparent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allegations of state involvement .
Rights groups say Kadyrov , who has ruled the volatile region since 2007 , uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region .
They claim Kadyrov is ultimately responsible for the violence and intimidation of political opponents by Chechen authorities , including kidnappings , forced disappearances , torture , and extra-judicial killings .
Kremlin critics say Putin has turned a blind eye to the alleged abuses and violations of the Russian Constitution by Kadyrov because he relies on the former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violence in Chechnya , the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other mostly Muslim regions in the North Caucasus .
With reporting by AFP , La Voix Du Nord , and RFE/RL 's North Caucasus Service

Chechen blogger Imran Aliyev, known for his criticism of the Kremlin-backed leader of the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has been found dead with multiple stab wounds in a hotel in France, according to reports.
AFP quoted unnamed sources close to the investigation late on February 3 as saying that the 44-year-old blogger, who resided in Belgium and was known online as Mansur Stary (Old Mansur), was found dead on January 30 in his hotel room in the northern city of Lille.
According to the source, Aliyev arrived from Belgium a day earlier with another man, "who presumably had the same nationality."
The prosecutor's office in Lille said no one had been detained so far in the investigation but declined to provide further details, according to AFP.
On January 30, a local newspaper, La Voix du Nord, reported that a man's body was found with multiple stab wounds in a hotel in Lille. The report did not identify the man.
The Chechenskiye Novosti (Chechen News) account on Telegram on February 1, identified the man as Aliyev, citing relatives and friends of the deceased.
It is not the first time that a critic of Kadyrov has been killed in Europe.
In August 2019, a former Chechen separatist fighter, Georgian native Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, was shot dead in Berlin.
A 49-year-old man with a Russian passport has been detained in connection with the killing. The suspect, also implicated in the murder of a Russian businessman in 2013, has maintained his right to keep silent.
Berlin expelled two Russian diplomats over the apparent assassination, but Moscow has rejected the allegations of state involvement.
Rights groups say Kadyrov, who has ruled the volatile region since 2007, uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region. They claim Kadyrov is ultimately responsible for the violence and intimidation of political opponents by Chechen authorities, including kidnappings, forced disappearances, torture, and extra-judicial killings.
Kremlin critics say Putin has turned a blind eye to the alleged abuses and violations of the Russian Constitution by Kadyrov because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiments and violence in Chechnya, the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other mostly Muslim regions in the North Caucasus.
With reporting by AFP, La Voix Du Nord, and RFE/RL's North Caucasus Service


rferl--2020-02-04--One Person In Iran Sentenced To Death, Two Others To Prison For Spying For CIA

One person was sentenced to death and two more people were sentenced to lengthy prison terms for spying for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency , a spokesman for Iran 's judiciary said on February 4 .
Iran 's Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence for Amir Rahimpour for spying and attempting to pass information about Iran 's nuclear program to the United States , Gholamhossein Esmaili said , adding that the sentence will be carried out soon .
“ While being in touch with the spy agency , he earned a lot of money as wages as he tried @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s nuclear program to the American agency , ” state-run IRNA news agency quoted Esmaili as saying .
Rahimpour “ had been identified and prosecuted and sentenced to death and recently , the country ’ s National Supreme Court confirmed the sentence and , God willing , he will be punished soon.
” Esmaili did not elaborate on what Rahimpour was accused of doing , and did not give his age or background .
The CIA did not immediately comment .
Two other people working for a charity have been sentenced to prison @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CIA and acting against Iran 's national security , Esmaili said , adding that they each received 15-year prison sentences -- 10 years for spying and five years for acting against national security charges .
`` Two ... CIA spies who were working under the cover of an organization and charitable foundation have been identified , tried and sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying and five years in prison for acting against national security , '' he said .
The names of the individuals would not be released yet because the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Iran has sentenced alleged U.S. and Israeli spies to death before .
The last purported spy executed was Shahram Amiri , who defected to the United States at the height of Western efforts to thwart Iran ’ s nuclear program but returned in 2010 , being initially welcomed by the government .
However , he was hanged in August 2016 , one year after Iran agreed to a landmark agreement with world powers to limit uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions .
U.S. President Donald Trump 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the reintroduction of harsh economic sanctions have heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington .
A U.S. drone strike last month killed top military commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad , prompting Tehran to launch a retaliatory ballistic missile strike on Iraqi bases housing American troops .
With reporting by Reuters and AP

