Russia’s invasion was a major focus at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s largest security forum. Ukraine’s defense minister ended a panel on Saturday by suggesting that China should ask its “younger brother” - Russia - to “stop killing Ukrainians. Indonesia’s defense minister floated a plan that would involve freezing Russian and Ukrainian forces in current positions and creating a demilitarized zone between them.
Calling the idea “strange,” Kyiv’s Oleksii Reznikov said it “sounds like a Russian plan, not an Indonesian plan.” With a counteroffensive against Russian occupying forces ready to go, Ukraine has consistently pushed back on the idea it should cede ground to President Vladimir Putin’s forces. A cease-fire without Russian troop withdrawal “will allow Russia to win time,” said Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko. In Moscow, Russia’s foreign ministry said the US hadn’t advanced any fresh ideas. “There are no fundamentally new points that respond to Russia’s concerns and take into account our positions,” said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine is ready for its much-discussed counteroffensive against Russia, but downplayed the prospects for rapid success and warned of potential heavy casualties. “We would like to have certain things, but we can’t wait for months,” he said, adding that Kyiv’s ground forces are “stronger and more motivated” than Russia’s. In an extended interview in the southern port city of Odesa, Zelenskiy said he fears the 2024 US election could usher in a less-supportive administration in Washington.
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Markets
Oil climbed on Friday alongside risk assets, with attention focusing on the OPEC+ deliberations, but is still on pace for a weekly decline amid worries about demand.
Wheat prices rose for a third day, extending a rebound from a more than two-year low set earlier in the week tied to booming crops in northern and eastern Europe that could push world production to a new record.
