WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland on Friday to meet with President Andrzej Duda for discussions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House said Sunday.
“The President will discuss how the United States, alongside our Allies and partners, is responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
The statement added that Biden’s trip will come after a visit to Belgium to meet with leaders from NATO, the G7 and the European Union.
“The trip will be focused on continuing to rally the world in support of the Ukrainian people and against President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Psaki said of Biden’s trip to Europe.
“But there are no plans to travel into Ukraine,” she added.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, along with the Czech and Slovenian prime ministers, traveled to Kyiv to visit the besieged capital last week after Russia invaded its ex-Soviet neighbor last month.
US Vice President Kamala Harris also met with Duda in Warsaw earlier this month, with both condemning Russia’s military action, especially against civilians.
That meeting came shortly after the United States rejected a Polish offer to send MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine via a US air base — an offer which caught US officials off guard — saying the proposal raised “serious concerns” for the entire NATO alliance.
The United Nations has estimated around 10 million Ukrainians have fled their homes, with roughly one-third of them going abroad, mostly to Poland.
US President Biden to travel to Poland to discuss Ukraine crisis: White House
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US President Biden to travel to Poland to discuss Ukraine crisis: White House
- Biden’s trip will come after a visit to Belgium to meet with leaders from NATO, the G7 and the EU
Venezuelan activist Javier Tarazona released from prison as US diplomat assumes post
- Human rights activist Javier Tarazona was arrested in July 2021
- He was released shortly after the arrival in Caracas of US charge d’affaires
CARACAS: Venezuelan human rights activist Javier Tarazona, an ally of opposition leader María Corina Machado, was released from prison after the government promised to free political prisoners in an amnesty bill, rights organizations and family members said Sunday.
Tarazona, the director of the Venezuelan nonprofit human rights group FundaRedes, was arrested in July 2021, after reporting to authorities that he had been harassed by national intelligence officials. Two other activists of the group were also detained at the time.
Venezuela’s Foro Penal, a rights group that monitors the situations of political prisoners in the country, said Sunday that 317 people jailed for political reasons had been released as of noon local time Sunday, and 700 others were still waiting to be freed.
“After 1675 days, four years and seven months, this wishful day has arrived. My brother Javier Tarazona is free,” José Rafael Tarazona Sánchez wrote on X. “Freedom for one is hope for all.”
Tarazona was released shortly after the arrival in Caracas of US Charge d’Affaires Laura Dogu, who will reopen the American diplomatic mission after seven years of severed ties. It comes after US President Donald Trump ordered a military action that removed the South American country’s former President Nicolás Maduro from office and brought him to trial in the US
Dogu, who was previously ambassador in Nicaragua and Honduras, arrived in Venezuela one day after the country’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, announced an amnesty bill to release political prisoners. That move was one of the key demands of the Venezuelan opposition.
Venezuela’s government had accused Tarazona of terrorism, betraying the nation and hate speech, all frequent accusations it makes against real or potential opposition members. Tarazona was vocal against illegal armed groups on the country’s border with Colombia and their alleged connection to high-ranked members of the Maduro administration.
Amnesty International reported that Tarazona’s health has deteriorated due to lack of medical attention during his time in prison.
“All of Venezuela admires you and respects your bravery and your commitment,” Machado said on X. “You, better than anyone, know that there will be justice in Venezuela. Freedom for all political prisoners.”
Venezuela’s government denies it jails members of the opposition and accuses them of conspiring to bring it down.