A polytechnic school in Russia’s Tatarstan, a region some 900 kilometers east of Moscow, is using manufacturing facilities that are part of a nearby special economic zone to assemble Iranian attack drones and are increasingly turning to underage students as laborers, many of whom often work in exploitative conditions.
The revelations at Alabuga Polytechnic University raise troubling implications about the lengths that Russian authorities are going to in order to boost the war effort and how the advanced Iranian weaponry -- which is increasingly used to bombard Ukrainian cities and has only recently begun to be manufactured inside Russia -- could contribute to escalating tensions and rising civilian casualties.
The use of underage students as drone factory workers and the details of the manufacturing facilities were first reported by Russian independent media outlets Protokol and Razvorot, which published a series of investigations in July.
Since then, RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities has spoken with students who describe grueling working conditions and interviewed dozens of parents whose children have been enrolled at Alabuga Polytechnic University -- some as young at 15 -- who say that their children were forced to work exceedingly long hours, often without proper breaks or meals, and under hostile conditions that have deeply affected their mental health.
“My son enrolled and 2 1/2 months later he called for me to take him away,” Zhanna, who asked to be identified only by her first name to protect against reprisals for speaking about the operation, told RFE/RL. “He said to me on the phone, ‘Come and get me or I’ll die,’ so I picked him up immediately.”
Zhanna, who asked that her underage son’s name also not be used, says that she sent him from Nizhny Novgorod to study at Alabuga Polytechnic University in 2022 because of its reputation as a leading technical institution inside Russia.
The school offered students -- often between the ages of 15-18 -- an opportunity to get vocational training as part of a dual program that combines a classroom education with practical work experience. Students were also promised an opportunity to work and earn a locally competitive salary of up to 70,000 rubles ($700) a month as part of the work experience program that could further their career growth.
Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.
But, instead, those enrolled were encouraged and in some cases pressured into working at the drone facility, where the salaries of the mostly underage laborers are contingent on meeting tough production quotas.
“This is a textbook definition of what constitutes exploitation,” Sergei Podsytnik, an investigative journalist at Protokol who worked on the series of reports, told RFE/RL. “[Students] assemble drones, with the work taking priority over their studies.”
The pressure to fulfill these quotas has allegedly led to strenuous back-to-back days -- with some shifts lasting up to 15 hours -- with little time for sleep or adequate sustenance. Overtime work is often unpaid, further highlighting potential labor violations. Exhausted students also reported not always meeting their quotas, which led to them not earning the salary initially promised by the school. Many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds and relied on their earnings to cover costs for tuition, room, and board and would send the remainder home.
Other parents, such as Marina, said she decided to take her daughter out of the program when she discovered that she was working in apparent unsafe conditions and that staff from the school had instructed students not to tell their parents about the drone assembly work.
“This was the last straw for me,” Marina, who also asked for her identity to be concealed, told RFE/RL. “This is a dangerous production process that involves dangerous chemicals. They also forbid the kids from telling everything to their parents.”
RFE/RL sent multiple requests for comment to various staff and administrators at Alabuga Polytechnic University but received no replies.
Making Iranian Drones In Russia
The complicated and concerning dynamic at Alabuga Polytechnic University stems from growing military cooperation between Iran and Russia that has accelerated since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war, but not since. However, U.S. intelligence officials have warned for months of continued deliveries and deepening cooperation between Moscow and Tehran, saying the two sides were exploring how to set up a manufacturing plant for Iranian drones inside Russia.
According to The Wall Street Journal, an Iranian delegation visited Yelabuga in Tatarstan on January 5, touring a potential site for such a factory at the Alabuga special economic zone close to Alabuga Polytechnic University. U.S. officials released satellite images in April of the plant being built.
Russia already possesses an array of unarmed aerial vehicles, or UAVs, which are used mainly for surveillance and artillery spotting, but has turned increasingly to Tehran for attack drones.
After being forced to abandon Ukrainian territory that its troops captured in the early stretches of the war, Moscow shifted to a strategy of relentless air assaults on Ukrainian cities. These attacks often rely on a combination of cruise missiles and self-detonating drones packed with explosives to knock out electricity and running water for the civilian population in Ukraine.
So far, Iran has provided Russia mostly with so-called "suicide" drones, known as the Shahed-136, that contain a modest amount of explosives that can detonate when the drones crash into targets, military experts say.
In acquiring its own domestic assembly line, Russia could dramatically increase its stockpile of the relatively inexpensive but highly destructive weapons systems.
WATCH: Russia has resorted to using Shahed-136 drones from Iran in its war on Ukraine. Ukraine says it's already downed many of the drones, which work by slamming into their intended target, laden with explosives. Ordinary Ukrainians say they can already recognize the sound of the drones, which use two-stroke engines like lawnmowers or motorbikes. Iran has denied supplying the drones to Russia.
The arrangement also offers substantial economic and political benefits for Iran, which has sought to portray itself as neutral in the Ukraine war. The appearance of Iranian-made drones over Ukrainian cities, however, has triggered threats of new economic sanctions from the West. The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have also all issued rules in recent months designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.
The Washington Post reported in November 2022, citing unnamed U.S. intelligence officials, that the agreement to deliver Iranian drone schematics and materials for manufacture in Russia resulted from Iranian leaders believing that the arrangement would allow Tehran to avert new sanctions.
Foreign Recruitment And Patriotic Education
Alabuga Polytechnic University is formally not a college. All of its students are officially enrolled at nearby Yelabuga Polytechnic College, with the Alabuga institution existing on paper as a specialized program for students looking to break into high-tech industries.
Currently, about 1,000 students are studying at Alabuga Polytechnic University, with several hundred of them -- most of whom are between the ages of 15 and 17 -- involved in assembling the Iranian drones.
In addition to the work on the drones, there are other signs that point to blurred lines in Russia between the education system and the country’s military amid the war in Ukraine.
According to current and former Alabuga Polytechnic University students, team-building and organized extracurricular activities through the school often take on a “patriotic” character that may be designed to expose students to official government narratives of international events or echo talking points from state television.
Organized paintball games have become a mainstay for students, especially first-year arrivals, in which they are encouraged to compete against one another and then play together against more experienced outside players. Teachers and administration officials regularly refer to paintball as being part of a “patriotic” education needed to complement the technical aspect of their studies.
In one instance, a group of new students competed in paintball as Soviet soldiers against outside players who were dressed as troops from Nazi Germany in a capture-the-flag competition meant to simulate the World War II battle of Stalingrad. According to one student, the Nazi flag contained the compass symbol used by the NATO military alliance instead of the swastika used by Nazi Germany.
Other instances of political teachings from staff are more direct. In a recording obtained by RFE/RL from June 16, a senior administrator can be heard telling the teenagers that NATO launched a hybrid war against Russia back in 2011 and that it has slowly become more overt. The man then goes on to tell students that their hard work and exceeding long days at the drone factory are part of a nationwide struggle against the West and that their patriotism will be rewarded.
Several students and parents identified the man in the recording as Timur Shagivaleev, the director-general of the special economic zone where Alabuga Polytechnic University and the drone factory operate.
Shagivaleev did not respond to RFE/RL’s request for comment.
The man in the recording then goes on to tell students not to take holidays and to continue working “even if it's mom's birthday,” before ending his speech with, “Long live our great country.”
WATCH: Amid a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, analysts in Kyiv are gaining useful intelligence from a collection of downed Russian aerial weapons. They have been studying the remains of Iranian Shahed drones and Russian Kinzhal missiles, among others.
Multiple current and former students told RFE/RL that students who work in the drone factory are often praised by staff, while those who have refused or asked to be reassigned due to the high workload are often publicly shamed. In some instances -- according to recordings heard by RFE/RL -- staff even encourage students to bully others who are not deemed “patriotic” enough.
According to Protokol and Razvorot’s investigations, Alabuga Polytechnic University has also turned toward recruiting foreign students to enroll. The majority of them come from African countries, but also from Central Asia and Azerbaijan, where they are promised “world class” salaries as part of the dual-track world experience program.
However, these foreign students are then given low-skill and menial tasks around the campus and the special economic zone, such as janitorial work, and are also paid lower salaries than initially promised.
Written by Reid Standish based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Idel.Realities


rferl--2020-02-04--Two Iranian Students Heading To Boston Colleges Challenge Removal From U.S.

Two of at least 10 Iranian college students who have been denied entry since August to study in the United States have filed civil rights complaints with the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) , saying they were wrongfully deported and mistreated by federal officials at Boston ’ s Logan International Airport .
Separate complaints were filed with requests for the agency to investigate the conduct of Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ) officials who the two said illegally denied them entry into the country .
The plaintiffs are Shahab Dehghani , a student at Northeastern University , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been scheduled to start classes at Harvard University .
Arandi , 35 , said in her complaint filed on January 30 that she was detained on September 18 and questioned for nearly eight hours about her life and viewpoints , including recent events in the Middle East .
Dehghani ’ s lawyers said their client was admitted to the United States three times in recent years to study in Boston .
He was denied entry and deported in January .
Both plaintiffs had valid U.S. visas upon their arrival and said they were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to receiving them .
Federal officials also allegedly ignored an emergency court order temporarily staying Dehghani ’ s removal until the case could be heard in court .
CBP subsequently said it was not aware a court had temporarily blocked the student ’ s removal .
CBP was `` unaware of the issuance of any court order barring the removal of the subject from the United States '' when Dehghani boarded the deportation flight , the agency said in a statement .
Civil rights groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been deliberately subject to extra screenings and interrogations at airports ever since President Donald Trump issued a ban on travelers from several predominantly Muslim countries in 2017 , including Iran .
In January , civil rights groups and public officials in the state of Washington made inquiries over reports that dozens of Iranians and Iranian-Americans were held up and questioned for hours as they returned to the United States from Canada after the winter holidays .
The Washington state branch of the nonprofit Council on American-Islamic Relations said more than 60 Iranians and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to 10 hours or more , questioned about their political views , and had their personal belongings confiscated like passports , car keys , and smartphones at Washington state ’ s border with Canada .
With reporting by CNN and AP


rferl--2020-02-04--One-Third Of Ukrainians Say They Belong To Church Independent Of Moscow

