Russia sees no prospects for extending grain deal - Foreign Ministry

"We have agreed on the next round of consultations in an interdepartmental format to take place in Geneva on the June 9," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told a briefing.

At the same time, the diplomat noted that Russia sees no prospects for extending the grain deal.

Vershinin also noted that vessel inspections as part of the grain deal have been resumed.

"As far as we know, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul is working to overcome all the problems that arise, based on the procedural rules that were approved last year and assume that there will be a consensus solution to the problems that arise. Now, these inspections have been resumed," Vershinin told reporters.

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❗️The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that attempts by the Ukrainian Army to break through the defenses in the South Donetsk direction on June 4 were unsuccessful, and by the morning of June 5, they had been pushed back to their original positions.

Only one brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which attacked in the area of the settlement of Neskuchnoye, lost more than 250 soldiers, 16 tanks, 24 armored combat vehicles, including three Bradleys armored vehicles.

Ukrainian forces made new attempts to attack in the areas of the Oktyabr collective farm and the settlement of Novodonetskoye. The offensive is successfully being held back by the the Russian Army.

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Poland to receive first South Korean missile systems Chunmoo in August - Defense Minister

Since July 2022, Warsaw has signed a number of contracts with Seoul to acquire 1,000 tanks, 672 self-propelled howitzers and three squadrons of FA-50 fighter jets. In October, Poland also signed a deal to purchase 288 K239 Chunmoo systems from South Korea.

"My role is to strengthen the Polish Military, and thanks to cooperation with [flag of South Korea], the first Chunmoo rocket artillery sets, with a range of up to 300 km, will go to [flag of Poland] Army this August. They will be mounted on [flag of Poland] Jelcz trucks - yet another example of our cooperation," the Polish Defense Ministry quoted Blaszczak as saying after his talks with South Korean Deputy National Security Advisor Lim Jong-deuk.

The Polish defense chief added that FA-50 fighters would also arrive in Poland this summer, while some South Korean tanks and howitzers were already at the disposal of the country's military.

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Ukrainian defense chief says Kiev won't use F-16 Jets in summer counteroffensive

"F-16 will not [be a] game-changer this summer … it will take time to train our pilots and not only pilots. Training courses, we will arrange [them] with our partners for pilots and engineers, technicians," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told a Japanese broadcaster on Sunday.

Kiev will possibly be ready to deploy the aircraft this autumn or winter, the Ukrainian defense chief added.

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⚡️ Former US Vice President Mike Pence files paperwork to run for US president in 2024, according to Federal Election Commission

EU special envoy arrives in Pristina, Belgrade to address Kosovo issue

"EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak is traveling to the region. He will be in Pristina later today and in Belgrade tomorrow, accompanied by the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Balkans, Mr Escobar. They will follow up on the European and American calls for Serbia and Kosovo to immediately de-escalate the situation and take steps towards sustainable solutions," EU Foreign Affairs Spokesman Peter Stano said during a briefing.

The EU is ready to provide a platform for a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the spokesperson said.

"Of course, we are always ready to host and call for the next high-level dialogue meeting between President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti, when the conditions are ripe, when they both agree. But at this stage, the most important thing is de-escalation, concrete steps on the ground," Stano added.

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Milley says there is 'always risk' of escalation amid Ukraine attacks inside Russia

There is "always risk," Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in a interview, when asked if the recent drone strikes on Moscow and the continued shelling of the Belgorod region would risk escalating the conflict.

The US is watching it "very, very carefully," he added.

Speaking of Ukraine’s expected counteroffensive, the general said that the Ukrainian armed forces are "very well prepared," but that it was too premature to tell what possible outcomes would be.

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Austin, Indian counterpart commit to strengthening defense cooperation

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to India from June 4-5 to reinforce defense partnership and advance cooperation with the country in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US.

"The Secretary and Minister Singh also committed to strengthen operational collaboration across all military services, with an eye to supporting India's leading role as a security provider in the Indo-Pacific," the statement said.

They also welcomed the conclusion of a new roadmap for bilateral defense industrial cooperation.

"This initiative aims to change the paradigm for cooperation between U.S. and Indian defense sectors, including a set of specific proposals that could provide India access to cutting-edge technologies and support India's defense modernization plans," the statement said.

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🇦🇲🇦🇿 Armenia, Azerbaijan deny agreeing return to 1975 borders

Armenia and Azerbaijan have disputed reports of progress in border dispute talks held in Moldova on June 1.

While Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan claimed that the leaders of the two countries had agreed to use Soviet-era maps for border demarcation talks, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry denied the claim, stating that Armenia should focus on delimitation work instead.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan confirmed no agreement had been reached, but reiterated Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's assurances that Armenia recognizes Azerbaijan's territorial claims as set out in the 1991 Almaty Declaration.

Mirzoyan added that Armenia considers the 1975 borders acceptable, and that negotiations on the status of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region should be with the local authorities, not Armenia.

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⚡️ EU extends restrictions on import of Ukrainian agriculture products to several EU countries until September 15

Ben Wallace: British Defence Secretary running for top NATO job

With Norway's Jens Stoltenberg stepping down in the autumn, political figures from across Europe are jockeying to replace him.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly lobbying US President Joe Biden to back his Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to fill the former Norwegian PM's boots as the public face of the military bloc.

