World

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union on Friday pledged a 270-million-euro ($290-million) financial package for Armenia, seeking along with Washington to boost ties with Yerevan as its relations with Russia crumble.

The announcement came after talks in Brussels aimed at ramping up cooperation between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Armenia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, is looking to solidify economic support from the West as it edges away from traditional ally Russia. Armenia is angry with Moscow for failing to stop neighbouring Azerbaijan from recapturing territory in recent years.

Baku criticised the Brussels meeting and accused Armenia of opening fire at the Caucasus arch-foe neighbours’ volatile border.

Von der Leyen said the four-year “resilience and growth” package of financial grants for Armenia showed the EU stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Yerevan.

“Europe and Armenia share a long and common history and the time has come to write now a new chapter,” she said.

Pashinyan said Friday’s meeting in Brussels was proof of his country’s “expanding partnership” with the EU and United States. “I believe that our shared vision of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous future will continue to serve as the backbone and the guiding star of our mutually trusted relations,” he said.

Blinken said the US was also bolstering its economic support for Yerevan to $65 million this year to aid efforts to make Armenia “a strong, independent nation at peace with its neighbours”.

“We have to harness this moment of choice for the Armenian people and for its leaders,” he said.

Armenia has drawn Russia’s ire by criticising its role as a regional security guarantor and even floating the idea of applying to join the EU.

‘Geopolitical confrontation’ 

Yerevan has a long-standing alliance with Moscow.

But it was infuriated when the Kremlin -- consumed by the Ukraine war and annoyed by Pashinyan’s overtures to the West -- failed to stop Azerbaijan seize the Nagorno-Karabakh region from Armenian separatists last year.

Since then, Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have voiced hope for a comprehensive peace agreement between their countries.

But the two sides on Tuesday traded accusations that the other had opened fire across their shared border, renewing fears of conflict.

Ahead of the talks in Brussels, Blinken and von der Leyen called Aliyev on Wednesday to try to ease tensions.

But Aliyev on Friday criticised the summit in Brussels as “directed against Azerbaijan” and working against cooperation in the region.

“High-ranking US and EU officials attempted to convince us that the meeting in Brussels is not directed against Azerbaijan, but it creates yet another source of tensions in the South Caucasus,” he said.

In the latest flare-up in tensions on Friday evening, the arch-foe Caucasus neighbours traded accusations of opening fire along their volatile shared border.

Azerbaijan’s defence said in a statement that Armenian military “using small arms, subjected to fire the Azerbaijan Army positions” stationed near the countries’ shared border.

Armenian defence ministry, for its part, dismissed the claim as “disinformation”. It said “units of the Azerbaijani armed forces opened fire from small arms toward Armenian combat positions” deployed at the frontier district of Gergharkunik.

Pashinyan said at the Brussels meeting that he remained “committed to the normalisation of relations with Azerbaijan”.

But Turkey, Azerbaijan’s main backer, warned that Armenia’s talks with the US and EU “undermine the neutral approach that should be the basis for the solution of the complex problems of the region”.

“This initiative, which excludes Azerbaijan, will pave the way for the South Caucasus to become an area of geopolitical confrontation, rather than serving peace,” Turkey’s foreign ministry said.

BRATISLAVA — Slovaks voted on Saturday to choose a new president with the outcome determining whether the EU and NATO member shifts further towards Russia amid deep divisions over the war in Ukraine.

Ivan Korcok, a 60-year-old pro-Western former foreign minister, and Peter Pellegrini, 48, a Ukraine-sceptic backed by the ruling populists, are vying to replace the outgoing liberal President Zuzana Caputova.

They are squaring off in a decisive second round as neither won the minimum 50 per cent in last month’s ballot.

Though the office is largely ceremonial, Slovakia’s president ratifies international treaties, appoints top judges, is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can veto laws passed by parliament.

The final pre-election poll by the Focus agency put Korcok and parliament speaker Pellegrini neck-and-neck, with Pellegrini gaining 51 per cent of the vote and Korcok 49 per cent.

“This is the tightest ever presidential race,” said Vaclav Hrich, managing director of the AKO polling agency.

Stefan Harabin, who placed third after criticising the European Union and hailing Russian President Vladimir Putin, did not formally back either candidate.

“It is an important 12 per cent that Harabin got,” political analyst Tomas Koziak told AFP, adding that “Korcok is unlikely to win those votes”.

According to AKO, over two thirds of Harabin voters intend to support Pellegrini.

Yet Hrich said the election was “too close to call” and said turnout will be decisive.

“The more people vote, the more chances Peter Pellegrini will have as this would mean he had succeeded convincing Harabin’s voters,” he said.

