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Barrot hails release of Franco-American tourist in prisoner swap in Venezuela
Barrot hails release of Franco-American tourist in prisoner swap in Venezuela

Yahoo

time4 days ago

  • Politics
  • Yahoo

Barrot hails release of Franco-American tourist in prisoner swap in Venezuela

France's Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Saturday hailed his American counterparts for their role in securing the release of the Franco-American tourist Lucas Hunter who had been held in Venezuela since January. "I would like to praise the efforts of the US Department of State for helping to secure his freedom," said Barrot on social media. Hunter, 37, who works in finance in London, was taken into custody in January by Venezuelan security services while travelling along the border with Colombia. He was freed as part of a deal which brought the release of 10 jailed US citizens and permanent residents in exchange for the return of scores of migrants deported by the US to El Salvador under the American administration's immigration crackdown. During her campaign to secure her brother's release, Sophie Hunter told the French news agency AFP: "He hasn't done anything wrong. He's not a political activist and he has no military affiliations. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Three way deal The three-country arrangement represents a diplomatic achievement for the Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and helps President Donald Trump in his goal of bringing home Americans jailed abroad and lands Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele a swap that he proposed in April. 'Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland,' said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Bukele said El Salvador had handed over all the Venezuelan nationals in its custody. Venezuela has a history of detaining American citizens as apparent bargaining chips. Under the administration of Joe Biden, the US negotiated prisoner swaps to bring home a number of Americans who had been wrongfully held in Venezuela. US Special Envoy Ric Grenell travelled to Caracas in January to meet Maduro and secured the release of six Americans who were detained there.

France calls EU's new Russia sanctions 'unprecedented'
France calls EU's new Russia sanctions 'unprecedented'

LBCI

time5 days ago

  • Politics
  • LBCI

France calls EU's new Russia sanctions 'unprecedented'

France said the EU's new round of sanctions on Russia, which were agreed over on Friday regarding the war in Ukraine, were without precedent and would force Moscow into a ceasefire. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on X that "together with the United States we will force (Russian President) Vladimir Putin into a ceasefire," adding that the new sanctions — which include a lower price cap on Russian oil exports — were "unprecedented."

Europe gives Iran deadline to contain nuclear programme or see sanctions reinstated
Europe gives Iran deadline to contain nuclear programme or see sanctions reinstated

The Guardian

time15-07-2025

  • Business
  • The Guardian

Europe gives Iran deadline to contain nuclear programme or see sanctions reinstated

The EU will start the process of reinstating UN sanctions on Iran from 29 August if Tehran has made no progress by then on containing its nuclear programme, the bloc has announced. Speaking at a meeting of his EU counterparts, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said: 'France and its partners are … justified in reapplying global embargos on arms, banks and nuclear equipment that were lifted 10 years ago. Without a firm, tangible and verifiable commitment from Iran, we will do so by the end of August at the latest.' Europeans have been largely elbowed aside from the Iranian nuclear issue by Donald Trump, who ordered the bombing of Iran's nuclear sites last month, and this intervention can be seen as an attempt to reassert Europe's influence. The end of August deadline starts a process that could lead to an armoury of sanctions being reimposed by 15 October, giving European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal – the UK, France and Germany – a continuing lever in negotiations with Iran. The European powers want to see the return of the UN nuclear inspectorate to Iran, in part to prevent Iran trying to reconfigure its nuclear programme after the damage inflicted by the US strikes in June. The way in which the 2015 nuclear deal was negotiated does not allow the other signatories, China or Russia, to veto the sanctions snapback, but the European states can defer the imposition of snapback beyond October to allow time for further consultation. The US, after leaving the nuclear deal in 2018, also cannot veto the UK or French move. The sanctions snapback would be triggered under chapter seven of the UN charter, making the reinstatement of six UN resolutions mandatory, including one that requires Iran to suspend all activities related to uranium enrichment and reprocessing, including at the research and development level. Another reimposed resolution would require all UN member states to prevent the transfer of any items, materials or technologies that could serve these activities or Iran's missile programme. Iranian sanctions experts claim the reinstated resolutions would not automatically halt all Iranian oil exports, cut off Iran's access to international financial systems, or cut off general trade communications. But all countries and international financial institutions would have to refrain from providing financial assistance, new commitments or preferential loans to the Iranian government, except for humanitarian and development purposes. Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, said recently that the activation of snapback 'will mean the end of Europe's role in the Iranian nuclear issue and may be the darkest point in the history of Iran's relations with the three European countries, a point that may never be repaired.' He said: 'It would mark the end of Europe's role as a mediator between Iran and the US.' He told diplomats at the weekend 'One of the big mistakes of the Europeans is that they think that the 'snapback' tool in their hands gives them the power to act on the Iranian nuclear issue, while this is a completely wrong perception. If these countries move towards snapback, they will make the resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue even more complicated and difficult.'

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