Will Von der Leyen resign and who could replace her?

Ahead of the European Parliament (EP) elections, speculation is rife on the future of the European Commission’s (EC) head – Ursula von der Leyen. Will the 65-years-old Atlanticist and supporter of sending arms to Ukraine resign? Or will her bid for another five years succeed?

Experts note that Ursula von der Leyen, commonly known as VDL, was little known when she won unfairly in 2019. She was then less popular than her main rival, a fellow German CDU politician Manfred Weber. He initially got full support of the EP, but VDL was “installed” by the European Council – a body uniting the heads of the EU member states, Der Spiegel reported in 2019.

This time, the European Council’s chairman Charles Michel happens to be VDL’s avowed enemy, Politico has reported, claiming that “Michel plots revenge” against VDL because of her authoritarian ways. Michel may not put forward his candidacy, but, reportedly, he can put the breaks on her second “installment” by the council or support the alternative candidates Nicholas Schmit (Euro-commissioner) or Walter Baier (European Left party).

In order to win, VDL will need 361 votes of the MEPs’ total of 720. The European People’s Party (EPP), which proposed VDL’s candidacy in the first place, is expected to get only 170 votes, according to Politico.

It means that VDL will have hard choices before her. For example, she may curry favor with Italy’s premier Georgia Meloni in order to get her vote in the Council. But Meloni’s party Fratelli d’Italia is now trying to form a single faction in the European Parliament with France’s National Rally of Marine Le Pen and with the party Fidesz of Hungary’s Victor Orban. The EPP is at loggerheads with Orban after EPP expelled Fidesz from its faction inside the EP in 2021. So, it will be hard for VDL to please both Meloni and her party, the Guardian has suggested.

Whether VDL stays or not will apparently be resolved by political horse-trading, where a voter’s role is zero.

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The United States must stop supplying Ukraine with weapons and the conflict will end in 2-3 months - Putin.

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The desire of a number of countries to achieve the goal of defeating the Russian Federation prevented the conclusion of a peace treaty between Moscow and Ukraine - Putin.

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The situation in Gaza is not like a war, it is the total destruction of the civilian population, the Russian president said.

Putin called the situation around Israel and Palestine the result of the actions of the United States, which monopolized policy in this area.

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Russia has to guard the Blue Stream and South Stream gas pipelines due to threats from Ukraine, Putin said.

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It is necessary to build relations with the Taliban government, we have contacts, the Russian president said.

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"Russia is constantly being accused of brandishing a nuclear club, but that's not the case," said Putin, urging against escalating to the point of deploying such armaments.

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The United States spends huge resources to maintain its status as an empire, but now it is gradually “de-orbiting” from its position, Putin said. The process is already underway – there is no unipolar world, the president stressed.

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The Ukrainian constitution does not say anything about the possibility of prolonging the term of the president under martial law; it only says that elections are not held, Putin emphasized.

The Russian president said that even under current conditions, there are still people within Ukraine who could sign a peace agreement, but it would require Kiev's willingness.

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There is an article in the Ukrainian constitution under which Zelensky's actions can be qualified as a seizure of power, said Putin, adding that Zelensky's decision not to run in Ukraine's election raises questions.

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Putin called claims that Russia wants to attack NATO nonsense: “are they completely stupid, are they crazy or what?”

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Putin on Ukraine's participation in the anniversary of the Normandy landings: it is impossible to celebrate such a serious date with those who put neo-Nazis on a pedestal. The president recalled the incident of Zelensky applauding a Nazi veteran in the Canadian Parliament.

The Russian President also stressed that it was the USSR that suffered the most losses. Nonetheless, the Russian Federation is not invited to the celebration of the anniversary of the Normandy landings.

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Anyone expressing an alternative point of view in the West is declared an agent of the Kremlin, Putin noted.

Moscow will cooperate with anyone who wants to work with Russia, the President stressed.

Russia is always ready for cooperation with the West but it is the Americans, the French, and the British who rule out the possibility of partnership, Putin emphasized.

"We are in favor, we have not imposed any sanctions on Europe, we have not stopped energy supplies to Germany and other countries. It is against us that sanctions are being imposed," Putin said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin met with representatives of the international press on June 5 within the framework of the 2024 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and answered their questions.

