🇪🇺 ‘Why don’t we promote peace?’: Irish MEP Mick Wallace slams hypocritical EU economic policy

💬 “We are prepared to pull out all the stops to increase our production capacity for ammunition - imagine if we did the same to deal with poverty or the housing crisis,” he said.

Residents of the European Union and Britain have borne the brunt of the economic toll of the West’s sanctions crusade against Russia, with inflation hitting highs unseen in decades and energy costs skyrocketing, leaving the continent on the brink of recession.

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🇷🇺 "Self-determination is at the epicenter of the storm. Russia and the world on the turn of history" is the main topic of the XXXI Assembly of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, which has opened in the Moscow region, Sputnik correspondent Denis Bolotsky reports.

▪️One of the main points of the program is a speech by the minister of foreign affairs, a veteran of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, Sergey Lavrov, scheduled for the afternoon session.

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s official representative, Maria Zakharova, said ahead of the event that special attention during the upcoming assembly is expected to be paid to the recently approved new edition of Russia's Foreign Policy Concept, as well as "the tasks of diplomatic activity at the current stage of the formation of a multipolar world order."

▪️The first session of the assembly began on Saturday morning under the slogan "Will we go our own way? Russian society facing the challenges of irreversible changes."

The participants - leading representatives of the academic and expert community, diplomats, military top brass, entrepreneurs, journalists - will assess the prospects and opportunities of Russia in the changing environment and discuss forecasts for events in the coming years.

▪️Established on February 25, 1992 in Moscow, the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy includes politicians, heads of associations of business circles, entrepreneurs, public and state figures, as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies, the military-industrial complex, scientists, and journalists in its ranks.

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❗️Russian MoD briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️In the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces destroyed up to 55 Ukrainian troops, two armored combat vehicles, one D-20 howitzer;

▪️In the Krasny Liman direction, Russian forces neutralized up to 60 Ukrainian personnel, two armored combat vehicles, as well as one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer and one D-30 howitzer;

▪️In the Artemovsk direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 95 servicemen, one tank, one armored personnel carrier, as well as one Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer;

▪️In the Donetsk direction, Ukrainian losses amounted to more than 210 servicemen, one tank, two ammunition depots, as well as a Polish Krab self-propelled howitzer and a D-20 howitzer;

▪️In the South Donetsk and Zaporozhye directions, Russian forces destroyed over 85 Ukrainian troops and a Msta-B howitzer;

▪️In the Kherson direction, Russian troops neutralized up to 30 Ukrainian servicemen and two armored combat vehicles;

▪️In the Kharkov region, one US-made AN/TPQ-50 counter mortar radar was destroyed;

▪️Russian air defenses shot down one US-made GBU-32 guided bomb, 12 Storm Shadow cruise missiles and HIMARS projectiles as well as 18 unmanned aerial vehicles in the LPR, DPR, and Kharkov region.

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🇷🇺"Self-determination is at the epicenter of the storm. Russia and the world on the turn of history" is the main topic of the XXXI Assembly of the Russian Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, which opened in the Moscow region.

Waiting for the speech of the Russian FM Sergey Lavrov.

ℹ️ The rest of discussions are being held behind closed doors.

Situation in Ukraine and Russia's special military operation are among key topics.

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🇷🇺 31st Assembly of Council on Foreign and Defense Policy: What’s on the agenda

Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Presidium of the non-governmental organization Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, in an exclusive interview with Sputnik.

While Ukraine is one of the main themes of the summit, the event will focus on how Russia is faring when faced with both the special military operation and the unprecedented clash with the West, Lukyanov said.

💬 “The question is – how to develop and explore a completely new model of development for Russia, because the previous status quo does not exist anymore. The goal of the council will be to formulate new guidelines, identifying what will happen and what should be done and discussed before decisions will be taken.”

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❗️F-18 crashes at Zaragoza air base in Spain

An F-18 from the Spanish Air Force has crashed at Zaragoza Air Base during a family day exhibition. The pilot managed to eject before impact, Spanish media reported. There were no casualties among the civilian observers.