War and peace 

Bratislava voter Frantisek Hazik cast his ballot for Korcok just after polling stations opened at 7:00 am (5:00 GMT).

“I don’t want Fico and his friends to occupy everything in Slovakia, so I chose Ivan Korcok. He’s a truly democratic politician,” the 31-year-old auditor told AFP.

Pensioner Helena Vaclavova, 67, backed Pellegrini, saying he “only wants good for this country”.

“He will defend us from everything and will be a good president,” she said.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became a fixture of the electoral campaign in the country of 5.4 million after Prime Minister Robert Fico questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty and called for peace with Russia.

Pellegrini was a minister in Fico’s previous governments and was head of government from 2018 to 2020 when his long-time ally was toppled.

“I am running for president to rescue the government of Robert Fico,” Pellegrini said in a televised debate.

Korcok fired back: “You want to protect the government. I want to protect Slovakia.”

Fico’s government that took office in October includes his Smer Party, Pellegrini’s Hlas and the small far-right SNS, and has discontinued military aid to Ukraine.

“Korcok is a warmonger, who will support everything the West tells him without hesitation, including dragging Slovakia into the war,” Fico said in a video.

He expressed support for Pellegrini, calling him “a moderate candidate who recognises the value of peace”.

Government ally vs critic 

Pellegrini said “the Slovak political scene is divided between those who are in favour of the continuation of the war at all costs, and those who demand the start of peace negotiations”.

“I belong to the latter,” he told AFP.

Korcok, a vocal government critic backed by the opposition, is staunchly pro-Ukraine.

“The Russian Federation has trampled on international law. I do not think Ukraine should give up part of its territory to achieve peace,” he told AFP.

Pavol Turanec, an electrical designer from Martin, northern Slovakia, hailed Korcok.

“Korcok is a real pro: pro-democratic, pro-Western, pro-European. His values do not change depending on polls,” the 50-year-old told AFP.

“This criminal government is leading us to a pro-Russian autocracy, devastating the judiciary, and public finances. They really need a counterweight.”

Jana Mozolova, a retired teacher from the eastern city of Kosice, said Pellegrini had her vote.

“He has been around for years and never let anyone down,” the 66-year-old said.

Provisional results are expected around midnight.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday debated the creation of a 100-billion-euro fund for Ukraine, as alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg urged them to guarantee long-term arms supplies for Kyiv's outgunned forces.

Stoltenberg pitched the five-year fund for Kyiv and a plan to deepen NATO's involvement in delivering weapons in a bid to shield support in the face of a potential return by Donald Trump to the US presidency.

The NATO secretary general said allies "agreed to move forward with planning for a greater NATO role in coordinating security assistance and training" with the view to reaching a deal by a summit in Washington in July.

"The details will take shape in the weeks to come. But make no mistake, Ukraine can rely on NATO support now and for the long haul," he said, after foreign ministers held talks in Brussels.

Despite a welcome for the proposed fund from staunch Ukraine allies such as Poland and the Baltic states there appeared to be considerable scepticism among other allies.

Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock backed setting up “long-term structures” to support Kyiv, but warned against “juggling in the air” vague figures.

Belgium’s top diplomat Hadja Lahbib insisted the proposal that envisions NATO members contributing according to the size of their economy was not “charity”.

“But it is dangerous to make promises that we cannot keep,” she said.

The second plank of Stoltenberg’s plan which appeared to get a warmer welcome envisions a NATO mission taking more control of coordinating arms supplies from a US-led grouping currently overseeing support.

The move would mark a major shift for the Western military alliance, which has so far refused as an organisation to send weapons to Ukraine for fear it would drag NATO closer to a conflict with Russia.

But Hungary — the friendliest country towards Russia in NATO — said it would not support any proposal that might “draw the alliance closer to war”.

Stoltenberg said he had tried to reach a compromise with Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban but diplomats said the right-wing populist had rebuffed a possible opt-out clause.

‘Vital that Ukraine wins’ 

Stoltenberg’s proposals came as Ukraine’s forces are struggling to hold back Russia in the face of dwindling supplies from Kyiv’s Western backers.

A $60-billion US funding package is currently stalled in Congress but there are hopes lawmakers could move to pass it in the coming weeks.

“The Ukrainians are not running out of courage. They’re running out of ammunition,” Stoltenberg said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in Brussels more focused on the short-term need for air defence in the face of a surge in Russian missile bombardments.

“Ukraine is currently the only country in the world that defends itself against ballistic missile attacks almost every day,” he wrote on the X social media platform after meeting his Polish counterpart.

