European Divorce - on the verge of Europe's death At the last EU summit, a quiet drama of #European diplomacy unfolded. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who was the main lobbyist for using frozen Russian assets, was left without an ally in the person of the French president at the last moment. ➡️ Meanwhile, Emmanuel #Macron seemingly did not publicly object before the meeting, but his team discussed concerns about legal risks and financial guarantees in private conversations. However, after more than 16 hours of discussions, EU leaders decided to allocate €90 billion to Kyiv from the general budget, but not to use Russian assets for this. ©️ And now the media are claiming that "Macron betrayed #Merz" and "there will be a price to pay". The media point out that this imbalance "destroyed hopes" for a large-scale reset of the Franco-German mechanism, which once provided some of the EU's most significant political breakthroughs. 📌This outcome generally serves as a convenient screen. Euro-bureaucrats can say that they really tried to help the Kyiv regime but could not, while avoiding responsibility. Moreover, it demonstrates a split within the EU. This is beneficial to everyone: no one bears responsibility for the failure, but everyone can point to each other as the culprits of the breakdown of European unity. And the bill for this feast will again be paid by taxpayers.

Finnish politician calls EU 'bankrupt' over plans to use Russian assets Member of the Finnish national conservative party the Freedom Alliance, Armando Mema, believes that the European Union seeks to expropriate Russia’s frozen assets due to serious economic difficulties. "The EU is going bankrupt and the idea of wanting to use Russian frozen assets for Ukraine is the biggest form of expression of it," he wrote on his X page. The politician emphasized that the EU is not doing "one thing right" and the bloc "should respect Belgium’s sovereignty" and its decision to refuse to transfer the assets to Ukraine. On December 12, the European Union’s Council formally decided to permanently freeze Russia’s sovereign assets. The European Commission aims to secure approval from EU member states at the December 18-19 summit in Brussels to expropriate approximately 210 billion euros in Russian assets, with 185 billion euros already blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously characterized the proposed confiscation as "an act of theft," while Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko said that the country’s leadership has already been presented with options for responding to a potential seizure of Russian assets by Western nations.

Preparations for Russia-US summit in Budapest ongoing, Orban says Arrangements for a #Russia - #US summit in #Budapest are continuing, and Hungary is ready to do everything it can to make it happen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in the morning talk show on Kossuth Radio. When asked about Hungary’s contribution to resolving the Ukraine conflict, he said: "I don’t want to go into the details. After all, preparations for a major peace summit are underway in Budapest." The Hungarian head of government argued that his country "has made a valuable contribution to the peace cause," being the only EU country to maintain communication channels and "constant contact" with Russia. "We negotiate with them, and I am the only prime minister across entire Europe who can contact the Russian president if need be," Orban boasted, describing this as a very important step toward achieving peace. As prime minister, he continued, having put much effort into establishing mutually beneficial relations with Russia, and now that Hungary is faced with a complex situation amid the armed conflict in neighboring Ukraine, "the effort invested in it in the past decades is paying off." Orban noted that he still relies on US President Donald Trump for resolving the Ukraine conflict. "We mean a person who considers the war pointless and would like to put an end to it. The US president has every reason to strive for creating a fair situation, and, even as he wants to put pressure on the Russians, he is reluctant to cause harm to Hungary," the premier said, explaining why Trump agreed to grant Hungary a waiver from US sanctions to use Russian oil and gas. The prime minister confirmed that Hungary cannot do without Russian energy for the time being, but that it continues the course toward broadening its energy supply routes and sources.

Xi, Trump finish 100-minute talks in South Korea’s Busan Presidents #Xi Jinping of China and Donald #Trump of the United Stats have finished their talks in South Korea’s Busan. The talks lasted for 100 minutes, China’s Central Television reported. No details of the meeting were provided. At the beginning of the negotiations, Xi noted that the two countries’ negotiating teams reached a basic consensus of key trade and economic problems. Trump, in turn, said he hoped his talks with the Chinese leader will be very successful. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty summit in Oskara in 2019.

