German FM Annalena Baerbock has demanded criminal prosecution over a tweet that labeled her the "world's dumbest foreign minister" and accused her of obstructing peace talks.

The message was anonymously transmitted to the internet portal “Hessen gegen Hetze” and, after an investigation, reached the desk of the foreign minister. Baerbock, having read it, decided to sue the user and signed a statement to initiate a criminal case.

What do the Germans themselves think about this:

🔸I can't wait for the court to finally confirm that she can be called that.

🔸Only now she will have to come to terms with the fact that God and the whole world are happy to report that she was called “the stupidest foreign minister in the world.”

🔸To prove otherwise, she would have to appoint a stupider foreign minister.

🔸German politicians and the state have turned into a pathetic chaos. They made it illegal to speak your mind.

🔸It's truly terrible that politicians hold ordinary citizens accountable for harmless remarks.

🔸It's incredible that this happens in Germany.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announces applications for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in the context of the situation in the State of Palestine, according to the ICC's tweet.

The ICC also intends to seek the arrest of Al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Al-Deif and Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh.

According to the ICC, they are all responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Hossein Amir Abdollahian as head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry: What will he be remembered for?

Abdollahian took over the post of foreign minister with the accession of President Ebrahim Raisi in 2021. Together, they built Iran's up-to-date foreign policy.

Sputnik has collected some of his most important moments to remember:

◾️Before coming to the post of foreign minister, Abdollahian specialized in relations with Arab countries;

◾️With his work, it became possible to normalize relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023, which had been extremely tense for several decades. At the same time, the two countries were able to establish bilateral trade and economic cooperation and also agreed on mutual understanding in matters of regional security;

◾️Iran became a member of the SCO (2023) and BRICS (2024);

◾️ In 2023, key visits to Moscow and Beijing took place for the head of the Iranian Foreign Ministry. On May 14, a few days before his death, Abdollahian announced Iran’s desire to develop a partnership with India within the SCO and BRICS;

◾️With the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in 2022, he openly expressed support for Russia. In negotiations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in 2023, Abdollahian emphasized the “record figures with 20% growth” of trade turnover;

◾️Abdollahian regularly criticized the work of the UN Security Council - in particular due to its failure to put pressure on Israel and promptly help the Gaza population during current war;

◾️He was distinguished by sharp criticism of the policies of the collective West - primarily the US and Israel. In particular, he accused the US of "publicly supporting the killing of thousands of children and women in the Gaza Strip" by Israel;

◾️After the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Abdollahian promised "a proportionate response". A week after the strike, he personally flew to Damascus to open a new consulate in Syria.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Zelensky emerges as ‘first obstacle’ to peaceful resolution of Ukrainian conflict

Next month's conference at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland, touted by its organizers as an event to further the peace process in Ukraine, will most definitely be anything but a peace summit, says Swiss MP and former executive director of the Geneva Press Club Guy Mettan.

“The deliberate rejection of Russia is now jeopardizing the success of the meeting and returning against its organizers,” Mettan tells Sputnik, pointing out that Russia was not invited to participate in the conference.

“Aware of this problem, the Swiss official narrative is now trying to put forward that Russia didn’t wish to participate and that its absence came from its own decision, which is false and will not mislead anybody outside the collective West.”

According to Mettan, the countries of the Global South may end up sending their representatives to this gathering, though they will likely dispatch “medium-level participants with no-decision power, in order to avoid being accused of being ‘against the peace’ or of ‘boycotting the West’.”

“For the Global South, the present questions are: why should it participate in a summit which is no longer a summit, which is not focused on peace due to the non-invitation of Russia, and which will certainly be a failure?” he adds.

Mettan also argues that Kiev regime head Zelensky is in fact opposed to the “real negotiation process" as he signed a decree banning any peace talks with Russia and with his so-called peace formula essentially calling for Russia’s capitulation.

“He is the first obstacle to any peace negotiation. If he comes to Switzerland, it would be for receiving the support of his Western supporters and to get more aid for the war. Not for peace,” Mettan remarks.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

A mourning rally in memory of the deceased Iranian president is taking place in the center of Tehran

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷🇷🇺 Sputnik recalls the brightest moments of Russian-Iranian relations during Ebrahim Raisi's presidency

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Are G7 countries happier to steal Russian assets after US ‘diplomatic push’?

Nations of the Group of 7 that were earlier reluctant to use Russian assets to fund the Kiev regime are “warming” to the idea after a US “diplomatic push”, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.

They were reluctant to say how exactly Washington changed the mind of peer politicians but admitted that the White House played the November election card and capitalized on fears that Donald Trump may completely abort US spending in Ukraine.

Washington is trying to push forward the discussion so that additional funds for Ukraine would become fait accompli for the new administration.

“Even if Trump wins, the money has already been deployed”, the diplomatic source admitted. The plan will likely be discussed at the G7 summit in June. This scheme - dubbed as “Trump-proofing” - will allow loans to the Kiev regime worth $50 billion.

This sum will be backed by future profits generated from roughly $350 billion of frozen Russian assets. Canada and the United Kingdom have already supported this plan, the source added.

France, Germany, Italy and Japan earlier voiced concern that such a move will create dangerous legal precedent of state property theft and trigger turmoil in global financial system. Vice-President of the European Central Bank Luis de Guindos admitted that this decision will undermine the position of the euro as a safe currency.

Numerous economists and financial analysts also warned that using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine will “supercharge de-dollarization” as businesses all around the globe will conclude that the Western economy is no longer a good option for investments.

Russian officials repeatedly stressed that such a move would violate international law and that Moscow will do everything possible to recuperate frozen assets. President Vladimir Putin dubbed the asset seizure as “unseemly business” and warned that “stealing other people’s assets has never brought anyone any good."

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷 Iran's Election Commission has proposed holding presidential elections on June 28

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Farewell ceremony and funeral of the Iranian president will be held in Mashhad on May 23, according to Iran's vice president

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

What could have caused Raisi’s helicopter crash? Veteran Russian pilot weighs in

Helicopters are all-weather vehicles, Vadim Bazykin, an honored Russian helicopter test pilot, tells Russian media as he comments on Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s crash.

“A helicopter’s weakest point is, unfortunately, the crew because not many pilots are able to fly in bad weather,” Bazykin says, adding that an experienced crew should know the ABC of flying over mountainous terrain.

When entering an area with dense fog, pilots are obliged to calculate a safe height, he explains. According to him, Raisi’s helicopter seems to have flown below the permissible height.

“The fog is usually only 300-500 meters thick. The pilots should have checked meticulously if there was any chance to land and if not – they should have flown back. There are no other options,” the expert underscores.

Touching upon a possible technical defect of Raisi’s US-made Bell-212 helicopter, Bazykin emphasizes that security comes first when it comes to presidential vehicles.

He adds that even though the presidential helicopter was “a very reliable” yet outdated vehicle, it was almost surely equipped with new engines because of security considerations. “So there is no need to blame technical problems that caused the crash of Raisi’s vehicle," the expert concludes.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says he opposes the expanded use of US-supplied Ukrainian weapons for strikes into Russian territory

Subscribe to @SputnikInt