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Lots of media attention to Sergey Lavrov's speech at the 31st Assembly of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.

Russian FM just entered the venue.

Stay tuned, will bring you the latest shortly.

❗️LIVE NOW: Sergey Lavrov speaks at 31st Assembly of Council on Foreign and Defense Policy
Join the live stream here or follow this link to Sputnik’s website

⚡️Russian FM Sergey Lavrov speaks before Russia's Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, says the West wants to eliminate Russia as geopolitical competitor. Lavrov gives an example where G7 discusses anti-Russia and anti-China policies.

⚡️Lavrov: Situation in Ukraine speeds up the creation of multipolar world order. Points at fault lines between "collective West" and "global East" nations.

🇷🇺 Key statements by Russian FM Sergey Lavrov at Russia's Council on Foreign and Defense Policy:

▪️The Global South is ready to oppose the West's annoying and aggressive dictate, which includes punishment and sanctions.

▪️The West's Russophobic policies cause irritation among the majority of the world. Lavrov says the West ignores the needs of African and other nations.

▪️Lavrov slams the EU’s various anti-Russian policies as "cancel culture".

▪️The era of transitioning to multipolarity is here. It could be lengthy, but Russia has many allies in this transition. China, Iran, countries in Latin America, and Africa are among such nations.

▪️De-dollarization has already begun. Lavrov points to Brazil as an example, which recently initiated BRICS policies in that direction.

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⚡️ Russian forces establish full control over Artemovsk (Bakhmut), says Wagner Group head Prigozhin

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🇮🇱🇸🇦Israel, Saudi Arabia to normalize relations eventually, Israeli foreign minister says

💬 "It's not a matter of if, but of when. We and Saudi Arabia have the same interests," Cohen told Israeli media, commenting on the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly underscored the importance of the normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations. The recent resumption of ties between Riyadh and Tehran is not an obstacle, he added.

In early March, Iran and Saudi Arabia, with China's mediation, agreed to resume their diplomatic relations, which were severed in 2016 after Saudi Arabia's diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked following the execution of Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr.

The agreement on the restoration of the diplomatic ties and the preparation for the opening of diplomatic missions was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries at a ceremony in April. The deal provides, in particular, for the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, mutual visits by top diplomats and security cooperation.

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🇫🇷 "No, thank you": French authorities launch investigation over posters depicting Macron as Hitler

Authorities in France have launched an investigation after Emmanuel Macron was given a makeover as Adolf Hitler on posters found on numerous billboards in Avignon, a city in southern France.

The image of the posters featured "49.3" as a moustache, which refers to an article in the French constitution that allowed the government to push the unpopular pension reform through parliament without a debate in March.

On April 14, the French Constitutional Council approved the key article of the pension reform bill, which will gradually raise the age of retirement in France from 62 to 64 by 2030. The reform sparked a strong backlash, prompting people to take to the streets across the country.

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📹 "There is a functional division": Nikolay Azarov, a veteran politician and former Ukrainian PM, details the involvement of the US and UK in the Ukraine crisis

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📹 "To the last Ukrainian": Nikolay Azarov points out Zelensky and his entourage's disregard for their own population

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The G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan is coming to an end. Here are the key points from the leaders' final statement:

▪️ G7 leaders will support Kiev "as much as needed";

▪️ At least $21Bln will be allocated to tackle the world's humanitarian crises;

▪️ An initiative on global food security will be launched;

▪️ G7 nations are ready to build stable relations with China;

▪️ Leaders called for a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan issue;

▪️ Emphasis was placed on the commitment to the safe use of space, with countries pledging not to conduct destructive launches of direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles.

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Biden, during a meeting with the Australian prime minister on the sidelines of the G7 summit, asked journalists to “shush up” in response to a barrage of questions, including about the impending US default.

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Polish Defense Ministry says Italian destroyer arrives to provide airspace security

"An allied Italian missile destroyer has come to Poland," Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter.

The destroyer is equipped with powerful anti-aircraft and anti-missile weapons that will strengthen the defense of the Polish coastline and Poland's critical infrastructure, the minister added.

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