More than one-third ( 34 percent ) of Ukrainians identify with the newly created independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine ( OCU ) , a poll found conducted by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center think tank and published on February 3 .
About 14 percent of the public called themselves faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate ( UOC-MP ) , the survey on the confessional and church affiliation of Ukrainian citizens said .
An additional 8.2 percent said they belong to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church .
More than a quarter of respondents , or 27.6 percent , said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t affiliate with a particular branch of church .
In January , Metropolitan Epifaniy , the head of the OCU , said some 600 parishes in Ukraine aligned with the Moscow patriarchate had in one year switched over to the newly formed church .
The UOC-MP doesn ’ t recognize and opposes the OCU , which was granted independence in January 2019 by the patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul .
The move heralded a historic break from and ended more than 300 years of control by Moscow .
The OCU now registers 7,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dioceses , or ecclesiastical districts .
In addition to the patriarchate of Constantinople , the OCU has been recognized by the Greek Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Alexandria .
The UOC-MP boasts 12,300 registered church communities , a figure that religious experts say is inflated and which in actuality numbers between 9,000 and 10,000 parishes .
The survey was conducted on January 17-21 with a sample size of 2,000 respondents aged 18 and over who were questioned in all the regions of Ukraine except for occupied Crimea and areas of the Donetsk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t control .

More than one-third (34 percent) of Ukrainians identify with the newly created independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), a poll found conducted by the Kyiv-based Razumkov Center think tank and published on February 3.
About 14 percent of the public called themselves faithful to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), the survey on the confessional and church affiliation of Ukrainian citizens said.
An additional 8.2 percent said they belong to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
More than a quarter of respondents, or 27.6 percent, said they were Orthodox Christians but don’t affiliate with a particular branch of church.
In January, Metropolitan Epifaniy, the head of the OCU, said some 600 parishes in Ukraine aligned with the Moscow patriarchate had in one year switched over to the newly formed church.
The UOC-MP doesn’t recognize and opposes the OCU, which was granted independence in January 2019 by the patriarchate of Constantinople in Istanbul.
The move heralded a historic break from and ended more than 300 years of control by Moscow.
The OCU now registers 7,000 parishes, 77 monasteries, and 47 dioceses, or ecclesiastical districts.
In addition to the patriarchate of Constantinople, the OCU has been recognized by the Greek Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
The UOC-MP boasts 12,300 registered church communities, a figure that religious experts say is inflated and which in actuality numbers between 9,000 and 10,000 parishes.
The survey was conducted on January 17-21 with a sample size of 2,000 respondents aged 18 and over who were questioned in all the regions of Ukraine except for occupied Crimea and areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that the government doesn’t control.


rferl--2020-02-04--Russian Firm Seeks To Recover $11 Million Loan From French Far-Right Leader’s Party

An obscure Russian aircraft parts company is suing the political party led by French far-right politician Marine Le Pen to recover a $ 10.8 million that was lent in 2014 to help fund election campaigns in France .
The first hearing in the case is scheduled for June 2 at the Moscow City Court of Arbitration , Russian investigative website Open Media reported on February 3 , citing court records .
Le Pen has made no secret of her sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and visited Moscow for high-level talks numerous times .
She has criticized Western sanctions against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Crimean Peninsula and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine .
The Moscow-based First Czech-Russian Bank issued the loan in September 2014 to Le Pen ’ s National Front party , which has since been renamed National Rally .
The money was sought because French and other European banks had refused to lend money to the political party ahead of the 2017 presidential and parliamentary elections , then-party treasurer Wallerand de Saint Just told RFE/RL .
At the time the loan was given , critics accused the National Front of being used as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its political interests in France .
De Saint Just insisted the deal with the now-defunct Russian bank had “ nothing do with Mr. Putin ’ s politics.
” After the bank lost its license in 2016 , rights to the loan passed for unknown reasons to Konti , another little-known Russian company .
According to Open Media , Konti is registered on the outskirts of Moscow and owns a car rental agency .
It subsequently transferred claiming rights to the loan to Aviazapchast , `` an aviation company involved in high-priority strategic partnerships @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the Syrian Ministry of Defense , '' a report by the U.S.-based German Marshall Fund said in 2018 .
Specifically , it supplies Russian aircraft navigation equipment and spare parts to Asia and Africa , as well as special metals for India ’ s and Syria ’ s aerospace and aviation industries , according to The Moscow Times .
Aviazapchast filed its claim on the loan on December 4 .
The Russian aircraft components company and its sole shareholder , Valery Zakharenkov , allegedly have links to Russian intelligence services , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ German Marshall Fund at the time said the value of the loan to the French party was equivalent to Aviazapchast ’ s pretax profit in 2016 .
Russia 's Justice Ministry blacklisted the U.S. think tank in March 2018 among other foreign and international nongovernmental organizations , `` whose operation has been recognized as undesirable on Russian territory . ''
With reporting by The Moscow Times and Open Media

An obscure Russian aircraft parts company is suing the political party led by French far-right politician Marine Le Pen to recover a $10.8 million that was lent in 2014 to help fund election campaigns in France.
The first hearing in the case is scheduled for June 2 at the Moscow City Court of Arbitration, Russian investigative website Open Media reported on February 3, citing court records.
Le Pen has made no secret of her sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin and visited Moscow for high-level talks numerous times. She has criticized Western sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The Moscow-based First Czech-Russian Bank issued the loan in September 2014 to Le Pen’s National Front party, which has since been renamed National Rally.
The money was sought because French and other European banks had refused to lend money to the political party ahead of the 2017 presidential and parliamentary elections, then-party treasurer Wallerand de Saint Just told RFE/RL.
At the time the loan was given, critics accused the National Front of being used as a vehicle by the Kremlin to lobby its political interests in France.
De Saint Just insisted the deal with the now-defunct Russian bank had “nothing do with Mr. Putin’s politics.”
After the bank lost its license in 2016, rights to the loan passed for unknown reasons to Konti, another little-known Russian company.
According to Open Media, Konti is registered on the outskirts of Moscow and owns a car rental agency.
It subsequently transferred claiming rights to the loan to Aviazapchast, "an aviation company involved in high-priority strategic partnerships for the Russian state, including exports to the Syrian Ministry of Defense," a report by the U.S.-based German Marshall Fund said in 2018.
Specifically, it supplies Russian aircraft navigation equipment and spare parts to Asia and Africa, as well as special metals for India’s and Syria’s aerospace and aviation industries, according to The Moscow Times.
Aviazapchast filed its claim on the loan on December 4.
The Russian aircraft components company and its sole shareholder, Valery Zakharenkov, allegedly have links to Russian intelligence services, the think tank's report said.
The German Marshall Fund at the time said the value of the loan to the French party was equivalent to Aviazapchast’s pretax profit in 2016.
Russia's Justice Ministry blacklisted the U.S. think tank in March 2018 among other foreign and international nongovernmental organizations, "whose operation has been recognized as undesirable on Russian territory."
With reporting by The Moscow Times and Open Media


rferl--2020-02-03--Embattled Owner Of Crimean Safari Park Arrested Amid Case Of Lion Bite