Who is the ambitious cabinet minister and what can we expect from him as head of the US-led military bloc?

Read on Sputnik's website

North Korea remains active at Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site - IAEA Chief

"The Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site remains ready to support a nuclear test, and we continue to see signs of activity in the vicinity of Adit 3 and in the support area. The reopening of the nuclear test site is deeply troubling," Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said in his opening statement at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting.

Grossi expressed regret over the continuation of North Korea's nuclear program, which is "a clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions."

The IAEA chief also noted an increase in construction work at North Korea's main nuclear site at Yongbyon.

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🗣️”They'll just keep coming up with more money. And of course, that will lead eventually to some kind of inflationary crisis”: former US diplomat, and former senior foreign policy advisor Jim Jatras on averting the debt ceiling crisis as politicians set spending limits on everything but the military

🎧Listen to more of Jatras’ analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

🗣️”You can view it as efforts of the US to encircle China, war provocation in the region, and it will just further drag the Philippines into a conflict that will leave it at the losing end”: Adrian Bonifacio is the National Chairperson of Anakbayan-USA, commenting on military drills between the US, Japan, and the Philippines in the South China Sea as tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate

🎧Listen to more of Bonifacio’s analysis in our podcast By Any Means Necessary

🔺 Chinese defense minister: US-China war would be an ‘unbearable disaster’
🔺 Preparations in vain? Kiev didn’t achieve its goals during attempted large-scale offensive
🔺 Blinken dismisses calls for ceasefire, urges for military build-up of Ukraine

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Blinken reiterates 'all options on table' to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear arms

"If Iran rejects the path of diplomacy, then, as President Biden has repeatedly made clear, all options are on the table to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the 2023 American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy summit.

The Secretary added that both the Democratic and Republican parties support the diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran, as well as the strengthening of Israeli military capabilities as a strong element of armed deterrence.

In addition, deepening Israel’s relationship with its neighbors and advancing regional integration will also be critical to US and Israeli security, Blinken continued.

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🗣️”It’ll mean that the dollar will no longer play the role it once did. It will mean that people around the world don't need dollars. It will mean that the United States can no longer do what it's been doing for 75 years, bringing in the produce of the world, the French wine, the Japanese software program, the Chinese electric gadget, and giving the world instead cheap, costless pieces of green paper - the US dollar”: Dr. Richard Wolff, professor of economics and host of "Democracy at Work" on YouTube, on the consequences for the US dollar if BRICS member nations establish their own currency

🎧Listen to more of Wolff’s analysis in our podcast The Critical Hour

Pentagon Policy Chief admits US support for Ukraine strains country's defense industrial base

"The effort to assist the Ukrainians has put stress on our defense industrial base," US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said during an event at the NATO Youth Summit.

The US needs to act both unilaterally and collectively to address the issue, including securing congressional spending authorities and training a technical workforce, Kahl said.

The US is recognizing that the defense industrial base must be viewed as a "collective good of the free world," Kahl added, stressing the importance of pursuing interoperability between allied weapons systems.

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💭 "Growth in the euro area nearly stalled in early 2023 and domestic demand remains weak. Activity is being supported by lower energy prices, easing supply bottlenecks and fiscal policy support to firms and households ... Domestic demand, especially consumption, remains weak. Business and consumer confidence indicators point to weak activity in the 2nd quarter and remain lower [than before the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022]," European Central Bank (ECB) chief Christine Lagarde said during a session of the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the European Parliament.

The ECB head also called on EU countries to roll back support measures to boost demand and avoid higher inflationary pressures in the medium term.

At the same time, headline inflation declined from its October peak and stood at 6.1% in May, Lagarde stated, adding that the ECB is determined to "timely" achieve a target of 2%.

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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia has decided to make additional voluntary cuts amid the OPEC+ bloc sticking to its policy of limiting crude production has sent oil prices up by around 2%. Earlier, in April, the group of crude producing countries agreed to limit output in order to balance the world energy market.

"The latest round of OPEC+ quota cuts are consistent with the organization’s efforts to manage the global oil balance in order to achieve 'budget friendly' oil prices," Michael Rothman, president and founder of Cornerstone Analytics, a US-based consultancy focused on macro-energy research, told Sputnik.

"The decision yesterday is consistent with that policy with the additional production cut proffered by Saudi Arabia reflecting a tactic to mitigate bearish speculative market influences that have caused current oil prices to stay below their fair value based on the state of the world’s supply/demand situation," he added.

How could this affect the global energy market?

Read the full analysis on Sputnik's website

🇪🇺🇵🇱 European court of justice says Poland's controversial justice reform infringes EU law

"Following the adoption, by Poland, on 20 December 2019, of a law amending the national rules relating to the organisation of the ordinary courts, the administrative courts and the Supreme Court (‘the amending law’), the European Commission brought an action for failure to fulfil obligations, asking the Court of Justice to declare that the regime put in place by that law infringes various provisions of EU law ... By today’s judgment, the Court upholds the Commission’s action," the ECJ said in a press release.

The court also stated that member states must comply with the obligations arising from EU law when organizing their system of justice. Concerning the rule of law, EU countries are thus required to ensure that "any regression of their laws on the organization of justice" is prevented, the ECJ added.

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