Musk reportedly joined Trump-Zelenskyy call – DW – 11/09/2024

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the Belarusian opposition leader who lives in self-imposed exile in Lithuania, told DW that she congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump on his election victory because she respects the choice of the American people.

“Of course, as democratic forces, we will have to work with the new administration,” she said.

Tsikhanouskaya added that she believes the American people will stand strongly for democracy with those who are fighting for democratic change.

“What we need from the US is support for decent democratic forces. It’s pressure on Lukashenko’s regime because he’s a dictator,” she said.

Among the possible ways of support, she mentioned imposing sanctions for human rights violations and torture in Belarus, bringing the perpetrators to justice, and providing asylum to those who have been forced to flee Belarus because of repression.

The Belarusian opposition leader also stressed that it is very important for the whole democratic world, including the US, to do everything for the Ukrainians to win the war. 

Germany’s ambassador to Russia, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, has called on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a ceremony in Moscow marking the 35th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Lambsdorff praised Soviet Union’s role in the reunification of Germany, while urging Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.

He stressed that the Soviet Union had helped make the reunification possible as it managed, alongside the West, to “bury a dangerous conflict” and create the foundations for a better future. 

“At that time, a peaceful order emerged in Europe that other world regions envied,” said Lambsdorff. “We want to, we must return to this order,” he said, referring to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

“The key to peace once again lies here in Moscow. Russia must end the war in Ukraine,” Lambsdorff said. “This is necessary in the interest of humanity, in the interest of peace in Europe, in the interest of the entire community of states.”

The Pentagon will allow a select number of private US defense contractors to deploy into Ukraine, US officials said on Friday.

The contractors will be stationed far away from the frontlines and will not take part in combat, officials said, speaking to news agencies on condition of anonymity. Their safety will be their own companies’ responsibility.

The easing of restrictions aims to allow the contractors to help with equipment maintenance and repair. This will help with repairing equipment which requires high expertise, including F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems.

There is an existing number of US companies which the State Department has contracted to work in Ukraine, including on the energy grid. Meanwhile, workers from a number of American companies are available in the country, under contracts with the Ukrainian government.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called US President-elect Donald Trump to congratulate him on his election victory earlier this week, he briefly spoke to billionaire Elon Musk.

News website Axios reported that Musk was physically with Trump during the phone call, with the president-elect handing it over to him. Several other media outlets later also reported the same news, citing Ukrainian forces.

Musk “wasn’t on the line, Trump gave him the phone. They were there together somewhere,” a senior Ukrainian official told the French AFP news agency.

Zelenskyy “thanked him [Musk] for the Starlinks, they talked briefly,” the source said, referring to the satellite internet devices used by Ukrainian troops as they fight off the Russian invasion.

Zelenskyy was telling Trump of the importance of the satellites for internet service during the war when Trump said Musk was with him and put him on the line, The Washington Post reported. The pair were speaking from Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach residence and club in Florida.

Musk’s presence with Trump has been interpreted as indicative of the close relation he is expected to enjoy with the president-elect during his second term.

Musk has flooded Trump’s election campaign with tens of millions of dollars in support, and Trump has said he intends to give Musk a role promoting government efficiency within his administration.

rmt/wd (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)