A district court in Russia-controlled Crimea has jailed an embattled safari park owner in connection with his failure to appear for a court proceeding related to a lion biting a park visitor .
The Belohorsk District Court ordered on February 3 that Oleh Zubkov , the owner of the Taigan lion park , should be jailed for two months .
The decision came in part due to concerns that Zubkov would flee abroad , the Crimean press service told the Crimea Desk of RFE/RL 's Ukrainian Service .
The Crimea Desk reported that Zubkov -- who supported Moscow 's illegal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but has since been in conflict with the Russia-installed authorities -- was handcuffed and taken to a police station .
His lawyers have said they are seeking his prompt release .
Zubkov has said he has been called for hundreds of court hearings related to his operation of the park since Russia 's occupation of the peninsula .
He has claimed in the past that he has not been able to draw up documents for his properties , resulting in the closure of the 32-hectare park to visitors in 2015 .
The Taigon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Belohorsk on an abandoned Soviet military base that Zubkov purchased in 2006 , and is touted as the largest breeding ground for lions and other predator animals in Europe .
It boasts approximately 80 lions and 50 tigers , among other animals .
His latest run-in with the courts resulted from a lawsuit stemming from a July 2018 incident in which a lion bit a visitor who was getting a picture taken while on the park 's Walk With The Lions trail .
In April , the Belohorsk District Court banned the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chat with lions without barriers . ''
The victim , Olha Solimina , told Crimea 24 television at the time that the lion `` dragged me like a doll '' and that she had said `` goodbye to life . ''
The next thing she remembered , she was standing and Zubkov was bandaging a bleeding wound , after which she was urgently taken to the park medical station .
`` I asked that the ambulance or police not be called , '' she told the television outlet .
She has since said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could n't calm his animals down right away . ''
Zubkov has acknowledged that a lion bit Solimina , claiming that she was drunk and had ruffled the animal 's mane .
He said he immediately stopped the lion and she was treated by a park doctor for a deep puncture wound to her hand .
An investigation by the consumer-protection agency Rospotrebnadzor did not find any violations , Zubkov told RFE/RL in August .
The Taigon park once attracted 500,000 visitors a year , but has struggled since Russia 's 2014 annexation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ RFE/RL , Zubkov said that he looked back fondly on the days when he -- a Russian -- could live in Crimea under Ukraine and build safari parks .
`` Unfortunately , those days have passed , '' he said .
Zubkov 's jail sentence comes after a public spat with Sergei Aksyonov , the Russia-imposed head of Crimea , that ended in a compromise .
On his VK page on February 3 , Aksyonov said he had `` no right to interfere '' in the court 's activities , but offered `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appear for future court appearance if he were released from jail .

A district court in Russia-controlled Crimea has jailed an embattled safari park owner in connection with his failure to appear for a court proceeding related to a lion biting a park visitor.
The Belohorsk District Court ordered on February 3 that Oleh Zubkov, the owner of the Taigan lion park, should be jailed for two months.
The decision came in part due to concerns that Zubkov would flee abroad, the Crimean press service told the Crimea Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
The Crimea Desk reported that Zubkov -- who supported Moscow's illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but has since been in conflict with the Russia-installed authorities -- was handcuffed and taken to a police station.
His lawyers have said they are seeking his prompt release.
Zubkov has said he has been called for hundreds of court hearings related to his operation of the park since Russia's occupation of the peninsula. He has claimed in the past that he has not been able to draw up documents for his properties, resulting in the closure of the 32-hectare park to visitors in 2015.
The Taigon lion park is situated in the city of Belohorsk on an abandoned Soviet military base that Zubkov purchased in 2006, and is touted as the largest breeding ground for lions and other predator animals in Europe.
It boasts approximately 80 lions and 50 tigers, among other animals.
WATCH: Crimean Safari Park Fights For Survival
His latest run-in with the courts resulted from a lawsuit stemming from a July 2018 incident in which a lion bit a visitor who was getting a picture taken while on the park's Walk With The Lions trail. In April, the Belohorsk District Court banned the trail, which allowed guests to "chat with lions without barriers."
The victim, Olha Solimina, told Crimea 24 television at the time that the lion "dragged me like a doll" and that she had said "goodbye to life." The next thing she remembered, she was standing and Zubkov was bandaging a bleeding wound, after which she was urgently taken to the park medical station.
"I asked that the ambulance or police not be called," she told the television outlet.
She has since said that Zubkov was nearby, but "couldn't calm his animals down right away."
Zubkov has acknowledged that a lion bit Solimina, claiming that she was drunk and had ruffled the animal's mane. He said he immediately stopped the lion and she was treated by a park doctor for a deep puncture wound to her hand.
An investigation by the consumer-protection agency Rospotrebnadzor did not find any violations, Zubkov told RFE/RL in August.
The Taigon park once attracted 500,000 visitors a year, but has struggled since Russia's 2014 annexation. In a 2016 video shot by RFE/RL, Zubkov said that he looked back fondly on the days when he -- a Russian -- could live in Crimea under Ukraine and build safari parks.
"Unfortunately, those days have passed," he said.
Zubkov's jail sentence comes after a public spat with Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-imposed head of Crimea, that ended in a compromise.
On his VK page on February 3, Aksyonov said he had "no right to interfere" in the court's activities, but offered "to personally guarantee" that Zubkov would appear for future court appearance if he were released from jail.


rferl--2020-02-03--Romanian Village Bakes Up A Racism Storm Over Asian Employees

A bakery in a small Romanian village says it will continue to allow a pair of Sri Lankan employees to make bread at its shop in the face of protests from local residents fearing an influx of immigrants .
Katalin Kollo , one of the bakery owners , said on February 3 that she would allow the workers to continue in their positions after initially apologizing to the local residents of Ditrau and pledging to move the two Sri Lankans to other sections of the company which did not involve direct contact with the dough or the final product .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ bakery owners ' hiring of the two Sri Lankans sparked outrage among the mainly ethnic Hungarian community of some 5,500 , with a couple of thousand residents signing a petition calling for measures to stop what they called the “ immigrant inflow . ''
At a town hall meeting over the weekend , the villagers complained about the bakery owners ' treatment of local workers , who they said were forced to work long hours for low wages .
Villagers accused the owner of choosing to bring in cheaper laborers from abroad rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for local workers .
They also voiced fears that the two qualified Sri Lankan bakers were the start of a much larger influx of Asian migrants who would alter the local culture and religion .
One of the two Sri Lankans is a Catholic , as are most of the villagers .
Labor Minister Violeta Alexandru on February 2 told reporters she was deploying labor inspectors to clarify the situation of the two foreign laborers .
Alexandru told Romanian media that she was surprised by the intolerant stance of the locals , `` @ @ @ @ @ @ @ work in large numbers abroad and deserve respect . ''
Millions of Romanians work in European Union countries to help their families at home make ends meet .
An estimated 1,000 residents of Ditrau have also left to find work abroad , mostly in Hungary .
`` We need to be balanced in assessing this situation , '' Alexandru said .
Before Kollo reversed her decision and allowed the two Sri Lankans to continue to make bread , several Romanian companies offered to relocate the employees to their bakeries in other parts of @ @ @

