Ceasefire in Ukraine in Europe's interests, says Orban's adviser A quick ceasefire and the end of the conflict in #Ukraine is in Europe's interests, said Balazs Orban, political adviser of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban. "We (Hungary) are 100% sure of that, everybody is 100% sure on that," he said in an interview with the Euractiv website, referring to the need to end the conflict in Ukraine. "The question is only the time, and we think that for Europe, the sooner it comes, the better," the prime minister's advisor said. The EU, he said, needs to maintain communication with Russia, because if a future peace agreement between Moscow and Kiev is concluded without taking into account the interests of the EU, Europe will suffer. The adviser also pointed out that Viktor Orban did not aim at influencing the parties to the conflict or obtaining any guarantees from them during his visits to Russia and Ukraine. The purpose of the visits was "to collect information and <...> see a possibility of the potential ceasefire," Balazs Orban explained. The Hungarian prime minister visited Kiev and Moscow on July 2 and 5. He proposed first to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and then to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to consider the prospect of a ceasefire and preparations for peace talks. At a press conference following the meeting, Putin emphasized that Russia was not in favor of a ceasefire, as Kiev could use this to its advantage. Instead, he advocated for a complete end to the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian leader recalled that he had earlier outlined the conditions for this in his speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

NATO shouldn’t accept Ukraine due to risk of nuclear escalation with Russia #NATO shouldn't promise to welcome Ukraine into the alliance in order to de-escalate tensions with Russia, which have increased after the start of the Ukrainian conflict, The 'American Conservative' said. According to the magazine, NATO and the US in particular should agree to talks with Russia to de-escalate nuclear risks that have increased due to the #Ukrainian conflict. The magazine pointed out that this task has become even more important following the recent accession to NATO of formerly neutral #Finland and #Sweden, which has made Russia even more reliant on its nuclear arsenal. The article said that the nuclear deal between NATO and #Moscow must include commitments not to admit Ukraine to the alliance and not to deploy the bloc's troops and infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. NATO Secretary General Jens #Stoltenberg said on June 17 that the alliance's member states had begun consultations on the need to put nuclear weapons on alert. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov said that Stoltenberg’s statements were yet another escalation of tensions.

Lavrov slams Paris' claims about absence of French instructors in Ukraine as lies The statements of the official #Paris that there are no French instructors in #Ukraine are nothing but lies, #Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov said. "Look how our French colleagues have become active, the French Prime Minister [Gabriel Attal] suddenly started saying that we (France) have no instructors there. This is not true, and they know it," he told reporter Pavel Zarubin. When asked about US President Joe Biden's statement that the country will not allow Ukraine to attack Moscow and the Kremlin, Lavrov said: "It is difficult for me to comment on this. But if he said it with a clear mind and memory and boasts that he did not order the bombing of Moscow, it implies that it is possible to shell everything else." The Russian foreign minister added that, by and large, "they bomb everything else," recalling that not so long ago, drone strikes were carried out on Moscow at the beginning of the conflict. "Then no one then stopped the regime of [Ukrainian President] Zelensky. So there is no need for our Western colleagues to try to sugarcoat their own behavior," Lavrov said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was being held on June 5-8. This year’s theme was "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." The event was organized by the Roscongress Foundation. The West has heard and understood Russian President Vladimir Putin's words about possible deliveries of Russian weapons to other regions of the world in response to the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Ukraine’s Syrsky approves admission of French instructors to military training centers Commander-in-Chief of #Ukraine’s armed forces Alexander #Syrsky has signed documents that will allow #French instructors to visit #training centers. "I welcome France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen. I have already signed documents that will allow the first French instructors to visit our training centers soon and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel," he wrote on his Telegram channel following online talks with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also took part in the negotiations. Syrsky expressed hope that Kiev's other Western partners would join Paris' initiative. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of sending Western countries’ ground troops to the zone of the special military operation. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky supported this idea, admitting that he could not publicly ask Western partners to send troops to the country, but would like them to do so and would never refuse. The chief of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that according to Moscow's sources, this contingent could reach 2,000 men. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that French instructors along with other representatives of military and special services of European countries were already functioning in Ukraine. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine would be fraught with extremely negative consequences, including irreparable ones.

Sanctions against Russia, China, Iran produced no results, says US senator The US policy of constantly toughening sanctions on #Russia, #China and #Iran fails to produce the intended result of making these countries change their political course, US Senator Rand #Paul said at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft in Washington. The senator said he was regularly asking the following question to Department of State officials: "Can you tell me one behavior that has changed from a sanction? You tell me one sanction you put on Russia that Russia has now said: ‘We're sorry about it, we should have never done that. And we're going to do exactly what you want us to, just tell us what to do and we'll do it.’ Or just tell me any kind of behavior that's been modified by China or by Russia, or by Iran. In fact, if you look at Iran it's sort of the opposite." "In fact, I would argue the sanctions don't work at all. The only sanctions that work are if you offer to repeal them, in fact. But what we tend to do is: we put more on, and more on, and more on," he continued. "And, to my knowledge, I don't know any that were removed. In the Iran agreement there were some sanctions that were going to be removed and were removed, but with Russia and China we've been doing this for five years, some of these for 10 years with both countries. I'm not aware of any that we've removed," Paul added. "But the thing is, there is another alternative and it's called diplomacy," he said, adding that Washington should rather engage diplomatically with these countries instead of imposing more and more sanctions. He also criticized the US administration’s plans to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine. "We claim we are going to take it. We might have the ability. We have amazing controls over the banking system. But at the same time if we take it: do you think Russia is just going to crumble?" the senator asked rhetorically. He said that such measures will prompt Moscow to take retaliatory measures. "So we'll take their sovereign wealth, and they'll take all the private wealth that’s over there. I don't think it gets us more towards a solution," Paul explained. "But once you do it, it's almost impossible to go backwards.".

