Global counterterrorism cooperation undermined by Ukraine war: Russia
The Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's new challenges and dangers section, Vladimir Tarabrin, accuses Ukraine of negatively affecting global counterterrorism cooperation.
The Head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's new challenges and dangers section, Vladimir Tarabrin, said the situation in Ukraine has had some effects on international collaboration in counterterrorism measures.
"Sure enough, the current situation in Ukraine has also affected multinational cooperation in the fight against terrorism as part of joint work at the UN, which has the central and coordinating role in this issue," Tarabrin said.
Meanwhile, Western authorities are attempting to politicize counterterrorism problems and replace them with topics of minor relevance in this environment, such as gender and human rights, according to the diplomat.
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Tarabrin stated that Russia is guided by a set of principles that define its approach to counterterrorism cooperation, such as reliance on legal regulations, states' primary role in combating terrorism, and non-use of terrorism, or terrorists themselves, in geopolitics, intrusions into internal affairs, or destabilization of regimes deemed "undesirable" by the West.
"At the same time, our fundamental stance is that international counterterrorism cooperation is an objective necessity for all countries, it must be 'all-weather' and immune to transient geopolitical contexts," the official noted.
Tarabrin also warned that foreign mercenaries who survive and return home from Ukraine will pose enormous security concerns to their home countries, saying that Russia is concerned about such results and is discussing them in bilateral talks.
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"The death of a French volunteer in Ukraine is the first clear evidence that there are at least some far-right extremists among the foreign fighters who have been deployed to fight Russian forces," The Intercept website reported. Wilfried Bleriot, 32, was killed in combat on June 4, 2022, according to a Facebook post by Ukraine's so-called "International Legion".
Bleriot wears the black-and-white patch of the so-called Misanthropic Division - said to be an overtly fascist volunteer wing of Ukraine's ultranationalist Azov Battalion - on the front and center of his body armor in a photo posted by the "International Legion", which was formed after the Russian military operation began and is open to mercenary fighters from, under the guise of volunteerism, all over the world.