Russian political scientist and economist Sergey Karaganov will moderate the plenary session of the SPIEF with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin announced.

The president will assess the state of the Russian economy and future guidelines at the session, presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov noted.

👉 Follow the session’s live stream here at 11 am GMT

#SPIEF2024

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🗣 The Kremlin is surprised by Joe Biden's statement about having known Vladimir Putin for 40 years, and does not know what it is based on, presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

Biden's aggressive language towards Putin does not show the US president in a good light, and the Russian leader will not react to it, he added.

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📹 EXCLUSIVE: Bosnia and Herzegovina's peaceful separation solution ‘in accordance with Dayton Peace Treaty’ - Milorad Dodik

The peaceful separation plan offered by Republika Srpska to its partners in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a solution that is “absolutely possible in accordance with the Dayton Peace Treaty,” Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska, told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

Only Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are in a position to make initiatives and decisions on the matter, he noted, adding that, “until today, it was completely different. All the initiatives, and even meddling in the Dayton Treaty, were carried out by outside forces.”

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❗️ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's latest statements:

◾️ Emmanuel Macron demonstrates absolute support for Ukraine and has declared France's readiness for direct participation in the military conflict.

◾️ Participation of countries in the summit on Ukraine in Switzerland is not a topic for dialogue between Putin and his partners.

◾️ The summit on Ukraine in Switzerland will be empty in terms of eventfulness.

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US to roll out more ‘assertive’ nuclear strategy - report

The White House is about to roll out an amended, “more assertive” nuclear weapons strategy, the media outlet Semafor has reported.

Washington sees the need "to adopt a more competitive approach to non-proliferation and arms control" and "make certain adjustments to our posture and capabilities," the outlet cited a senior administration official as saying.

Specifically, the plans may refer to developing a new nuclear gravity bomb, as well as efforts to extend the life of several Ohio-class nuclear submarines, the report said.

The administration intends to consider how US nuclear forces may have to “evolve further” and will discuss work to ensure that key allies “have long-range strike capabilities and surveillance abilities,” the unnamed official added. The plans will reportedly be announced by the National Security Council’s Senior Director for Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation Pranay Vaddi at an arms control conference on Friday.

The report pointed out that the New START Treaty is set to expire in 2026.

The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) entered into force in 2011. Amid NATO's proxy war in Ukraine, Moscow suspended its participation in the accord in February 2023. At the time, President Vladimir Putin said that the US demanded that Russia unconditionally fulfill its obligations under the treaty while being arbitrary about its own obligations. In June, the US announced its "countermeasures" in response to Russia’s suspension of the treaty. Russia stated that it would continue to comply with quantitative restrictions and notifications, adding that it was open to dialogue on the issue.

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Who’s Sergey Karaganov, today’s moderator of SPIEF's plenary session?

Sergey Karaganov is a Russian political scientist who heads the Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, Russia’s security analytical think tank. He specializes in Soviet/Russian foreign and defense policies, Russian-European security and economic interaction, and Russia’s pivot to the East.

Karaganov has spoken extensively on the escalating threat of a new global world war, especially in his article “How to Prevent World War Three.”

“The primary sources of this threat reside in the moral, political, intellectual, social, and economic multi-level crisis plaguing the bulk of the collective West, which has been imposing its interests and rules on the world over the past five centuries,” he noted.

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❗️ EXCLUSIVE: Putin ‘respects’ Bosnia and Herzegovina's peaceful separation solution proposed by Republika Srpska - Milorad Dodik

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “understands and respects” Bosnia and Herzegovina's peaceful separation solution proposed by Republika Srpska, President Milorad Dodik told Sputnik in an exclusive interview.

The Russian Federation – a witness to the signing of the Dayton Treaty – remained the only one faithful to the terms, while other participants “simply stopped acting and complying with those agreements,” he said.

“Putin himself has faced such deception and betrayal on the part of the West,” Dodik said, recalling how Russia was misled by the Minsk accords on Ukraine.

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The plenary session of the SPIEF-2024 with Putin coming soon

The Russian president will participate in the plenary session of the 27th St Petersburg International Economic Forum where he is expected to outline the problems of international trade and the financial system, assess the situation in the Russian economy and its functioning in the conditions of a special military operation.