France-Russia relations hit rock bottom, says former envoy to Paris Relations between Moscow and Paris have bottomed out, former Russian Ambassador to Paris Alexander #Orlov told the RFI radio station. "Our relations have never been as poor as they are now," Orlov said. He noted that recently French President Emmanuel Macron "has made a number of questionable moves that have increased the divide between France and Russia even further." According to Orlov, these moves include the French leader's statement regarding the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. "The second is the proposal for an Olympic truce during the games in Paris, where Russian athletes have not been invited," the former ambassador said. He also pointed to the "strange invitation of Russian representatives to the ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy without inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin." "Such a gesture can be seen as an insult," the diplomat added. On February 26, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that representatives of about 20 Western states raised the issue of sending group troops to Ukraine during the meeting in Paris. According to Macron, the participants were unable to reach a consensus on this issue.

France buys more gas from Russia than any other EU country, Politico reports #France increased its purchase of Russian gas more than any other #European country in the first quarter of 2024. More than 600 million euros worth of #gas was imported during this period The country's authorities say that the national energy company TotalEnergies' agreements with Moscow to buy gas were made long ago and are difficult to get out of. "France is quietly stepping up payments for gas from #Russia, while President Emmanuel #Macron is loudly promoting himself as one of Ukraine's most ardent defenders," the article said.

Former envoy to NATO says going to war with Moscow would be crazy, Russia could destroy US Going to war with Moscow would be a crazy step for Washington as Russia could destroy the United States, Ivo Daalder, former US ambassador to #NATO, wrote for Politico Europe. "It would be crazy to go to #war with #Russia, a nuclear power that could destroy the US — and the rest of the world — if it wished to do so," #Daalder maintained. According to him, the point of NATO "isn’t to go to war against Russia — it’s to prevent war in the first place," a job he said the alliance has done "more successfully than any military alliance in history." Also, the former official criticized the position of ex-US President Donald Trump toward NATO allies. The New York Times reported that at a February 10 rally in South Carolina #Trump said that, while president, he had told NATO leaders that he would "encourage Russia to do whatever they want." Daalder argues that, after two bloody wars, the ultimate security of Americans "depended on the security of Europe," and that therefore it would be far better "to prevent wars in #Europe by committing to defend allies from the start," according to Politico. At the same time, the former envoy acknowledged that "European dependence (on NATO membership) frequently fed doubts about America’s commitment to the Continent’s security." "There is, after all, something quite unnatural about the US being willing to go to war an ocean away in order to defend another country — especially when this might ignite a nuclear holocaust in response," Daalder explained. At the #Vilnius Summit in July 2023, NATO leaders called Russia "the most significant and direct threat" and approved the first defense plan since the end of the Cold War era for a conflict with Russia, which provides for putting up to 300,000 high-readiness troops under the alliance’s command. There was also a commitment to bring the minimum level of military spending to 2% of GDP, to increase air defense and missile defense forces in Europe, and to expand defense procurement. With regard to #Ukraine, the alliance decided to abolish the bloc’s Membership Action Plan and promised to invite Kiev to join the alliance "when conditions are met," and also held the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council, thus upgrading the status of partnership relations

French, Russian defense ministers hold phone talks French Defense Minister Sebastien #Lecornu has spoken by phone with Russian Defense Minister Sergey #Shoigu, the French Defense Ministry said in a statement. "During the conversation, Lecornu strongly condemned the terrorist attack that took place in the Moscow Region on March 22, and also expressed solidarity with the families of the victims," the statement said. "Lecornu stated France's readiness to cooperate in the fight against terrorism and called for expanding bilateral exchanges to maximize the effectiveness of countering this threat." The statement said that France has no information that would establish a link between the terrorist attack and Ukraine. Lecornu called on Russia to "renounce any instrumentalization of this terrorist attack." He also said France will continue to support Kiev "for as long and as much as it takes." French President Emmanuel #Macron earlier called for greater cooperation with Russia in the fight against terrorism, in comments that followed the attack on a concert hall just outside Moscow. However, on March 27, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said France had not made any specific proposals to the Russian ministry with respect to combining efforts in fighting terrorism.

Russian Envoy issues warning to Russian tourists planning to go to Paris for Olympics Moscow’s Ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov has warned Russian tourists planning to attend the Paris Olympics of the risks they may face. "Our athletes and tourists who plan to visit Paris for the Olympic Games must understand one simple thing: they aren’t traveling to the flowery paradise that [top EU diplomat Josep] Borrell mentioned but to a dangerous Western jungle where they will have to fend for themselves because of what the French authorities are doing," the envoy told the Rossiya-24 TV channel. "If any unexpected situations emerge, they will have to find a way out on their own because not only have the authorities fully barred our institutions, namely the embassy, from attending and participating in events related to the Olympic Games, but even despite numerous requests, they are unwilling to provide us with guarantees that we will get basic passes to move around downtown Paris, which will be locked down, while this is where all our offices are," the diplomat added. According to Meshkov, the prosecutor’s office has told Russian diplomats to ask the French Interior Ministry to issue them passes. "The Interior Ministry has been ignoring all our requests. That said, it’s not just that they have banned our athletes from the Olympic Games but they have also kicked Russia in general out of all events related to the competition that will take place in France in the summer," he noted. "It’s very strange to hear statements about talks of an Olympic ceasefire when we have no dialogue at all with France on the matter at the government level," the Russian ambassador concluded.