kyiv and Seoul talk arms, Putin in Kazakhstan

► The EU must increase its defense spending, according to von der Leyen

The European Union must do more to compete with Moscow’s defense spending, underlined the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, before the European Parliament on Wednesday 27 November in Strasbourg.

EU defense spending “must increase”she insisted. “Russia spends up to 9% of its GDP on defense. Europe spends on average 1.9%. There is something wrong with this equation.”she said, presenting her new team to MEPs.

► A Ukrainian delegation expected in Seoul

A Ukrainian delegation is expected in South Korea to meet South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and discuss Seoul’s support for kyiv in arms matters.

This delegation, led by Ukrainian Defense Minister Roustem Umierov, will probably “share information” on the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

She should also seek to convince Seoul to support the Ukrainian war effort against Russia by sending weapons to kyiv, according to the same source.

► Putin expected in Kazakhstan, his “true ally”

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected in Kazakhstan, his “true ally” yet courted by China and the West, where he must notably discuss with the Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev the realization of energy projects in this Central Asian country.

In a speech published in the newspaper At Pravda of Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin, who is due to land later in this former Soviet republic, praised a “alliance tested by life and turned towards the future” and highlighted the nature “truly ally” of Russian-Kazakh cooperation.

“We have been and remain a reliable strategic partner and ally of Russia in this difficult period of history, filled with conflicts and disasters”for his part assured Kassym-Jomart Tokaïev, in a letter published by the Russian media Izvestia.