The Interview

Mohamed ElBaradei was director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 until 2009. In an interview with FRANCE 24, he reflected on the US-led invasion of Iraq 20 years ago this week, which he opposed. "If I now look in hindsight, it was not really about weapons of mass destruction. It was about regime change," he said. ElBaradei added: "They (the US) thought the best pretext was to say that Saddam Hussein was linked to al Qaeda and had WMDs (...) They didn't really have any evidence. It was all about belief. And they started a slew of deception and misinformation."

In an interview with FRANCE 24 after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan said it was an important day for international justice. The warrant marked “the first time ever that a head of state from a P5 has been charged” by the international court, said Khan referring to the UN Security Council’s permanent five members.

Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan granted an interview to FRANCE 24 from Lahore. Earlier this week, police came to arrest him at his home for not appearing in court over a corruption case, a move that sparked clashes with his supporters. "They are scared of the coming elections on April 30 and they wanted me in jail before that," Khan told FRANCE 24, adding that he would attend a court hearing on March 18. "No political leader has ever suffered this sort of attack," he added.

FRANCE 24 spoke to the former head of Saudi intelligence, Turki al-Faisal, following the announcement that Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations. The prince expressed hope that last week's China-brokered deal will be a game-changer for the region, mentioning Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and especially Yemen, where a deadly conflict has resulted in the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The former ambassador to the US and UK also explained why China was "the logical partner" in making the deal happen.

FRANCE 24 spoke to Andrey Medvedev, a deserter of Russia's Wagner Group, almost two months after he fled to Norway. The 26-year-old Russian ex-mercenary entered the country illegally on January 13 in a bid to seek asylum there. Speaking from Oslo, Medvedev explained that he "witnessed many things" while fighting with the Wagner Group in Ukraine. However, he said he was unable to talk in detail about them and was keeping this information for Norwegian investigators. Medvedev also apologised to the Ukrainian people.

In an interview with FRANCE 24 from Tel Aviv, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom expressed deep concern at the prospect of Israel becoming a "dictatorship". For weeks, Israel has been rocked by a wave of protests against a bill that would curtail the independence of the country's highest court. Yatom claimed the bill was an attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "run away from the trial he is facing" on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Yatom also criticised Netanyahu's coalition partners for backing the legislation.

The prosecutor general of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, told FRANCE 24 that he had identified and collected evidences of war crimes committed by the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In an interview with FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg in Kyiv, the head of the parliamentary faction of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Servant of the People party discussed the situation in Ukraine, one year after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. David Arakhamia said Russian President Vladimir Putin had "lost influence in the world" as a result of Moscow's military setbacks in Ukraine. Arakhamia said "everyone" should worry after Putin said he would suspend his country's participation in New START, the last remaining major nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed confidence that Ukraine would win the war against the invading force of Russia, in an interview with FRANCE 24. Speaking in Brussels a few days ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion, the top Ukrainian diplomat explained why he thinks President Vladimir Putin represents a global threat for the international community, saying that the Russian president's strategy was "destruction and undermining stability". Kuleba added, "No one is interested in having a UN Security Council member and a nuclear power messing up the world."

FRANCE 24 spoke to Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as Kosovo celebrates 15 years of independence. Kurti is due to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Brussels on February 27 and said he was "very optimistic" that an agreement leading to full normalisation between the two countries could happen "this year". He regretted that relations between Kosovo and Serbia "are not normal" and claimed Belgrade isolated itself by "not delinking (...) from the Kremlin".