Russia most direct threat to world order: EU President

TOKYO, May 12 (AFP/TASS): Russia is the "most direct threat" to the international order because of its invasion of Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday in Tokyo.
Russia "is today the most direct threat to the world order with the barbaric war against Ukraine, and its worrying pact with China", she said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida along with European Council President Charles Michel.
The top EU officials are in Tokyo for an annual round of talks that comes with much of the international community rallying to pressure Moscow over the Ukraine war, with concern also growing about China's role.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not just a matter for Europe, but it shakes the core of the international order including Asia. This must not be tolerated," said Kishida, whose government has joined tough sanctions on Moscow, including on energy.
Beijing's increasingly muscular stance in Asia was also on the agenda, with the EU looking to take a more high-profile role in confronting China.
"Our cooperation in Ukraine is critical in Europe, but it's also important in the Indo-Pacific and we also want to deepen our consultation on a more assertive China," said Michel.
Truce in Ukraine not in
near future: UN chief
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres does not see the possibility of concluding peace or achieving a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine at the moment.
"At the present moment, there are no immediate chances of a peace agreement or immediate chances for a global ceasefire," he told a news conference after a meeting with Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen.
Asked if he understood Russia's endgame following talks with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on April 26, Guterres said he did not, adding that he lacked "divining capabilities". Countries should concentrate their diplomatic efforts on providing humanitarian aid and having civilians evacuated from the combat
Ukraine to hold first
war crimes trial
Ukraine's top prosecutor disclosed plans Wednesday for the first war crimes trial of a captured Russian soldier, as fighting raged in the east and south and the Kremlin left open the possibility of annexing a corner of the country it seized early in the invasion.
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said her office charged Sgt. Vadin Shyshimarin, 21, in the killing of an unarmed 62-year-old civilian who was gunned down while riding a bicycle in February, four days into the war.
Shyshimarin, who served with a tank unit, was accused of firing through a car window on the man in the northeastern village of Chupakhivka. Venediktova said the soldier could get up to 15 years in prison. She did not say when the trial would start.