Eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday gave political backing to a G7 effort to use windfall profits from Russia's central bank's fixed assets to lend to Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt last month, will return to work as early as this month and has vowed to stick to his sometimes controversial policies.
President Zelensky visits Qatar to seek support for Ukraine summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Qatar to promote the summit on a blueprint for peace, amid uncertainty about how many countries from the so-called southern hemisphere will take part in the event.
The Ukrainian president has stepped up his overseas travel since the end of May, visiting the Philippines and Singapore in an attempt to secure the support of foreign leaders ahead of a meeting in Switzerland on June 15 and 16. But his efforts were dealt a blow when China suggested it might skip the meeting and called, along with Brazil, for an alternative forum that would include Russia.
“Qatar is also actively participating in the preparations for the peace summit and should be one of the voices in the Middle East supporting the return of our people and global food, nuclear and energy security,” Zelenskyy said on social media platform X on Wednesday.
Eurozone finance chiefs back G7 effort to freeze Russian assets
Eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday lent their political backing to a G7 effort to use windfall profits from Russia's central bank's fixed assets to lend to Ukraine.
“Ministers' discussions indicated that they value the constructive work being undertaken with G7 countries in this regard and fully support its continuation,” Eurogroup President Pascal Donohue said after a videoconference of finance ministers.
The meeting was convened to consider ways to front-load financial aid to Ukraine by providing loans based on profits from the Russian central bank's fixed assets. The discussions came after G7 finance ministers last month pushed ahead with a plan aimed at earmarking up to $50 billion to help Ukraine with its war effort. They agreed to present options to G7 leaders ahead of their summit in Italy next week.
G7 nations liquidated about $280 billion in Russian central bank assets in response to President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, most of which are held in Europe through Belgium-based clearing house Euroclear.
Eurozone ministers were open to the process but stressed the need to share risks between the EU and the United States, according to people familiar with the discussions.
At the meeting on Wednesday, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde suggested tapping future interest income from fixed assets posed no risk to the euro, the people added, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.
One option under consideration is a U.S.-led proposal whereby the United States, and possibly other G7 countries, would provide a loan to Ukraine, to be repaid with windfall profits from fixed assets in the EU and contributions from other G7 countries.
However, the plan is contingent on getting guarantees from the EU that Russian assets will be frozen until Russia agrees to pay reparations, and that any windfall will be used to repay the loan.
Currently, the EU must renew sanctions against Russia, which include immobilizing Russia's central bank assets, every six months, which requires unanimous approval by the 27 EU member states. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been a stumbling block in lifting the latest round of sanctions against Russia and approving financial and military aid to Kiev.
Slovak PM blames opposition for shooting, warns of more casualties
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt last month, will return to work as early as this month and has vowed to stick to his sometimes controversial policies.
In his first public comments since the May 15 shooting, Fitcho slammed opposition lawmakers and so-called anti-government media. He said the gunman, 71-year-old retiree July C., was “an emissary of evil and political hatred.”
“It is expected that anti-government media, foreign-funded non-governmental organisations and the opposition will start downplaying the assassination attempt on me, claiming there was no link between the attackers and the opposition,” Fitcho said in a video released by his office on Wednesday.
“If the opposition persists in its current stance, the horror of May 15 will continue and there will be more casualties. I have no doubt about that for a moment.”
Mr Fico, who has dominated Slovak politics since the collapse of Communism more than three decades ago, has campaigned to halt the country's military aid to Ukraine, threatening to undermine European solidarity in backing the Kiev government.
In the 14-minute video, Fico accused “some major Western democracies” of interfering in Slovakia's internal affairs and trying to suppress voices that differ from their own.
“We reject outside interference in a country that has decided to follow its own path,” Fitcho said, adding that the “right to have a different opinion” no longer exists in the EU.
“Today there is only one correct opinion: the war in Ukraine must continue at all costs in order to weaken the Russian Federation,” he said.
“Anyone who disagrees with this view will immediately be considered a Russian agent and will be politically ostracized internationally.”
Putin's major forum provides stage for children of Kremlin elite
President Vladimir Putin is calling the power center of his hometown St. Petersburg this week for his flagship economic event, a gathering in Russia's former imperial capital that is fast becoming a showcase for a generational change among the descendants of the Kremlin's elite.
The president's daughters, Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, are among the speakers at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (Spief), which begins on Wednesday. Ksenia, the daughter of former defense minister and current secretary of the Security Council, Sergei Shoigu, will also take part in the panel event.
So will Alexander, the son of Kremlin chief of staff Anton Vaino. Anna Tsyvileva, who is described by the British government as a relative of Putin and is married to Energy Minister Sergei Tsyvileva, will also be speaking as head of a state fund set up by the president last year to support soldiers who fought in the Ukrainian war.
The “rise of princes – the children of representatives of the political elite” has begun, Yevgeny Minchenko, a political scientist who has worked in the Kremlin, wrote in a report on Russia's power structure. Politburo 2.0“Kinship is now an essential element” under Putin, he said, referring to the former Soviet political system.
The four-day event also features children of Putin's inner circle, including Roman Rotenberg, whose father, Boris, was Putin's childhood judo partner.
Russian business executives and government officials are flocking to St. Petersburg for the SPIEF, eager to please Putin since the event, which once attracted world leaders before Russia was hit with unprecedented sanctions, has lost much of its glamour and energy since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Putin's speech at the forum's plenary session on Friday is a hotly anticipated invitation-only event, with attendees paying a hefty 1.35 million rubles ($15,200) for this year's SPIEF.
Past attendees at Spiff include French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Today, there are few Western figures, and the forum leans toward “friendly” countries in Asia, the Middle East and Africa for notable guests.
Once a “window” into Russia aimed at attracting U.S. and European investors, Spief now has a decidedly anti-Western agenda. This year's schedule includes panels such as “Requiem for Europe: A New Era of International Cooperation” and “'Evil Empire': Has the West Succeeded in Demonizing Russia?”
Biden to meet with Zelensky in Italy and France despite summit absence
Despite plans to skip an upcoming peace summit in Switzerland, President Joe Biden plans two meetings with Zelensky in the coming weeks to convey U.S. solidarity with Kyiv.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that Biden will meet with Zelensky in France later this week on the sidelines of celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, and again next week at the Group of Seven summit in Italy.
Sullivan said the meeting between the two countries “will be an opportunity to have a real in-depth discussion of all aspects of the war and all the issues,” adding that the two countries will also discuss “how we continue and deepen our support for Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian president criticized Biden's decision to skip the peace summit after Biden had previously planned to hold a major fundraising event in Los Angeles featuring former President Barack Obama and Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
Instead, Sullivan and Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to represent the US at the conference.
Sullivan said President Biden recently authorized Ukraine's limited use of U.S. military weapons on Russian territory, and that the United States was open to expanding training of Ukrainian soldiers in Germany with Western equipment as part of the aid effort. DM