A bakery in a small Romanian village says it will continue to allow a pair of Sri Lankan employees to make bread at its shop in the face of protests from local residents fearing an influx of immigrants.
Katalin Kollo, one of the bakery owners, said on February 3 that she would allow the workers to continue in their positions after initially apologizing to the local residents of Ditrau and pledging to move the two Sri Lankans to other sections of the company which did not involve direct contact with the dough or the final product.
Despite possessing the proper paperwork, the bakery owners' hiring of the two Sri Lankans sparked outrage among the mainly ethnic Hungarian community of some 5,500, with a couple of thousand residents signing a petition calling for measures to stop what they called the “immigrant inflow."
At a town hall meeting over the weekend, the villagers complained about the bakery owners' treatment of local workers, who they said were forced to work long hours for low wages. Villagers accused the owner of choosing to bring in cheaper laborers from abroad rather than providing better conditions and higher pay for local workers.
They also voiced fears that the two qualified Sri Lankan bakers were the start of a much larger influx of Asian migrants who would alter the local culture and religion. One of the two Sri Lankans is a Catholic, as are most of the villagers.
Labor Minister Violeta Alexandru on February 2 told reporters she was deploying labor inspectors to clarify the situation of the two foreign laborers. Alexandru told Romanian media that she was surprised by the intolerant stance of the locals, "who forget that our fellow Romanians also work in large numbers abroad and deserve respect."
Millions of Romanians work in European Union countries to help their families at home make ends meet. An estimated 1,000 residents of Ditrau have also left to find work abroad, mostly in Hungary.
"We need to be balanced in assessing this situation," Alexandru said.
Before Kollo reversed her decision and allowed the two Sri Lankans to continue to make bread, several Romanian companies offered to relocate the employees to their bakeries in other parts of the country.


rferl--2020-03-30--Slovakia's Lajcak To Be EU's Special Envoy For Balkans

BRUSSELS -- Former Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak is expected to become this week the European Union special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the Western Balkans .
According to a leaked document seen by RFE/RL , Lajcak is to take up the new post for a period of one year on April 2 , a day after EU ambassadors are expected to give their green light to his appointment .
According to the working document dated March 30 , Lajcak 's first task is to achieve a `` comprehensive normalization of relations '' between Serbia and Kosovo .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a `` legally binding agreement that addresses all outstanding issues between the parties in accordance with international law and contributing to regional stability , '' the document says .
Kosovo , a former province of Serbia , declared independence in 2008 in a move rejected by Belgrade , its ally Moscow , and a number of other states , including Slovakia and four other EU member states .
Both Kosovo and Serbia aspire to join the EU , which has made the normalization of relations a precondition .
But EU-mediated negotiations broke down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ land swap and after Kosovo imposed a 100 percent tax on Serbian imports .
The expected appointment of Lajcak has been met with skepticism in Kosovo , where President Hasim Thaci tweeted a few weeks ago that the Slovak 's `` mission is designed to fail due to his record to stop Slovakia to recognize Kosovo . ''
The EU document seen by RFE/RL says Lajcak 's mandate will also consist in improving neighborly relations and reconciliation in the entire Western Balkans , enhancing EU visibility through public diplomacy , and contributing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the EU action in the region .
Apart from Serbia and Kosovo , the Western Balkans includes four other EU hopefuls : Albania , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Montenegro , and North Macedonia .
Lajcak , who was proposed to the post by EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell , stepped down as Slovakia 's foreign minister earlier this month after eight years in that role .
He has also served as high representative for Bosnia between 2007 and 2009 , overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian War @

BRUSSELS -- Former Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak is expected to become this week the European Union special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and the Western Balkans.
According to a leaked document seen by RFE/RL, Lajcak is to take up the new post for a period of one year on April 2, a day after EU ambassadors are expected to give their green light to his appointment.
According to the working document dated March 30, Lajcak's first task is to achieve a "comprehensive normalization of relations" between Serbia and Kosovo.
That should be done through the conclusion of a "legally binding agreement that addresses all outstanding issues between the parties in accordance with international law and contributing to regional stability," the document says.
Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, declared independence in 2008 in a move rejected by Belgrade, its ally Moscow, and a number of other states, including Slovakia and four other EU member states.
Both Kosovo and Serbia aspire to join the EU, which has made the normalization of relations a precondition.
But EU-mediated negotiations broke down in 2018 over reports of a proposed land swap and after Kosovo imposed a 100 percent tax on Serbian imports.
The expected appointment of Lajcak has been met with skepticism in Kosovo, where President Hasim Thaci tweeted a few weeks ago that the Slovak's "mission is designed to fail due to his record to stop Slovakia to recognize Kosovo."
The EU document seen by RFE/RL says Lajcak's mandate will also consist in improving neighborly relations and reconciliation in the entire Western Balkans, enhancing EU visibility through public diplomacy, and contributing to the unity, consistency, and effectiveness of the EU action in the region.
Apart from Serbia and Kosovo, the Western Balkans includes four other EU hopefuls: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.
Lajcak, who was proposed to the post by EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell, stepped down as Slovakia's foreign minister earlier this month after eight years in that role.
He has also served as high representative for Bosnia between 2007 and 2009, overseeing the civilian implementation of the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian War.


rferl--2020-03-30--Bulgaria Charges Pro-Russia Politician With Spreading False Information About Coronavirus

SOFIA -- The leader of a pro-Russian political party in Bulgaria has been charged in Sofia with spreading false information about the coronavirus that could cause panic .
Kostadin Kostadinov , the chairman and founder of the Revival Party , confirmed to RFE/RL on March 30 that he had been indicted on the charges .
Earlier on March 30 , the Sofia district prosecutor 's office announced it had indicted `` K.K.
, a leader of a political party , '' who claimed that emergency public-health measures in Bulgaria were `` propaganda for diversion and are not in the interest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the suspect also made misleading allegations of a lack of emergency supplies in Bulgarian government reserves .
Kostadinov told RFE/RL that he had also been accused of saying that Bulgaria did not have sufficient medical resources to meet the needs of hospitalized patients .
Kostadinov and his Revival Party have sought closer ties between Sofia and Moscow and have campaigned to distance Bulgaria from the European Union and NATO .
In Bulgaria 's last elections in 2017 , the Revival Party received just over 1 percent of the vote -- falling short of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ parliament .
With reporting by Boris Mitov of RFE/RL 's Bulgarian Service in Sofia

