France is ready to recognize Palestine as a state, but only when "it will be useful," French President Emmanuel Macron told a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"I am fully prepared to recognize the state of Palestine, but I believe that this recognition must come at a time when it is useful. I will not recognize it led by 'emotions,'" Macron told the press conference, broadcast by the Elysee Palace on X on Tuesday.

The French president added that a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip is a priority now. He also expressed the need for Israel to end the ongoing military operation in the city of Rafah.

Until this Tuesday, Palestine was recognized by nine EU member states. Eight countries — Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia — recognized it in 1988 before joining the European Union, while Sweden did the same in 2014. Spain, Norway and Ireland officially recognized Palestine as a state earlier on Tuesday.

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Economist Jeffrey Sachs documented the deterioration of relations between the US and Russia in the early 2000s, describing a series of provocative moves taken by the United States during an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.

"In 2002, the US unilaterally pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty," Sachs recalled. "Unilaterally. That was one of the stabilizers of the relationship with Russia and it was one of the stabilizers of the global nuclear situation, which is absolutely dangerous."

"And the US unilaterally started putting Aegis missiles into first Poland, then Romania," he continued, noting that Russian attempts to discuss the issue were rebuffed even as the NATO forces advanced closer to Moscow.

By the time NATO expanded once again in 2004, stretching the definition of "North Atlantic" by including Black Sea countries like Romania and Bulgaria, it became clear the alliance intended to encircle Russia.

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The Starlink satellite communication system has reportedly been failing. The cause of the outages have not been reported yet.

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There is no discussion on the nationalization of the assets of Western companies that have left Russia and Moscow's retaliatory steps do not change ownership rights, Director of the Department of Economic Cooperation of the Russian Foreign Ministry Dmitry Birichevsky told Sputnik.

"It should be noted that we are talking about temporary management, not nationalization – the measures introduced do not imply a change in ownership rights. This is a confirmation of the exceptionally responsible approach of the Russian side to foreign investment, including from unfriendly countries," Birichevsky said.

Unlike Western countries, Russia does not politicize trade issues and is ready to provide all necessary support to foreign companies that maintain their presence in the Russian market provided they comply with the country's laws, the diplomat said.

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Ukrainian stockpiles in the Rovno region, where weapons are delivered to, came under attack, followed by a powerful explosion, the Nikolayev underground told Sputnik.

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Zelensky asked not to beg for Ukraine's NATO membership anymore - report

At this year's annual NATO summit, Ukraine will not become a full-fledged member of NATO, the Telegraph has revealed, adding that Zelensky was asked not to appeal to member states as it creates rifts between countries.

Last year's summit showed a split in the organization, as members who supported Ukraine's accession, including Britain, created too much pressure around the decision.

"They’re very skeptical about bringing Ukraine any further along the path to full NATO membership this year," a source familiar with the Biden administration's thinking told The Telegraph.

The United States and Germany, in particular, oppose clarifying the timing of Ukraine's accession to NATO and speeding up this process, the newspaper writes. At the same time, Britain, Lithuania and France insist that the final document of the July NATO summit contain the word "invitation" to reaffirm that it was a political obstacle and not a decision blocking Ukraine's membership.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that NATO's expansion to include Ukraine would pose a direct national security threat to Russia and would not improve Ukraine's own security situation.

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Zelensky, remaining in power after the expiration of the term, committed a state crime, contracts with him will not have legal force, said Chairman of the Russian State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.

He noted that this contradicts the Constitution of Ukraine and is a seizure of power.

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Ukraine used Western weapons ‘on several occasions’ to strike Russia – report

Kiev failed to notify Berlin of its use of a German-supplied Patriot air defense system "at least once to take action" against Russian targets, according to the German newspaper Bild.

The strike was reportedly followed by "angry calls from Berlin and Washington and the threat to stop" supplying Kiev with anti-aircraft missiles if such an incident happened again.

The AFP news agency, meanwhile, quoted unnamed sources as saying that the Kiev regime had used Western weapons "on several occasions" to launch strikes against Russian territory, most recently against the southern city of Krasnodar.

The sources did not specify what objects had been targeted. The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier said that the Ukrainian armed forces were constantly trying to attack the territory of the Russian Krasnodar region using aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters Tuesday that some NATO members, especially smaller ones, "should know what they are playing with" when they suggest allowing Kiev to launch strikes on Russian territory. He added that Moscow was keeping a close eye on such statements.

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⚡️Poland has allowed Ukraine to use the weapons it supplies to strike targets in Russia, deputy head of the Polish Defense Ministry Cesary Tomczyk said on Radio Zet.

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The Pentagon had to defend itself amid reports that the pier it had built for the delivery of humanitarian aid off the coast of Gaza lasted only two weeks.

Asked how the $300 million project had to be repaired so soon, Sabrina Singh, deputy spokeswoman for the Pentagon, blamed "unfortunate accidents":

"I can't predict weather pattern... We just had a sort of an unfortunate confluence of weather storms that made it inoperable for a bit," Singh explained.

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🔸Putin was completely pro-Europe and pro-US, political analyst and economist Jeffrey Sachs tells Tucker Carlson. Find out who is to blame for US-Russia showdown and what the reason for NATO’s aggression against Yugoslavia was.

🔸John Kirby laments “mishap” of headless babies, dozens of civilian deaths in IDF strike on Rafah

🔸NATO dragging EU into WWIII, it is no longer defensive alliance - French politician

🔸‘Lightweight’ Biden officials lack gravitas to negotiate with Russia – analyst

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Jeff Monson, mixed martial arts fighter, in an interview with Sputnik explained his rejection of American citizenship by the fact that he didn't want to be a citizen of a country that finances murder and supplies weapons.

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