“This means that all Patriot batteries available around the world that can be provided to Ukraine must be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible. There is no more important place for them.”

The meeting in Brussels comes as NATO readies to mark on Thursday 75 years since it was founded in the wake of World War II to face off against the threat of the Soviet Union.

On the sidelines of the meeting, NATO foreign ministers were also expected to discuss the race to replace Stoltenberg, whose decade-long tenure ends in October.

The frontrunner to succeed him is Dutch premier Mark Rutte, though Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has launched a surprise challenge.

Diplomats said Rutte has the support of some 90 per cent of NATO countries, but Hungary and Turkey remain holdouts blocking a swift nomination ahead of the summit.

TAIPEI — At least nine people were killed and more than 1,000 injured on Wednesday by a powerful earthquake in Taiwan that damaged dozens of buildings and prompted tsunami warnings that extended to Japan and the Philippines before being lifted.

Dozens of people were believed safe but unreachable in areas cut off by massive landslides triggered by the quake — many in tunnels that cut through the mountains that bisect the island from north to south.

Officials said the quake was the strongest to shake the island in decades, and warned of more tremors in the days ahead.

Strict building regulations and widespread public disaster awareness appear to have staved off a major catastrophe for the earthquake-prone island, which lies near the junction of two tectonic plates.

“We were very lucky,” said a woman surnamed Chang, who lived next door to a printing press warehouse near the capital that virtually pancaked in the quake, but all 50 inside at the time were plucked to safety.

“Many of the decorations at home fell on the floor, but people were safe.”

Wu Chien-fu, director of Taipei’s Central Weather Administration’s Seismology Center, said the quake was the strongest since one of 7.6-magnitude struck in September 1999, killing around 2,400 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the island’s history.

Wednesday’s magnitude-7.4 quake hit just before 8:00 am local time (00:00 GMT), with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) putting the epicentre 18 kilometres south of Taiwan’s Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometres.

Three people among a group of seven on an early-morning hike through the hills that surround the city were crushed to death by boulders loosened by the earthquake, officials said.

Separately, three died while driving when their vehicles were hit by tumbling rocks, while another died at a mine quarry.

The National Fire Agency said all the fatalities had been in Hualien county, adding that 1,011 people across Taiwan had sustained injuries without specifying how seriously.

Social media was awash with shared video and images from around the island of buildings swaying as the quake struck.

“It was shaking violently, the paintings on the wall, my TV and liquor cabinet fell,” one man in Hualien told broadcaster SET TV.

Dramatic images were shown on local TV of multi-storey structures in Hualien and elsewhere tilting after the quake ended, while a printing warehouse in New Taipei City crumbled.

The mayor there said more than 50 survivors had been successfully plucked from the ruins of the structure.

Local TV channels showed bulldozers clearing rocks along the main route to Hualien, a mountain-ringed coastal county of around 300,000 people that has been cut off by landslides.

The major roads leading to Hualien’s main city pass through an extensive series of strongly built tunnels — some of them kilometres long — and officials said dozens of people could be trapped in vehicles inside.

Dozens of miners were also out of reach at a quarry in Hualien.

“We must carefully check how many people are trapped and we must rescue them quickly,” president-elect and current Vice-President Lai Ching-te told reporters in Hualien.

By nightfall, the county was still experiencing rolling aftershocks as rescuers continued combing through debris.

In Taiwan’s capital, the famed Taipei 101 commercial building lit up to memorialise the victims of the quake.

“Do not go to the mountains unless necessary,” warned President Tsai Ing-wen in a late-night post.

“Aftershocks may occur in the next few days and everyone, please be vigilant and watch out for your own safety.”

In Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines, authorities initially issued tsunami warnings but by around 10;00 am (2:00 GMT), the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the threat had “largely passed”.

In the Taiwanese capital, the metro briefly stopped running but resumed within an hour, while residents received warnings from their local borough chiefs to check for any gas leaks.

Across the Taiwan Strait, social media users in China’s eastern Fujian province and elsewhere said they also felt strong tremors.

Residents of Hong Kong also reported feeling the earthquake.

China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory, was “paying close attention” to the quake and “willing to provide disaster relief assistance”, state news agency Xinhua said.

Fabrication at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — the world’s biggest chip maker — was briefly interrupted at some plants, a company official told AFP, while work at construction sites for new plants was halted for the day.

The company later said in a statement that a “small number of tools were damaged at certain facilities, partially impacting their operations” but that no “critical tools” had been damaged.

It said it was deploying “all available resources for full recovery, and impacted facilities are expected to resume production throughout the night”.