President Trump declares desire to meet with Putin 'very quickly' President #Trump would like to hold a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir #Putin as soon as possible, he told the Newsmax TV channel in an interview. "I know he wants to meet and I’m going to meet [him] very quickly. I would’ve done it sooner but... you have to get into the office. For some of the things, you do have to be there," Trump said. Meanwhile, Trump's incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz told ABC News that phone conversations between the Russian leader and the US president-elect may take place in the near future. Trump has previously said that he would like to meet with Putin in the first six months of his presidency and is ready for such contacts. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in turn, said that Putin was open to dialogue with his new US counterpart without any preconditions, adding that "there are no specifics yet.".

President Trump announced preparations for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "He wants to meet, and we are setting it up," #Trump told reporters, according to Fox News. "He has said that even publicly and we have to get that [#Ukrainian conflict] over with." There are also efforts to arrange a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump said. Trump earlier said he would like to hold talks with #Putin and suggested that this could happen within six months after he took office. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov said the US had not formally requested a meeting yet. Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with new US leader Donald Trump without any preconditions, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a news briefing, commenting on Trump’s plans to meet with Putin. "President Putin has consistently stated his openness to engagement with international leaders, including the US president, including Donald Trump," the Kremlin official said. "No special conditions are needed for this. What is required is the mutual intent and political will to hold a dialogue and address existing issues through dialogue," Peskov explained. "There have been no specific details yet," Putin’s press secretary commented on media reports about the potential date of the meeting. "We are proceeding from the mutual readiness for the meeting," he added. "By all appearances, after Mr. Trump enters the Oval Office, there will be some progress," Peskov said.

Russian forces evacuating from Syria A special #Russian air force flight from the Khmeimim air base in #Syria has evacuated some of the Russian diplomatic personnel in #Damascus as well as Belarusian and North Korean diplomats, the Russian foreign ministry says. “The work of the Russian Embassy in Damascus continues,” the crisis situation department of the Russian foreign ministry says on its Telegram channel. Russia’s RIA state news agency reports, citing the Belarusian foreign ministry, that all Belarusian diplomats have been evacuated from Syria. In an other Hand, the serial production of the Oreshnik intermediate-range missile will begin shortly, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. "As you know, the #Oreshnik intermediate-range missile system has become Russia’s newest powerful weapon. It was successfully used in November in response to the strikes on our country’s territory - a ballistic missile with a non-nuclear hypersonic payload was used," the Russian leader said, speaking at the Russian Defense Ministry’s board meeting. "The serial production of such systems is supposed to be established in shortly in order ensure the security of Russia and its allies."

Scholz-Putin talk should be welcomed, as it is right step --- Bundestag #Bundestag member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice (BSW) group Sevim Dagdelen considers the telephone conversation between German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz and Russian President Vladimir #Putin a right step. "Even if it is a maneuver designed to present oneself as Chancellor of the Peace in the upcoming election battle, it should be welcomed that Olaf Scholz has finally reached the point of having a direct conversation with Russian President Putin," she wrote on her X page. "The statement made by his predecessor Helmut Schmidt that it is better to negotiate for 100 hours about nothing than to shoot for one minute was and still is correct," Dagdelen noted. The lawmaker emphasized that politicians who are "intoxicated by war" and advocate for an imposed peace or the continuation of the conflict "until Kiev's victory" are only contributing to further loss of life. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, marking their first phone conversation since December 2022. According to the Kremlin, the leaders discussed Ukraine, the Middle East crisis, and bilateral relations between Moscow and Berlin. They agreed that their aides would maintain communication. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Scholz’s decision to call Putin demonstrates political will to understand Moscow's position firsthand.

President Trump 'demonstrates affinity' for Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports The Hill President #Trump "demonstrates affinity" for Russian President Vladimir #Putin, while "harboring deep disdain" for #Zelensky, The Hill reported, saying that this state of affairs could significantly change the US foreign policy. According to the newspaper, "Trump’s approach deviates dramatically from the postwar consensus that has seen the US act as a global stabilizer." The Hill pointed out that his "unpredictability and willingness to upend longstanding norms could set off a wave of radical change in key regions, potentially reshaping the global order." Former Trump advisers have already backed his idea of cutting aid to Ukraine to force Kiev into talks with Russia, according to The Hill. #TRUMP2024

Trump, Putin speak over phone President #Trump has already spoken over the phone with Russian President Vladimir #Putin, The Washington Post said, citing its sources. However, neither Washington not Moscow have officially confirmed this information. According to The Washington Post, Trump and Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine and "the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss ‘the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon,’ several of the people said." However, the newspaper noted, Trump’s calls with world leaders are not backed by the Department of State and US administration interpreters, since Trump and his aides "are distrustful of career government officials following the leaked transcripts of presidential calls during his first term." "They are just calling [Trump] directly," it cited one of the people familiar with the calls. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that the Russian president is open to dialogue with Trump, however, in his words, nothing concrete could be said about it as of yet. Speaking at Thursday’s plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, Putin congratulated Trump on winning the presidential election, adding that he saw nothing wrong with calling Trump. The latter, however, told NBC that he had not yet spoken with the Russian leader but believed such a call was highly likely. #TRUMP2024

Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine in 2025 Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine next year, if the situation remains that "grim" for Ukrainian servicemen, The Washington Post said. According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian troops "are desperately trying to hold the line in the country’s east but are losing ground." - "Visions of an absolute victory are fading. Western support is also sagging," the Washington Post emphasized. In this regard, "the prospect of Ukraine settling for a compromise with Russia <…> is getting easier to envision," the newspaper pointed out. On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the Foreign Ministry set out the country’s conditions for settling the situation in Ukraine. Among them are the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev’s refusal to join NATO. In addition, Russia wants all Western sanctions against it lifted and demands that Ukraine commit to a non-aligned and nuclear-free status.

Kyiv prepared Putin’s assassination attempt with Western involvement, funding, reports diplomat The #Kyiv regime was preparing an #assassination attempt against Russian President Vladimir #Putin with direct participation and funding from its Anglo-Saxon masters, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova said during a briefing. "We noted the confessions of the head of Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov [included in the list of terrorists and extremists in Russia]. Speaking in an interview for a Ukrainian newspaper on July 13, he confessed to futile assassination attempts against the President of Russia. There are no doubts that such crimes were planned and funded with direct participation of the Anglo-Saxon masters of the Kiev regime," the diplomat noted. She stated her certainty that, this way, the collective West "becomes complicit in this criminal activity of the Kiev regime." - "No evil deed, no terror act against civilians, against representatives of the authorities, has never been condemned by Western countries during this period, neither in their national quality, nor collectively," Zakharova underscored. Previously, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov said that everything necessary is being done to ensure the safety of the president "considering the international escalation of tensions in general."

Biden mistakenly welcomes "President Putin," when introducing Ukraine's Zelneskyy at today's closing NATO event. Biden: "And now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine... ladies and gentlemen, President Putin."

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.