Bolivian President Luis Arce, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa will also take part at today's event.

👉 Stay tuned for the latest updates and today's live stream at 11:00 GMT!

#SPIEF2024

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The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), funded by billionaire George Soros, is pushing for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and several Russian journalists, including Dmitry Kiselev and Margarita Simonyan, director general and editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, Sputnik's parent company.

FIDH has submitted an appeal to the ICC, citing "criminal hate speech" allegedly used in Russian media.

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❗️ Three people were killed and seven were rescued from under the rubble of a residential building in Lugansk after a missile attack by Ukrainian forces, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.

The number of victims of the Ukrainian strike has risen to 35, including three children, authorities said.

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🇮🇷🇷🇺 "Iranians are very pragmatic partners and see direct benefits in cooperation with the EAEU"

Speaking to Sputnik on the sidelines of the SPIEF, Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, commented on Iran's application for observer status in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

💬 "Our Iranian colleagues understand that there is indeed a great, primarily economic, potential in this cooperation,” Volvach noted. “I emphasize that they are very pragmatic partners, which means that they see direct benefits.”

“The temporary agreement with Iran has allowed us to double our mutual trade. This is also a way out for us, and a good way out with good conditions, with comfortable tariffs to new markets. This is also obvious and that is why all countries have supported the conclusion of such agreements with the free trade zone,” he added.

💬 “Let's see what will be the results of the consultations on Iran's accession to the EAEU as an observer. I hope that everyone will express their support,” Volvach said. “The perimeter of our Eurasian Economic Union will soon become a very serious economic and strategic partner. And not only in terms of trade in goods, but also in terms of logistics. I think this is quite logical.”

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⚡️ A strike on Lugansk on Friday morning was carried out using five ATACMS missiles supplied to Ukraine by the West, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Four of the missiles managed to be shot down, but one struck two apartment buildings, the ministry added.

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📹 People gather in queues waiting for the plenary session of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum with Vladimir Putin

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🚨 Putin’s speech at #SPIEF2024 coming up soon

Jackson Hinkle shares his expectations for the speech, and makes a prediction about Biden’s likely response.

Tune in to Sputnik News for live updates and stream of Putin’s speech.

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Russian FM Lavrov is heading for the plenary session of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (#SPIEF) with Vladimir Putin

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‘We're looking at World War III’ if Biden is reelected - Tara Reade

If Biden is reelected for another four years, “we're looking at World War III,” Tara Reade, a writer, and ex-assistant in Joe Biden's Senate office, told Sputnik.

💬 “There’s no question, that's where we're at right now,” she said on the sidelines of the 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

“So the administration is very hawkish, the people around him and behind him. His leadership is feeble at best. I don't even know if he'll last that long, much less through the campaign. So no, I don't think America economically and existentially can survive Joe Biden and his administration,” Reade concluded.

At the concluding press conference of SPIEF-2024, Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation and responsible secretary of the organizing committee, stated:

"In the new century, Russia once again stands alone against the aggression and full force of the military economies of Western nations. We will once again oppose the ideologies of fascism. They have elevated Russophobia to a cult and propagate anti-Russian sentiments everywhere! By overthrowing the legitimate government in Ukraine and destroying the state, the USA and their NATO allies seized the country and created a terrorist entity on its ruins. According to estimates from the US Senate, Americans have invested over 300 billion dollars in the genocide of Russians in Ukraine. They call these injections 'investment'."

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❗️ Biden announces new $225 million military aid package for Ukraine

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Russia’s thriving economy a sign that ‘things are going the right direction’ - Tara Reade

The US doesn’t want its citizens to know how safe Russia is, or how its middle class is thriving despite the West’s sanctions, Tara Reade told Sputnik.

“Russia is so safe. It's safer than the United States actually. You have a much lower crime rate. And I have been here a year and I can't tell you how much I love it,” said the writer and former assistant in Joe Biden's Senate office.

According to Reade, the Russian state “provides education, medical care, and housing in a way that America does not,” and people in Russia “enjoy a better standard of living.” Noting Russia’s 5.7% GDP growth rate in the first quarter of 2024, she added: “That's a sign that things are going the right direction.”

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