SOFIA -- The leader of a pro-Russian political party in Bulgaria has been charged in Sofia with spreading false information about the coronavirus that could cause panic.
Kostadin Kostadinov, the chairman and founder of the Revival Party, confirmed to RFE/RL on March 30 that he had been indicted on the charges.
Earlier on March 30, the Sofia district prosecutor's office announced it had indicted "K.K., a leader of a political party," who claimed that emergency public-health measures in Bulgaria were "propaganda for diversion and are not in the interest of the citizens."
Prosecutors said the suspect also made misleading allegations of a lack of emergency supplies in Bulgarian government reserves.
Kostadinov told RFE/RL that he had also been accused of saying that Bulgaria did not have sufficient medical resources to meet the needs of hospitalized patients.
Kostadinov and his Revival Party have sought closer ties between Sofia and Moscow and have campaigned to distance Bulgaria from the European Union and NATO.
In Bulgaria's last elections in 2017, the Revival Party received just over 1 percent of the vote -- falling short of the tally needed to win seats in parliament.
With reporting by Boris Mitov of RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service in Sofia


rferl--2020-03-30--EU Pledges Financial Support For Eastern Partnership Members

The European Commission says it has reallocated more than 140 million euros ( $ 154 million ) to help Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Georgia , Moldova , and Ukraine in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic .
In a statement on March 30 , the commission said it would also `` redirect the use of existing instruments '' worth up to 700 million euros ( $ 772 million ) to help the six countries of the EU 's Eastern Partnership program mitigate the socioeconomic impact of the crisis .
`` These are very difficult times not only for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries as well , '' Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said .
The EU is `` responding both to the immediate needs of the health systems , as well as longer term needs to the most vulnerable groups in society and small and medium-sized enterprises . ''
The commission said it would support the supply of medical devices and personal protective equipment , such as ventilators , laboratory kits , masks , and goggles worth 30 million euros ( $ 33 million ) to the health systems of the six countries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would also be used to support the training of medical and laboratory staff , as well as awareness-raising measures to the populations .
The redirected funds worth 700 million euros will be used mainly to provide liquidity in the six countries , including through `` working capital , trade finance , or moratoria on debt service , '' and to help smal and medium-sized enterprises access credit and boost their businesses after the crisis .

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that there can be no advancement in the relationship between the United States and Afghanistan's Taliban rulers unless there is an improvement in the treatment of women in the country.
Speaking to reporters on August 15, the two-year anniversary of the Taliban’s seizure of power in Kabul, Blinken said the United States continues to work to hold the Taliban accountable for the commitments that it's made, particularly when it comes to the rights of women and girls.
"We've been very clear with the Taliban -- and dozens of countries around the world have been very clear -- that the path to any more normal relationship between the Taliban and other countries will be blocked unless and until the rights of women and girls among other things are actually supported," Blinken said.
No country has recognized the Taliban-led government, and the United States has avoided direct economic engagement in part over the treatment of women and girls, who have seen their rights drastically curbed by the hard-line Islamists. This includes a ban on women working in local and international nongovernmental organizations and a ban on education beyond the sixth grade.
The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 after President Joe Biden withdrew U.S. troops under the terms of an agreement reached in February 2020 between the Taliban and the administration of then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Blinken defended the pullout and said the United States was not focused on other priorities.
"The decision to withdraw from Afghanistan was an incredibly difficult one, but also the right one," Blinken said. "We ended America's longest war. For the first time in 20 years, we don't have another generation of young Americans going to fight and die."
A number of international human rights organizations earlier on August 15 called the Taliban's two years of rule shameful and worrying.
Amnesty International and several other international human rights organizations demanded in a statement an effective response to the situation, noting the Taliban's strict decrees against human rights in Afghanistan, especially against women and girls.
The organizations said in a statement that in the past two years, the Taliban has increasingly imposed harmful policies against women and girls and religious and ethnic minorities that clearly violate Afghanistan's obligations under international human rights law.
The Taliban has previously rejected reports on the treatment of women as propaganda of international organizations. The militant group's leaders have said they have strengthened all the rights of women in Afghanistan in light of Islamic principles.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban, said in an interview with the AP marking the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of the country that the Taliban views its rule of Afghanistan as open-ended and as drawing legitimacy from Islamic law. He also suggested a ban on female education will remain in place.
Female activist Soheila Yousefi calls the situation alarming and wants the world to pay attention.
"The international community should take serious action in this regard because the world chose to be silent in these two years and did not take any practical steps. Our request is that they should look at the current situation in Afghanistan, then take a serious and comprehensive review."
The Taliban did not respond to Radio Azadi's questions before the release of the report, but the rulers have spoken of strengthening human rights in Afghanistan, especially the rights of women and girls, according to Islamic principles.
With reporting by AP and AFP


rferl--2020-03-30--Kyrgyz Court Postpones Ex-President's Trial Amid State Of Emergency

BISHKEK -- The trial of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and 13 co-defendants over deadly clashes with security forces last year at Atambaev 's compound in a Bishkek suburb has been postponed because of the state of emergency announced in the country because of the coronavirus outbreak .
The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital , Bishkek , was to restart the high-profile trial behind closed doors on March 30 , after postponing it a week earlier when Atambaev experienced a drop in blood pressure .
However , the court announced on March 30 that it was shutting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ due to the government 's March 25 declaration of a state of emergency in Bishkek , as well as the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad and several districts in the south .
During the state of emergency , which has been called until April 15 , all activities at public offices and institutions , including courts , are to be suspended as the government tries to stem the spread of the coronavirus .
Deputy Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on March 30 that the total number of registered coronavirus cases in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people tested positive in the southern Jalal-Abad region .
It is not clear when exactly Atambaev 's trial will resume .
In August 2019 , security officials were sent to Atambaev 's compound in Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation into his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013 .
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent , two-day standoff .
The standoff by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the death of a 47-year-old security officer , Usenbek Niyazbekov , and injuries to more than 170 others , including 79 law enforcement officers .
Atambaev and the 13 co-defendants were charged with murder , attempted murder , threatening or assaulting representatives of the authorities , hostage taking , and forced power seizure .
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated .
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately .
The 63-year-old former president currently faces a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ release of the crime boss .
Aziz Batukaev was convicted of several high-profile crimes , including the murders of a Kyrgyz lawmaker and an Interior Ministry official , before his illegal release in 2013 .
Kyrgyzstan saw a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from Atambaev to his ally , Sooronbai Jeenbekov , a move welcomed by the international community after presidential transitions -- in 2005 and 2010 -- came after violent rioting .
However , the deadly clashes in August at Atambaev 's compound underscored a power struggle between him and Jeenbekov @

