Month: May 2022

Євросоюз

Zelenskyy: Duration of War With Russia Depends on Countries of Free World

“No one today can predict how long this war will last,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily address Friday about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “But we are doing everything we can to liberate our land quickly. This is our priority – to work every day to make the war shorter,” he said. Zelenskyy said the length of the war “depends, unfortunately, not only on our people, who are already doing the maximum.” He said, “It also depends on our partners – on European countries, on the countries of the whole free world.” The possible expansion of NATO, …

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Євросоюз

G7 to Continue Economic Pressure on Russia, Tackle ‘Wheat War’

Group of Seven foreign ministers vowed on Saturday to reinforce Russia’s economic and political isolation, continue supplying weapons to Ukraine and tackle what Germany’s foreign minister described as a “wheat war” being waged by Moscow. After meeting at a 400-year-old castle estate in the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus, senior diplomats from Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union also pledged to continue their military and defense assistance for “as long as necessary.” They would also tackle what they called Russian misinformation aimed at blaming the West for food supply issues around the world …

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Євросоюз

Georgia’s Breakaway South Ossetia Sets Vote to Join Russia

The leader of the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia announced Friday that a referendum on joining Russia would be held in July. Russia has exercised effective control over the region since fighting a brief war with Georgia in 2008. Russia and a handful of other countries recognize South Ossetia as an independent state, but most of the world still considers it to be part of Georgia. “We did it!” South Ossetian leader Anatoly Bibilov wrote on Telegram Friday, announcing that he had signed a decree setting the referendum for July 17. “In legalese, we fulfilled yet another important legal …

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Євросоюз

Russia’s Inter RAO to Halt Power Exports to Finland Due Lack of Payment

Russian state-owned utility Inter RAO will stop exporting electricity to Finland from Saturday because it has not been paid, the company’s Finnish subsidiary said Friday. Inter RAO has not received payments for electricity sold via pan-European power exchange Nord Pool since May 6, the subsidiary said, without giving any reason. “This situation is exceptional and happened for the first time in over 20 years of our trading history,” RAO Nordic said in a statement. Power imports to Finland will be halted from 1 a.m. local time on Saturday (2200 GMT on Friday) “for the time being,” Finnish grid operator Fingrid …

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Євросоюз

NATO Expansion in Focus as Blinken Travels to Europe for Talks on Russia-Ukraine War

The possible expansion of NATO will be a focus of talks Saturday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Berlin for an informal NATO foreign ministerial meeting. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin have expressed their approval for joining the alliance, a move that would complete a major policy shift for the Scandinavian countries in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday his country does not support Finland and Sweden joining NATO, citing their support of what Turkey considers terrorist organizations, such as Kurdish militant groups. “We are following …

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