GENEVA: The new head of the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday said she was prepared to go to Moscow to discuss access to prisoners of war (POWs).
Mirjana Spoljaric, who took the ICRC reins in October, told reporters in Geneva she had personally been “speaking with Russian counterparts.”
“I intend to go to Moscow, when the moment is there,” she said.
Speaking at ICRC headquarters just days after returning from Ukraine, she said the organization was intent on gaining access to POWs taken by both sides since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last February.
“We are in daily conversations at different levels, because access to prisoners of war is an ongoing engagement,” she said.
“There is never a suspension or an end to that.”
Visiting POWs is core to the ICRC’s mission enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, which define the laws of war.
The organization has been repeatedly criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the ultra-sensitive subject of POW visits.
He has accused the organization of not pushing hard enough to gain access to Ukrainian troops captured by Russian forces.
Responding indirectly to that criticism, Spoljaric stressed the difficulty of the task and the dangers facing ICRC teams on the ground when visiting prisoners.
“If the ICRC doesn’t come, it is not a choice,” she insisted.
“We have to receive adequate guarantees and competent reassurances that our convoys will not be hit while trying to get to these facilities.”
The ICRC has long complained that it lacks sufficient access to those held by the warring parties and while it said last week there had been some progress, Spoljaric said far more was needed.
“We are determined to access all prisoners, no matter where they are,” she said, adding, “We also want to access civilians detained.”
She stressed it was vital that ICRC teams are not just allowed to go into each detention facility once, but that they are given repeated access.
Asked about the potential for a prisoner exchange of all detainees on both sides, the ICRC president would not comment on whether such a move was being discussed.
But she highlighted that large-scale prisoner swaps have happened in past conflicts.
“It’s not something which the ICRC can predict or can comment on but as a possibility it is certainly there,” she said, pointing out that past prisoner exchanges had proved to be a powerful confidence building measure.
“And very often, an all for all exchange constitutes the first step to a broader agreement.”
New Red Cross chief says ready to go to Russia for POWs
https://arab.news/88scz
New Red Cross chief says ready to go to Russia for POWs
- Mirjana Spoljaric, who took the ICRC reins in October, told reporters in Geneva she had personally been "speaking with Russian counterparts"
- Visiting POWs is core to the ICRC's mission enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, which define the laws of war
Trump discussing how to acquire Greenland; US military always an option, White House says
- Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States
- Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and his team are discussing options for acquiring Greenland and the use of the US military in furtherance of the goal is “always an option,” the White House said on Tuesday.
Trump’s ambition of acquiring Greenland as a strategic US hub in the Arctic, where there is growing interest from Russia and China, has been revived in recent days in the wake of the US arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Greenland has repeatedly said it does not want to be part of the United States.
The White House said in a statement in response to queries from Reuters that Trump sees acquiring Greenland as a US national security priority necessary to “deter our adversaries in the Arctic region.”
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the US military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House said.
A senior US official said discussions about ways to acquire Greenland are active in the Oval Office and that advisers are discussing a variety of options.
Strong statements in support of Greenland from NATO leaders have not deterred Trump, the official said.
“It’s not going away,” the official said about the president’s drive to acquire Greenland during his remaining three years in office.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said options include the outright US purchase of Greenland or forming a Compact of Free Association with the territory. A COFA agreement would stop short of Trump’s ambition to make the island of 57,000 people a part of the US.
A potential purchase price was not provided.
“Diplomacy is always the president’s first option with anything, and dealmaking. He loves deals. So if a good deal can be struck to acquire Greenland, that would definitely be his first instinct,” the official said.
Administration officials argue the island is crucial to the US due to its deposits of minerals with important high-tech and military applications. These resources remain untapped due to labor shortages, scarce infrastructure and other challenges.
Leaders from major European powers and Canada rallied behind Greenland on Tuesday, saying the Arctic island belongs to its people.