BISHKEK -- The trial of former Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambaev and 13 co-defendants over deadly clashes with security forces last year at Atambaev's compound in a Bishkek suburb has been postponed because of the state of emergency announced in the country because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Birinchi Mai district court in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, was to restart the high-profile trial behind closed doors on March 30, after postponing it a week earlier when Atambaev experienced a drop in blood pressure.
However, the court announced on March 30 that it was shutting the trial down for the time being due to the government's March 25 declaration of a state of emergency in Bishkek, as well as the southern cities of Osh and Jalal-Abad and several districts in the south.
During the state of emergency, which has been called until April 15, all activities at public offices and institutions, including courts, are to be suspended as the government tries to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Deputy Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on March 30 that the total number of registered coronavirus cases in the country had reached 94 after 10 more people tested positive in the southern Jalal-Abad region.
It is not clear when exactly Atambaev's trial will resume.
In August 2019, security officials were sent to Atambaev's compound in Koi-Tash near Bishkek after he refused to obey three subpoenas calling him to the Interior Ministry for questioning in an investigation into his alleged involvement in the illegal release of a jailed organized-crime boss in 2013.
Atambaev was arrested on August 8 after he surrendered to police following a violent, two-day standoff.
The standoff by the former president and his supporters resulted in the death of a 47-year-old security officer, Usenbek Niyazbekov, and injuries to more than 170 others, including 79 law enforcement officers.
Atambaev and the 13 co-defendants were charged with murder, attempted murder, threatening or assaulting representatives of the authorities, hostage taking, and forced power seizure.
All 14 defendants pleaded not guilty and called the case against them politically motivated.
Five more defendants in the case made plea deals with investigators and will be tried separately.
The 63-year-old former president currently faces a separate trial for charges linked to the release of the crime boss. Aziz Batukaev was convicted of several high-profile crimes, including the murders of a Kyrgyz lawmaker and an Interior Ministry official, before his illegal release in 2013.
Kyrgyzstan saw a smooth and peaceful transfer of power from Atambaev to his ally, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, a move welcomed by the international community after presidential transitions -- in 2005 and 2010 -- came after violent rioting.
However, the deadly clashes in August at Atambaev's compound underscored a power struggle between him and Jeenbekov.


rferl--2020-03-30--Ukrainian Lawmakers Approve New Ministers, Bank Bill In First Reading

KYIV -- Ukraine 's parliament , the Verkhovna Rada , has approved in its first reading a banking bill that opens up billions of dollars worth of aid to Kyiv from the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) .
The bill , approved at an extraordinary session of parliament on March 30 , prevents the former owners of banks that were nationalized or liquidated in recent years during a widespread financial sector clean-up from regaining ownership rights or receiving monetary compensation .
Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine 's banks , analysts say its main purpose is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tycoons , Ihor Kolomoyskiy , the former co-owner of PrivatBank , from regaining ownership rights to the bank .
The IMF is said to have insisted upon approval of the law amid signs the government was considering returning PrivatBank , which is in the midst of a major legal and political fight involving Kolomoyskiy .
The bank was nationalized in 2016 when international auditors found a $ 5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet ; Kolomoisky , who has close ties to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy , has insisted that the bank was improperly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied any wrongdoing and maintains he is the rightful owner of PrivatBank .
Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year , $ 5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year .
In addition to the banking bill , lawmakers at the March 30 session approved Serhiy Marchenko , who was previously a deputy finance minister and deputy head of the presidential office of former leader Petro Poroshenko , as finance minister , replacing Ihor Umanskiy , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a month before he was fired earlier in the day .
Parliament also voted to approve former Odesa Governor Maksym Stepanov as the new health minister to replace Illya Yemets , who like Umanskiy was only weeks into his mandate before being fired on March 30 .
Umanskiy and Yemets became ministers on March 4 when parliament approved Zelenskiy 's cabinet shuffle .
A reason for their firing was not given .
The Verkhovna Rada also failed to approve the first reading of a revised 2020 state budget that takes into account the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government said in a statement on March 30 that the virus would have a devastating impact on the economy in a revision of gross domestic product for this year to a contraction of 3.9 percent from a previous forecast of 3.7 percent growth .
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the session when introducing the revised budget that a special fund to tackle the pandemic had been established .
`` The fund will total more than 97 billion hryvnyas ( $ .4 billion ) and will a transparent tool that will be used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pharmacy , and items of individuals protection , '' Shmyhal said .
The budget draft will now return to a parliamentary committee for revision .
As of March 30 , the number of confirmed infections in Ukraine was officially reported at 480 , with 11 deaths .

KYIV -- Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has approved in its first reading a banking bill that will help open up billions of dollars worth of aid to Kyiv from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The bill, approved at an extraordinary session of parliament on March 30, prevents the former owners of banks that were nationalized or liquidated in recent years during a widespread financial-sector clean-up from regaining ownership rights or receiving monetary compensation.
Though the legislation also has other implications for Ukraine's banks, analysts say its main purpose is to prevent one of Ukraine's most-powerful tycoons, Ihor Kolomoyskiy, the former co-owner of PrivatBank, from regaining ownership rights to the bank.
Later in the session, lawmakers also approved legislation lifting a ban on the sale of farmland, which is expected to unlock enormous investment potential in what is already one of the world's top grain exporters.
The land market should be opened by July 1, 2021, based on the bill's provisions.
The IMF is said to have insisted upon approval of the banking law -- and also pushed for the farmland sale ban to be lifted -- amid signs the government was considering returning PrivatBank, which is in the midst of a major legal and political fight involving Kolomoyskiy.
The bank was nationalized in 2016 when international auditors found a $5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet; Kolomoyskiy, who has close ties to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has insisted that the bank was improperly nationalized by Ukrainian regulators.
Kolomoyskiy has denied any wrongdoing and maintains he is the rightful owner of PrivatBank.
Ukraine has been in talks with the IMF for months about a three-year, $5.5 billion loan tied to reforms to help the country meet a spike in debt repayments this year.
In addition to the banking bill, lawmakers at the March 30 session approved Serhiy Marchenko, who was previously a deputy finance minister and deputy head of the presidential office of former leader Petro Poroshenko, as finance minister, replacing Ihor Umanskiy, who had been in office for less than a month before he was fired earlier in the day.
Parliament also voted to approve former Odesa Governor Maksym Stepanov as the new health minister to replace Illya Yemets, who like Umanskiy was only weeks into his job before being fired on March 30.
Umanskiy and Yemets became ministers on March 4 when parliament approved Zelenskiy's cabinet shuffle.
No reason was given for their dismissal.
The Verkhovna Rada also failed to approve the first reading of a revised 2020 state budget that takes into account the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
The government said in a statement on March 30 that the virus would have a devastating impact on the economy in a revision of gross domestic product for this year to a contraction of 3.9 percent from a previous forecast of 3.7 percent growth.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the session when introducing the revised budget that a special fund to tackle the pandemic had been established.
"The fund will total more than 97 billion hryvnyas ($4 billion) and will be a transparent tool that will be used to support the purchase of equipment for medical personnel, pharmaceuticals, and personal-protection items," Shmyhal said.
The draft budget will now return to a parliamentary committee for revision.
As of 10 p.m. local time on March 30, the number of confirmed infections in Ukraine was officially reported at 548, with 13 deaths.


rferl--2020-03-30--At Least 28 Afghan Soldiers Killed In Taliban Attacks, Prisoner Release Postponed

