War in Ukraine: Erdogan ready to host a summit on peace between Russia and Ukraine… update on the situation

Le point sur la situation. MAXPPP – Nicolas Cleuet/Le Pictorium

Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Friday March 8, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.

Erdogan says ready to host summit on peace between Russia and Ukraine

Turkey is ready to host a peace summit to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday, after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volidimir Zelenksy in Istanbul.

The two leaders discussed the subjects of the grain agreement and navigation security in the Black Sea, as well as the details of the war, said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the occasion of ;a joint press conference. Turkey defended Ukrainian territorial integrity, said the Turkish president, adding that Turkey will strongly contribute to the reconstruction of Ukraine at the end of the war.

Furthermore, Volodimir Zelenksy announced that Russia will not be invited to the first peace summit which is to be held in Switzerland by the summer. The Ukrainian president specified that Russian representatives could be invited after the summit in Switzerland which should produce a road map for peace following discussions between Ukraine and its allies.

India denounces trafficking of Indians sent to fight for Russia in Ukraine

India says it has uncovered a "major human trafficking network” who lured young Indians to Russia with the promise of employment with the sole aim of forcing them to fight in the Russian army in Ukraine. About 35 men have left for Russia as part of this trafficking so far, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said Thursday evening, more than a first estimate provided a a little earlier by the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At least two of the men were killed in combat, their families said. The Indian Embassy in Russia confirmed one of the deaths. The organizers of the network recruited their victims through social networks and agents in several Indian states, detailed the CBI in a press release.

Among the means used to lure them were offers of admission to "dubious private universities" in Russia, as well as discounted "free visa extensions”. "The Indian nationals who were victims of this trafficking were trained for combat and deployed against their will on the front lines in the Russian-Ukrainian war zone", the CBI underlined, specifying that in addition to the deaths , several of them were "seriously injured".

Several people suspected of belonging to the trafficking network were arrested and searches carried out in particular in New Delhi and Mumbai led to the seizure of documents and 50 million rupees (around 550,000 euros) in cash, investigators said.

Several videos have circulated on social networks this month to denounce this trafficking. In one of them, seven Indians appealed to their government for help, explaining that they had gone to Russia on a tourist visa and had been forcibly conscripted into the army. #39;Russian army and sent to the front.

The Indian Foreign Ministry said it had raised the issue "firmly" near Moscow. The Russian Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests from Reuters.