On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed at the United Nations that Moscow will achieve its military goals in Ukraine “no matter the circumstances.”
Lavrov said from the podium of the United Nations General Assembly: “The goals of the special military operation will be achieved, the threat to Russian security will be eliminated, and calm life will return.” This will happen regardless of the circumstances.”
On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Minister accused European countries of “doing everything in their power” to obstruct negotiations aimed at ending the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
He said: “Europe is doing everything in its power to obstruct the peace talks sponsored by the administration of (US President Donald) Trump.”
Lavrov also called on the United States to lift the “blockade” imposed on Cuba, as well as restrictions on trade with the largest island in the Caribbean.
Lavrov said that the United States should remove Cuba from the list of states sponsoring terrorism.
The United States launched a pressure campaign on Cuba that largely prevented oil from reaching the island, causing widespread power outages.
Vadivol meets Lavrov
In addition, during his meeting with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the United Nations meetings on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Johan Vadevoll called on Moscow to “abandon the dangerous escalation approach” that it is adopting, according to what a German diplomat said.
The talks, the first of their kind since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, took place against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Berlin and Moscow in recent weeks, as Germany held Russia responsible for an attempted drone attack targeting Leipzig Airport. As a result, both countries ordered the closure of the other country's consulate.
The German diplomat said that Vadiful "called on the Russian Federation to abandon its dangerous approach of escalation towards Germany, Europe and NATO."
Vadiful explained, according to what the diplomat was quoted as saying, that “incidents such as the recent attempted attack in Leipzig or other multi-means attacks will not shake Germany’s resolve to support Ukraine, which is under attack.”
Germany is one of Ukraine's most prominent supporters, while Lavrov recently accused it of "wanting war again," rejecting Berlin's accusations that Moscow was responsible for the Leipzig airport attack last month.
Pope Leo Aboard his “Papa Mobile” car, the Supreme Pontiff smilingly greeted the children and welcomed the crowds of worshipers, many of whom had arrived hours earlier to see him heading towards Place de la Concorde. A white altar was erected, topped with a cross several meters high.
The mass began shortly after three o'clock in the afternoon local time, with about 700,000 people - according to the Vatican - lining up over a length of more than two kilometers up to Grand Army Street, behind the Arc de Triomphe. They were able to follow the mass, which lasted an hour and a half, via giant screens.
Marie-Hélène, who came from the suburbs of Paris, said: “I may not see anything, but it does not matter. What is important is our presence in this large number and our participation in the Mass.”
Wide popularity
On Place de la Concorde; As the arrivals waited patiently and ate their food, 51-year-old Virginie Courteau, who was coming from Nanterre with her family, told Agence France-Presse, “The Pope is the star!” She added: “He addresses an audience that goes beyond the Catholic religion. He is the Pope we need in this era, the Pope who adds depth and contemplation.”
In the streets adjacent to the Champs-Elysées, with dozens of metro stations closed, dozens of buses carried worshipers from several areas throughout the morning, often equipped with folding chairs, in preparation for waiting for the Pope's arrival.
The Archdiocese of Paris reported that many politicians came to participate in the Mass. Among them are the presidential candidates: Edouard Philippe, Gabriel Attal, and Marine Le Pen, who was accompanied by the head of her National Rally party, Jordan Bardella, in addition to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, former President Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Speakers of the Houses of Parliament, Yael Brown-Bivet, and Gérard Larchet.
President Emmanuel Macron, who received Pope Leo on Friday upon his arrival at the airport and then at the Elysee Palace, was absent, and was represented by his wife, Brigitte.
This is the first papal visit since Benedict It witnesses the mobilization of 17,000 volunteers, 15,000 police and gendarmerie members, and 2,500 accredited journalists, and it has been allocated a huge budget of 27 million euros.
“Dignity and peace”
Leo
During his meeting with a number of Muslim and Christian expatriates and immigrants of different nationalities, the Pope stressed the importance of “meeting and living together in dignity and peace.” He said, “The history of the Church and humanity... was not written by those who give the impression of victory by imposing themselves and occupying space; Rather, they are those who make room for others, create peace mechanisms, inspire confidence, and encourage life.” He called for "acknowledging the essential role of women in building a civilization based on love."
According to its officials, this visit to the House sends a “message” months before presidential elections in France, in which the issue of immigration is expected to return to the forefront. Since his election in May 2025, the Pope has consistently called for preserving the dignity of migrants and refugees. The American Pope did not hesitate to criticize President Donald Trump's policy in this regard.
The Pope then visited the Catholic Institute in Paris; Where he met new and future baptized people, which testifies to the vitality of the church among a segment of young people. The Pope said during the meeting at the institute’s historic headquarters: “It may seem surprising that we witness this phenomenon in the context of a society like French society (...) marked by a highly secular culture.” On Friday, he touched on secularism in his speech at the Elysee Palace, considering that “proper secularism does not mean excluding religion from the public space.”
The Pope's visit has received remarkable popular attention since its first day. According to the Vatican, 300,000 people lined up on Friday to welcome him as he crossed in the papal car in central Paris, before 80,000 young people gave him a star-studded welcome on Friday evening, at the Stade de France.
Germany called for the formation of a rapid reaction force affiliated with the European Border Guard Agency (Frontex), to assist countries in the event of sudden migration “pressure” at the Union’s external borders, similar to what happened in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this summer.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt stated, during a press conference on Saturday in Munich, that Europe must establish “a new support mechanism for countries facing such pressure at their external borders.”
The conservative minister added before a meeting with 16 of his counterparts in the European Union and European Commissioner Magnus Brenner to discuss immigration files, saying: “In other words, a rapid intervention force affiliated with Frontex, which will be able to provide the necessary support to countries located on the external borders of the European Union within 24 hours.”
For his part, Brenner indicated that the European Commission will “in the near future” provide an “enhanced” mandate to Frontex, to be able to “move quickly and with greater flexibility, before events turn into real crises.”
Dobrindt stressed that the German government, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which has made tightening immigration policy a priority to curb the rise of the extreme right, “is convinced that it can make greater use of the Frontex agency in the procedures for returning migrants,” especially through the third countries they pass through, as well as within the framework of the “Dublin Agreement” within the European Union, which determines the country responsible for deciding on the asylum request.
Commissioner Brenner considered that Frontex should play a “more important and intense role in repatriation operations.”
Germany is currently working, in cooperation with Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria and Greece, to establish migrant return centers (deportation centres) in a country outside the European Union, with the aim of returning asylum seekers whose applications have been rejected.
Dobrindt adhered to the goal announced by these five countries, which is to submit preliminary agreements with countries outside the bloc “by the end of the year.”
For its part, the International Rescue Committee, on Thursday, condemned the repatriation centres, describing it as a “cruel, costly approach that strips people of their dignity and basic rights.”
