🇪🇺 The Economist: Europe has had its bleakest week since the fall of the Iron Curtain. This is how it must respond to the threat posed by Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

https://archive.is/iPVFV

http://economist.com/leaders/2025/02/20/how-europe-must-respond-as-trump-and-putin-smash-the-post-war-order

🇺🇸 Trump: "We're going to open the doors and we're going to inspect Fort Knox."

🔗 Rapid Response 47

🇨🇭🇺🇸 Swiss January gold exports to the US reach highest for 13 years

Gold exports from Switzerland rose year on year in January as supplies to the United States soared to the highest in at least 13 years and offset lower deliveries to top consumers China and India, Swiss customs data showed on Thursday.

Switzerland, the world's biggest bullion refining and transit hub, alongside Britain which is home to the world's largest over-the-counter gold trading hub, saw a surge in gold transfers to the U.S. in recent months as President Trump readies wide-reaching import tariffs that some market participants fear could affect gold deliveries.

According to the Swiss data, gold exports from the country to the U.S. rose to 192.9 tons in January from 64.2 tons in December. This was the highest monthly amount of exports in the customs data going back to 2012.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/swiss-january-gold-exports-us-reach-highest-13-years-2025-02-20/

💻💰 BYBIT HACKER STOLE 0.41% OF THE ENTIRE ETHEREUM SUPPLY

https://x.com/mossethereum/status/1892992704138678472

@FelipeChannel

🇨🇷🤝💰 Costa Rica’s largest commercial bank, Banco Nacional, has launched the country’s first spot Bitcoin ETF, offering a regulated way for Costa Ricans to invest in Bitcoin with a minimum investment of $100.

https://x.com/Cointelegraph/status/1893000371125047581

@FelipeChannel

🇺🇸📞🇷🇺❗️— French newspaper Le Point reports that US President Donald J Trump is set to meet Russian Federation President Putin in Moscow on May 9th to commemorate the end of WW2

🔗 Link

🗣🛫🇺🇸🕊🇺🇦 — 🇩🇪 BILD:

"Emmanuel Macron to travel to Washington to discuss Ukraine peace with Donald Trump

The French president's visit to the United States will take place on February 24, the French Foreign Ministry reported.

"The president has spoken with the American president several times. He will be in Washington on Monday"

— the department said.

Following this announcement, Macron spoke about the purpose of his trip: he intends to warn Donald Trump about the strategic mistake in his approach to Russia and the war in Ukraine. Macron wants to convince the US president that "it is in his interest at this moment to cooperate with the Europeans."

Against the backdrop of Trump's unilateral actions in search of a possible peaceful solution for Ukraine, the French president convened emergency consultations with European leaders in Paris on February 17, and then held a telephone conversation with Trump. The consultations discussed, in particular, the issue of a European peacekeeping force to ensure a ceasefire."

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🇭🇺🚫🇪🇺🤝🇺🇦 — 🇩🇪 BILD:

"Hungary Blocks New EU Military Aid Package for Ukraine

Earlier, the EU External Action Service made a proposal for additional military aid to Ukraine in the amount of around 6 billion euros. As DPA learned from EU sources, 3.5 billion euros are needed to supply 1.5 million artillery shells, 500 million euros for air defense systems, and another 2 billion euros to equip and train two Ukrainian brigades.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto wrote in X that his country considers the initiative of EU diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas to be aimed at strengthening Kyiv's position in the negotiations, not at achieving peace. Hungary will not support spending European taxpayers' money on prolonging the war.

Szijjarto also announced his desire to postpone the decision to extend the current sanctions against Russia."

🔗 Source:

👤💬🇭🇷 — 🇺🇦 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky:

"Had a good conversation with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and thanked him for Croatia's support for Ukraine and the recent decision on a new military aid package.

It is important to maintain a common understanding of current events. We discussed next steps and common plans for the near future. Europe's position today determines its security tomorrow. We all need a strong and lasting peace.

We appreciate Croatia's firm position that a ceasefire is impossible without clear security guarantees.

Thank you for your support."

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