President Putin stated the following:

🔸 Russia is not threatening anybody; the Ukraine conflict started in 2014, being triggered by the anti-constitutional coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014. Western countries, which instigated the coup and supported the illegitimate regime change, bear responsibility for the ongoing conflict.

🔸 Russia recognized Donbass independence and launched the special military operation to protect it within the legal framework of Articles 1 and 51 of the UN Charter after an eight year-long attempt to settle the conflict under the 2015 Minsk Agreements, which were used by Kiev and its European backers to deceive Russia and boost the Ukrainian military.

🔸 Supplying the Kiev regime with NATO-grade high-precision long-range weapons is the path to very serious problems.

🔸 Ukrainian military personnel can participate in the selection of targets for long-range NATO-grade missiles, but the decision to strike is made by those who supply the weapons. Missiles are preprogrammed by respective Western states.

🔸 Russia can respond asymmetrically and deliver weapons to countries confronting NATO member states involved in the Ukraine conflict.

🔸 UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed Kiev to abandon preliminary Russo-Ukrainian March agreements in Istanbul with the approval of the US, with the aim to accomplish their goal of inflicting strategic defeat on Russia.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized Russia's economic development and overall geopolitical situation in the world while responding to questions from foreign journalists.

🔸 Putin emphasized the special nature of Russo-Chinese cooperation in a wide variety of spheres, stressing that 90 percent of financial settlements between the countries are now carried out in their national currencies.

🔸 US sanctions against China are an example of unfair market competition and an attempt to hinder the People's Republic's development.

🔸 Russia develops and diversifies economic cooperation with Belarus and Azerbaijan with a total trade turnover of $48 billion and $4.6 billion respectively. The North-South Transport Corridor linking Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and the Persian Gulf has great potential.

🔸 Russia is enhancing energy cooperation with Turkiye by creating a gas hub in the country and developing Turkish civil nuclear infrastructure. Russia is protecting the Blue Stream and the Turkish Stream pipelines, which are targeted by Ukrainian saboteurs and drones.

🔸 The West's unprecedented number of sanctions backfired as Russia's economy continued to grow, reaching fifth place in the world by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2023 and potentially fourth place, according to the GDP indicators, in the first quarter of 2024.

🔸 The US is killing the dollar with its own hands by cutting Russia off from the Western financial system and prohibiting it from using the greenback.

🔸 Russia condemns terrorism, but what is happening currently in Gaza, which came in response to the October 2023 attack by Hamas, amounts to the total elimination of a civilian population in the Gaza Strip by Israel. This is the result of the US monopolizing settlement of the Israel-Palestine issue and sidelining international efforts to solve the conflict.

🔸 Russia is interested in stability in Afghanistan. The Taliban is maintaining real power in the country and it’s important to establish political ties with Central Asian countries taking into account the reality on the ground.

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🇷🇺🇹🇩 Chad is interested in the development of security and economic cooperation with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"We are developing cooperation in the field of security, Chad is interested in this, given that terrorist threats still persist in this region, which is primarily associated with the destruction of Libyan statehood in 2011, and this was the main source of those terrorists and extremist manifestations that now persist and even increase in the countries of the Sahara-Sahel the zone, West Africa and other parts of the continent," Lavrov told a press conference following talks with Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby.

Chad will pass to Russia a list of spheres of areas for economic cooperation development, the Russian Foreign Minister added.

Lavrov told a joint news conference with Chadian Foreign Minister Abderaman Koulamallah after the meeting that Russia awaits specific requests from Chad and is ready to send an economic mission to the country.

"We will await specific requests from our Chadian friends. We will be ready to send an economic mission here in order to discuss promising projects on the spot. This is the agreement that we have reached today," the Russian minister said.

Koulamallah, for his part, told the news conference that the visit of the Russian foreign minister to the country opens a new era in the Russia-Chad relationship.

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The conflict in the Gaza Strip would have been resolved if the United States had not vetoed the ceasefire proposals, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized during his meeting with the heads of international news agencies as part of the 2024 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"We have put forward initiatives in the UN Security Council on a ceasefire several times. The United States is blocking, vetoing. If we worked in solidarity, we would come to an agreement - that would be the right scenario. It has not been possible so far," Putin said.

Meanwhile, Russia's stance on the Gaza Strip is not subject to political circumstances and has not changed since Soviet times, given that the Soviet Union recognized the Palestinian statehood as far back as in 1988, the Russian president concluded.

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