🇹🇷🇸🇪 Turkiye ‘unlikely’ to let Sweden join NATO at upcoming meeting

Ankara does not intend to lift its objections to Sweden’s membership in NATO at a meeting between the two sides planned for this week, US media is reporting.

According to an American business journal, Turkiye is “unlikely to signal it’s ready to approve Sweden’s bid to join NATO” in the near-term due to Stockholm’s permissive attitude towards a group of Kurdish separatists known as the PKK, which Ankara accuses of terrorism.

Citing “people familiar with the matter,” the US-based outlet wrote that “Ankara still wants Sweden to do more to comply with its conditions to sign off on its membership in time for a summit of the military alliance’s leaders next month.”

Those presumably-Turkish sources reportedly “stressed Sweden’s full compliance with the agreement is key for the expansion process to move forward.”

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🇺🇸 US military: ‘Helicopter mishap’ left 22 service members injured

💬 “A helicopter mishap in northeastern Syria resulted in the injuries of various degrees of 22 US service members,” the US military said in a statement which indicated the episode took place on Sunday, adding that “no enemy fire was reported.”

US media is reporting that a total of 15 soldiers required medical evacuation following the incident.

As reported by American journalist Dave DeCamp, “a US airdrop operation involving helicopters was reported on the same day in al-Hasakah, a province in northeast Syria.”

Around 900 US troops are currently occupying Syrian territory, in what experts describe as a clear violation of international law.

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🇺🇸 “Nation in decline”: Donald Trump slams state of America after court appearance in Miami

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🇺🇸 Donald Trump blast his indictment as “most evil and heinous abuse of power”

💬 "A corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges, of which he and numerous other presidents would be guilty, right in the middle of a presidential election in which he is losing very badly."

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🇷🇺🇺🇸 US being deeper 'dragged into abyss' of Ukrainian crisis, says Russian ambassador Antonov

💬 "The US continues to push the situation in eastern Ukraine to an even greater tragedy. It forces dozens of countries to supply weapons and ammunition to the Zelensky regime," Antonov said while commenting on a new package of US military assistance to Ukraine worth $325 million.

He said Washington does not want to give up its main goal: to inflict a strategic defeat upon Russia on the battlefield.

💬 "American politicians need success to justify a thoughtless course in solving the Ukrainian question, to confirm the expediency of spending and to demonstrate “successes” in the fight against the Russian Federation in the run-up to the upcoming 2024 US Presidential election," Antonov said.

He said the United States is not interested in negotiated solutions to the Ukrainian conflict.

💬 "Americans are not ready to stop at anything. They are not interested in negotiated solutions. Nobody is bothered about the fate of Ukraine, which is used only as an iron baton against Russia," Antonov said.

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📹 Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter unleashes guided missile on Ukrainian armored vehicle, completely wiping it out

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🇩🇰 Denmark bans Quran-burner Rasmus Paludan from major political festival

Local police authorities on Tuesday imposed a ban on Paludan from Allinge village and its environs - including local waters - which is where the Folkemodet festival takes place, from the morning of 14 June to midday on 18 June, on the grounds that his appearance would represent a risk both to himself and others.

Over the years, the divisive chairman of the ethno-nationalist Hard Line Party has usually been protected by the Danish Security and Intelligence Service. However, this time the DSIS washed its hands of the radical politician, specifically informing the Bornholm police that maintaining personal protection would be impossible.

Paludan said that the restriction put him in a dangerous position. Nevertheless, he pledged to appear at the festival, despite the ban. "I will follow the instructions and stay outside the prohibited zone. It will probably be the case that I will be left unprotected, so that any terrorist can shoot me," he added.

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🇷🇺🇮🇩 Russian tourists cannot be intimidated by sanctions, says Russia's Ambassador to Indonesia

💬 “And when could a Russian person be scared by sanctions? But seriously speaking, most Russian tourists are absolutely law-abiding people who have no desire or intention to break laws or in any way offend the feelings of Indonesians who live in Bali. Therefore, the tourist flow has not decreased, but, on the contrary, continues to increase," Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Lyudmila Vorobyova told Sputnik at the #SPIEF2023.

Recently, numerous reports have appeared in the Indonesian media about cases of deportation of Russian citizens from Indonesia and, in particular, from the resort island of Bali. There were also a number of negative statements regarding Russian tourists, and new sanctions were introduced - in particular, Bali Governor Wayan Koster published a list of eight bans for tourists in Bali.

💬 "The Indonesian authorities and Bali authorities decided to clean up the mess. There are laws of the country, there are immigration laws. If you arrived on a tourist visa, then you cannot engage in illegal labor activities. If you have a visa for a certain period, and you stay in the country for a longer period and do not renew a visa or do not apply for a new one, then this is a violation of the immigration law," Vorobyova said.

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⚡️ Egypt applies for BRICS membership, Russian envoy says

❗️Russia can’t be isolated in spite of all efforts, MFA spokeswoman says in her interview to Sputnik

💬 “According to the organizers, delegates from 130 countries and territories are participating in the forum. Given this fact, can we really claim that Russia is isolated, something which the West endlessly chatters on about?”

"A country, [its] people and the nation that honors its history and passes it on to the future generations cannot be isolated. There will be attempts to isolate [Russia], but the isolation itself will not happen. This has already been proven," Maria Zakharova added.

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❗️Caucasus mercenaries in Ukraine seize luxury mansions in Kherson

💬 "As of May 30, a group of Caucasus Legion mercenaries, along with the Ukrainian troops, occupied a private two-storey house in Kherson ... The house is located in a prestigious neighborhood and surrounded by private households. Georgian mercenaries, including Caucasus Legion commander Lado Gamsakhurdia, occupy the first and the second floors of the building," a Russian security service officer told Sputnik, citing their sources in the Ukrainian army.

▪️The house's takeover could have been executed with the help of the commander's adviser Alexey Lyublinsky, known under the call sign "Kherson," whose responsibility is intelligence work for the Caucasus Legion, the source said.

💬 "In late 2022, Lyublinsky, together with Caucasus Legion mercenaries, was capturing private properties, which belonged to the residents of the Zaporozhye Region they suspected of pro-Russian sympathies," the officer stated.

▪️Russian intelligence has discovered that the mercenaries at the occupied house have been receiving humanitarian aid sent by a woman based in Western Ukraine, Lyudmila Sivak.

▪️The intelligence also revealed a bus route by which the Caucasus Legion's new recruits enter Ukraine: Tbilisi-Batumi-Istanbul-Izmail-Odessa-Kherson, the source added.

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