MOSCOW: Russia said on Wednesday that relations with the United States were so confrontational that Russian citizens should not travel to the United States, Canada and some EU countries because they were at risk of being “hunted” down by US authorities.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that relations with the United States were teetering on the verge of rupture.
“In the context of the increasing confrontation in Russian-American relations, which are teetering on the verge of rupture due to the fault of Washington, trips to the United States of America privately or out of official necessity are fraught with serious risks,” Zakharova told a news briefing.
“We urge you to continue to refrain from trips to the United States of America and its allied satellite states, including, first of all, Canada and, with a few exceptions, European Union countries, during these holidays,” she said.
Russian and US diplomats say the relationship between the two countries is worse than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis due to disagreements over the Ukraine war.
Relations reached crisis point last month over Ukraine’s use of US and British missiles to strike Russian territory and Russia lowered its nuclear threshold.
Both Moscow and Washington accuse each other of detaining citizens on trumped-up charges that have no foundation.
Russia tells its citizens to avoid travel to the West
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Russia tells its citizens to avoid travel to the West
- Russian and US diplomats say the relationship between the two countries is worse than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
Police in London arrest pro-Palestinian protesters
LONDON: Police in London arrested two people who called for “intifada” during a pro-Palestinian protest, which followed a decision by authorities to toughen enforcement of hate speech laws after a deadly attack in Australia.
The arrests came hours after police in London and Manchester, England, announced a crackdown on protesters using slogans such as “globalize the intifada.”
While pro-Palestinian demonstrators say the slogan describes the worldwide protests against the war in Gaza, Jewish leaders say it inflames tensions and encourages attacks on Jews, including the attack that killed 15 people on Sunday at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
London Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said they decided to take a tougher stance after Bondi Beach and an Oct. 2 attack on a Manchester synagogue that left two
people dead.
“We know communities are concerned about placards and chants such as ‘globalize the intifada,’ and those using it at future protests or in a targeted way should expect the Met and GMP to take action,” they said in a joint statement released Wednesday. “Violent acts have taken place, the context has changed — words have meaning and consequence.”
In the hours before Wednesday night’s demonstration in support of Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group that was banned as a terrorist organization earlier this year, London police warned protesters to be aware of the earlier announcement.
Two protesters were arrested for “racially aggravated public order offenses” after they shouted slogans calling for intifada during the protest outside the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday night, the Metropolitan Police Service said on social media. A third person was arrested for trying to interfere with the initial arrests.
The term “intifada” is used to describe two major Palestinian uprisings against Israeli policy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the first beginning in 1987 and the second beginning in 2000.
During the recent conflict in Gaza, the slogan “globalize the intifada” has been widely used by pro-Palestinian protesters around the world.
The debate over such language comes after hate crime and online abuse soared in Britain following the attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli military campaign in Gaza that followed.
More than 70,660 Palestinians have been killed during the ensuing Israeli campaign in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