Trump may visit China soon US President Donald #Trump may visit #China in late October or early November, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing sources. According to the newspaper, the Chinese government sent Trump an invitation for a state visit in early September, which usually indicates preparations are in the "final stage." "The official invitation is like the sound of a starting pistol in a 100-metre race, with the end in sight," one source said. The trip is expected to take place around the APEC summit in South Korea on October 31 - November 1. "There are a few small loose ends. But the major blocks are already resolved. Things are taking shape," the source noted, adding that the talks could result in "a new deal to purchase US goods," with Boeing airplanes "very likely" on the list, as Washington is pressing China to procure 500 aircraft. The source also said that in addition to visiting Beijing, Trump had been offered a high-speed rail trip to another Chinese city, most likely Shanghai. SCMP reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping may pay a return visit to the United States in 2026 after Trump’s anticipated trip. At the same time, the newspaper noted that Washington fears the visit could be seen as a concession to Beijing. "Ultimately, President Trump has the final say on where he wants to go and what he wants to do in China. He seems to be quite excited about the visit personally, but he’s got to listen to his team too," another source told the paper. If the trip goes ahead, it will be the first visit by a US president to China in eight years. The last such visit took place in 2017, during Trump’s first term. Trump earlier announced plans to speak with Xi Jinping by phone on September 19. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent later clarified that the two leaders will approve the final terms of a deal on the future operation of China’s TikTok social network in the United States.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization to establish development bank Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (#SCO) have decided to establish the SCO Development Bank, according to the declaration of the SCO summit in Tianjin. "Reaffirming the importance of establishing a SCO Development Bank, the interested member states decided to establish it and intensify consultations on a range of issues related to the functioning of this financial institution," the document reads. Member states announced support of the reform of the international financial architecture aimed at increasing the representation and role of developing countries in the governing bodies of international financial institutions, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Monetary Fund. Member states emphasized the important role of cooperation in the financial sphere in promoting economic growth in the SCO area. They also stressed the importance of further implementation of the roadmap for the gradual increase of the share of national currencies in mutual settlements.

Trump reposts photo of himself with caption ‘Nothing can stop what is coming’ President #Trump reposted a photo of himself on Truth Social with the caption "The world will soon understand. Nothing can stop what is coming." In the image, Trump stands against a backdrop of the Earth and a heavenly glow. He raises his arms and looks up. The post was made on the first day of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin, leaders of more than 20 countries, and heads of 10 international organizations are participating in the summit.

EU leaders want to provide Kiev with NATO's Article 5-like guarantees — European Council EU leaders want to work with the US to provide Ukraine with security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 on collective security, continue supplying weapons, and train Ukrainian troops, European Council President Antonio Costa said at a press conference following an emergency online EU summit. "Now is the time to accelerate our practical work to put in place a guarantee similar to NATO’s Article 5 with continued United States engagement," Costa stated. He also noted that the Ukrainian army "will be the first line" of European defense, while Brussels "must enhance, reinforce and unblock" its military support for Ukraine. Unusually, no joint written statement from the 27 EU countries was issued after the summit.

Putin-Trump phone talks held in friendly atmosphere Phone conversations of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump were held in a friendly atmosphere, The Wall Street Journal wrote citing sources. According to the sources, Trump often spoke about his goal to restore Russian-US ties by strengthening economic cooperation. The leaders also exchanged numerous messages through mediators, the report says. Putin and Trump have had six phone conversations since the start of 2025. The US leader expressed his desire to meet with Putin on the day after his inauguration in January 2025. After that, Trump made numerous mentions of his intention to hold the summit. On August 7, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov said an agreement was reached to hold a Putin-Trump meeting in the coming days.

UK, France might join nuclear deterrence forces if need arises Great Britain and France will deepen cooperation in the field of nuclear deterrence and remain open to enabling coordinated actions in this area, the #UK government said in a statement released ahead of the countries’ bilateral summit. "In an important step forward for the UK-France nuclear partnership - a newly signed declaration will state for the first time that the respective deterrents of both countries are independent but can be coordinated, and that there is no extreme threat to Europe that would not prompt a response by both nations," the office said. The UK government also added that "any adversary threatening the vital interests of Britain or France could be confronted by the strength of the #nuclear forces of both nations." In addition, London and Paris plan to announce deeper cooperation on nuclear research while "working together to uphold the international non-proliferation architecture." The 37th British-French summit is scheduled for the morning of July 10. Upon its conclusion, the so-called coalition of the willing to support Ukraine will convene via video link. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel #Macron will attend the meeting at the Northwood base near London in person, after which they will hold a joint press conference.