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17 Jun, 2024 22:45
Putin reveals goals of North Korea trip
[...]
To bring "more democracy and stability to international relations," Russia and North Korea "will develop alternative trade and mutual settlements mechanisms not controlled by the West, jointly oppose illegitimate unilateral restrictions, and shape the architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia," Putin wrote.

He also pledged to increase "people-to-people interaction" between the two countries, including "academic mobility" between higher education institutions, tourism, "as well as cultural, educational, youth and sports exchanges" to promote confidence, mutual understanding and well-being.

Putin reminded Koreans that the Soviet army helped liberate them from Japanese occupation in 1945 and that Moscow was the first to recognize the DPRK and establish diplomatic relations with Pyongyang. The USSR also helped rebuild the country after the devastation of the Korean War (1950-1953) with the US-backed South.
[...]

• Putin to visit North Korea for first time in 24 years
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3 'Asymmetric' measures loom

Putin called out the US and other NATO members for supplying long-range missiles targeting deep into Russian territory. He warned that such escalations could backfire for the West as Moscow weighs its options.

"If someone deems it possible to supply such weapons to the war zone, to strike our territory..., why shouldn't we supply similar weapons to those regions of the world where they will be used against sensitive sites of these countries?" Putin asked. "We can respond asymmetrically. We will give it a thought."

• See also:
• Medvedev: The time of colonial powers 'is over'
• World sobering up on Ukraine conflict - Moscow
• Best of the Web: Final warning? Putin's Ukraine settlement proposal: "Withdraw all troops from the 4 Russian-majority regions, and affirm neutral non-NATO status for the remainder of Ukraine"
• Russia was ready to withdraw from southern Ukraine - Putin
• Best of the Web: NATO says over 300,000 troops 'now on high readiness'
• Russia accuses France of lying about troops in Ukraine
• West only cares about itself - Zakharova to RT

Israel welcome to invade Lebanon, resistance is ready: Hezbollah MP

During a conversation co-hosted by The Cradle on 16 June, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese MP Ibrahim Moussawi shared his perspectives on the ongoing war between Israel and the Axis of Resistance in Lebanon and Gaza.

In relation to the possibility of a larger war erupting on the Israeli-Lebanese border, Moussawi stated that neither Hezbollah nor Israel wants a wider war but that the Islamic resistance is ready if Israel decides to invade.

"If they want to come to Lebanon, they are welcome. We are waiting for them. Ahlan wa Sahlan, as they say in Arabic," he stated.

© Sky NewsLebanese MP Ibrahim Moussawi

Moussawi noted that Israel is having difficulty managing the war in Gaza and asked where Israel would get the troops to launch a much more difficult invasion of Lebanon. "They can't manage themselves in Gaza, and they want to come here? In Gaza, they are not fighting. They are just bombarding and sending drones. But if they do come, we are anxiously waiting for them. We have made preparations that they can never imagine," he added.

Regarding Hezbollah's accomplishments in the war against Israel so far, the Lebanese MP pointed out that the party's daily attacks against Israeli military positions and settlements have displaced some 200,000 Israelis and paralyzed economic activity in areas that Israel long viewed as secure.

Moussawi stated, "In Lebanon, at the beginning of the war, many started to mock and say our interference was not helpful. It is not doing anything. But Israelis are the experts. Their leaders and their intelligence apparatus have admitted that the front in northern Palestine has caused great suffering for Israelis."

He added that Hezbollah is fighting a "war of attrition" against Israel along a 120-kilometer front line that has now lasted eight months and involved thousands of operations.

"We are talking about huge losses they do not admit, but later they will. It is unprecedented. It costs them a lot on the moral and military levels."

When asked about recent Israeli threats to bomb civilians in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, as the Israeli army did during its invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Moussawi explained, "That was in the past, not the present. Now, if they destroy, we destroy. If they destroy our infrastructure, we will destroy their infrastructure. The Israelis know very well that Hezbollah is capable of targeting in a very precise way any place in occupied Palestine with our ballistic missiles and drones, from here in the north to the farthest point in the south. So if they think they can come to Lebanon, we are ready for it. They are welcome."

Regarding Hezbollah's goals, Moussawi stated that the party must ensure the resistance in Gaza is not crushed and that this goal has been successful thus far. He said that over 70 percent of Hamas' leadership and fighting brigades are intact and that they have reorganized to overcome the losses Israel has inflicted on them so far.

"I will tell you that Hamas has won the war. They can fight for months to come, if not for years. They are ready to fight like on the 8th of October." Moussawi stated.

He added, "The kind of morale they have, the kind of belief they have, cannot be defeated. All the Palestinians fighting for Hamas and Islamic Jihad are heroes, superheroes. And even more so, the Palestinian women are heroes. They continue to shed their blood and have never raised the white flag. They never surrender or stab the resistance in the back."

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