Militants have killed 28 members of the Afghan security forces , police officials and authorities said on March 30 , as the government postponed a release of Taliban prisoners .
Militants stormed the compound of a top police official in the northeastern province of Takhar on March 29 , killing 13 police officers and wounding the senior official , a spokesman for the force said .
In the southern province of Zabul , Taliban fighters attacked government security outposts , killing at least 11 soldiers , also on March 29 , police said .
Attacks on government security posts in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ province of Baghlan killed four members of the security forces , officials said .
Meanwhile , Afghanistan 's National Security Council said the government will not carry out a planned release of 100 Taliban prisoners on March 31 .
The Taliban and the United States reached a deal last month allowing the Americans and their allies to withdraw their forces in exchange for Taliban promises on preventing terrorism .
The Taliban eventually accepted also to hold talks with the U.S-backed government , one of the conditions being the gradual release of militants held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is no prisoner release happening tomorrow , ” National Security Council spokesperson Javid Faisal tweeted on March 29 .
According to Faisal , during a video conference on March 29 -- the third between the two sides -- the Taliban had agreed to send a delegation to Kabul to conduct further discussions with government officials .
The Taliban team was supposed to arrive at Bagram prison to verify the militants ' prisoners , but its arrival was delayed due to technical issues , according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid .
With reporting by @ @ @ @ @ @

The education of girls and women is universally accepted in more than 200 countries and territories, including nearly 50 Muslim-majority nations.
But Afghanistan’s hard-line Islamist Taliban rulers have banned teenage girls from attending school after the sixth grade since they returned to power two years ago. The ban was extended in December to women in universities.
Countless protests by Afghans inside the country, pressure from the international community, and lobbying by Muslim scholars and clerics have failed to convince the fundamentalist Taliban leaders to reopen schools.
Experts are divided over whether the ban is rooted in how the Taliban’s interpretation of Islam is shaped by conservative Pashtun tribal customs and cultural practices or if it is prompted by how senior Taliban ideologues interpret Islamic teachings.
Most Taliban leaders are ethnic Pashtun, Sunni Muslim clerics. Many were educated in Deobandi madrasahs in neighboring Pakistan. Deobandism emerged as a puritanical Islamic revivalist movement in 19-century British Colonial India. Based on the Sunni Hanafi school of jurisprudence, it is a prominent strain among Islamists in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Tribal Influences
Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator, argues that the Taliban restrictions against women are linked to social customs and cultural practices in eastern and southern Afghanistan.
Most Taliban leaders come from various Pashtun rural tribal communities in these regions bordering Pakistan.
"They believe that a woman's place is either inside a house or in a grave," Yousafzai said of the basic Taliban belief influenced by the status of women in the families of clerics and religious leaders in these Pashtun regions.
“Women living in the households of the current Taliban policymakers were never educated and never left their homes,” said Yousafzai, who has tracked the Islamist group since it emerged as a ragtag militia in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar in late 1994. “These women never performed any government or nongovernmental jobs.”
Yousafzai says the Taliban backs policies shaped by this worldview by leaning on Islamic teachings supporting such ideas. He says Taliban leaders rely on sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that discourage women from leaving their homes.
“Their primary belief is that pubescent girls should not leave home under any circumstance,” he said. “This is why they view women leaving home for education or work as engaging in moral corruption.”
In Afghanistan, a Muslim nation of some 40 million people, activists and rights advocates accuse the Taliban of implementing "gender apartheid" by denying women education, work, freedom of movement, and deciding how they can appear in public.
Most Muslims agree that Islam allows women to get an education. Yet the Taliban publicly says that it will allow girls access to education only after ensuring complete gender segregation and other unspecified conditions.
Almost all Afghan secondary schools were gender segregated and universities imposed a strict separation between men and women after the Taliban takeover.
Yousafzai says in conservative and traditional Muslim societies around the world, some clerics also favor restrictions on women's education, work, and their role in public life. But the governments in those countries usually oppose or limit such ideas.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia -- one of the most conservative Sunni Muslim nations -- has allowed women to drive and granted them freedom of movement without a male guardian. These steps are part of a reform and modernity drive by Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
The Taliban ban on education has invited universal condemnation from Muslims globally.
“The Taliban's ban on women's education is not rooted in [the Islamic] Shari’a law but rather reflects cultural biases that contradict the teachings of Islam,” said Salam al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in the United States.
He said that contrary to Taliban practices, “Islam emphasizes the importance of seeking knowledge and encourages all individuals, regardless of gender, to acquire an education.”
Historical Conflict
But Islamic scholars and those who have attempted to convince the Taliban about reopening girls schools offer a different explanation.
John Mohammad Butt, an Islamic scholar and former BBC broadcaster who is the only Westerner to graduate from India’s Darul Uloom Deoband, argues that the Taliban's policy on girls' education is not tribal but shaped by the century-old conflict over modern education.
“The problem is that girls' education in Afghanistan -- indeed, contemporary education in general -- has generally been introduced in Afghanistan in line with a secular agenda,” he said.
In the 1920s, a coalition of conservative clerics and tribal and community leaders deposed reformist King Amanullah Khan. He wanted to modernize Afghanistan along Turkish leader Kamal Ataturk's secular lines and championed modern education and rights for women.
This opposition to modernity and secularism continued, and conservative clerics opposed women's education and work. It became a key part of the Islamist opposition to the pro-Soviet Afghan communist governments after the April 1978 military coup that ended the Afghan monarchy. The mujahedin accused the communists of spreading immorality by promoting women’s education and empowerment.
“This has led to particular wariness on the part of conservative circles in Afghanistan with regard to girls' education,” Butt said.
'Deep Ideological Conviction'
Obaidullah Baheer, a political science lecturer at the American University of Afghanistan, became part of an effort to rescind the ban by talking to the Taliban last year.
But he says the effort failed because “the ban is a matter of deep ideological conviction” for the current supreme leader of the Taliban, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Baheer says that the most prominent Taliban leaders have studied in Pakistani madrasahs and were thus disconnected from village and tribal life.
“They have been indoctrinated by the Deobandi school of thought so that they now enforce the strictest version of Islam on the Afghan population,” he said.
He argues that the ban on girls’ schools is a deliberate policy championed by Akhundzada, who he says has endorsed Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani's Arabic language book The Islamic Emirate And Its System. In this book, Haqqani supports a fringe Islamic opinion of preferring the choice of one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives, Sawdah Bint Zam'ah, who chose to stay at home until her death.
Baheer says Haqqani ignores his other wives and other female companions that played an active role in many sectors of society and how they served as students and teachers for men.
“This fringe opinion is not held by all Taliban leaders but is one that the current absolute sovereign, the Taliban emir, seems to be convinced of,” he said.
Butt says that even Haqqani has acknowledged the principle that if there is something that women need to act upon, then that is also something that women need to learn about.
“I hope the Taliban authorities will come to realize in the not-too-distant future that education for women will make Afghan women into better Muslims,” he says. “It will enable them to make a stronger contribution to the well-being of their country.”
Two years after grappling with the issue, Western diplomats appear to be encouraging Afghan conservative and clerical circles to find ways to end the ban.
Tom West, the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, recently tweeted that Afghan women must be educated and contribute to the economy to help their country stand on its own two feet.
“If change to policies is made, it will be because Afghans have asked for it, not a result of foreign requests,” he wrote.