⚡️Basic agreements on a peaceful settlement should be fixed by international treaties, of course, the lifting of sanctions against Russia is also expected, Putin said

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Sanctions against the Moscow stock exchange will harm Germany and the EU - Bundestag deputy Kotre

The imposition of sanctions against the Moscow Stock Exchange gives the US an opportunity to profit from business with the EU, as trade with Russia has now become even more problematic for the European alliance, Steffen Kotre, a member of the Bundestag from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, told Russian media.

The US sanctions policy runs counter to the needs of the EU, he said, citing as an example American companies that are gradually squeezing European firms out of the domestic market.

"Europe is forced to sacrifice itself and make decisions that are unprofitable for itself, in particular, by continuing to tighten the screws with the introduction of new sanctions against Russia. The sanctions must be lifted. Any other development of events will damage Germany and Europe. But the current government does not understand this," Kotre concluded.

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❗️Key points of Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for peaceful settlement in Ukraine:

🔸 Russia will cease fire and declare its readiness for negotiations immediately after Kiev withdraws its troops from the territory of the new Russian regions;

🔸 One of the conditions for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will be a declaration by Kiev that it is abandoning its intentions to join NATO.

🔸 The basic agreements on a peaceful settlement should be laid down in international treaties; of course, the lifting of sanctions against Russia is also expected.

🔸 There is no talk of freezing the conflict, but of its complete cessation.

🔸 Russia is making another real peace proposal today, but if the West and Kiev reject it, the bloodshed will be their responsibility.

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❗️Russia is making another genuine peace offer today, but if the West and Kiev reject it, they will be responsible for the bloodshed, Putin said.

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❗️Russian ambassadors in various countries will hand over the details of Putin's initiative to the authorities, but Moscow will not run after anyone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Russia is not asking the West to trust it and Putin's proposals on Ukraine, but the West must understand the real situation 'on the ground,'" Lavrov added.

It is wrong to raise the question that Putin's proposals on Ukraine resemble a capitulation proposal, the Russian Foreign Minister explained.

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📹Full video of Putin's speech at Foreign Ministry, where he outlined conditions for negotiations with Ukraine

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Why Biden's 10-year security pact with Ukraine is nothing but a PR stunt

US President Joe Biden struck a 10-year security deal with the Kiev regime at the recent G7 Summit. Volodymyr Zelensky, whose presidential tenure expired on May 20, inked the agreement on behalf of Ukraine. Despite the White House calling the deal "historic" the US media says its future is in doubt.

▪️ The deal is not a "treaty", but an "executive agreement" since Biden didn't seek a congressional approval to make it. Treaties, which require the consent of two-thirds of US senators, are legally binding agreements between nations; they become part of international law. Executive agreements are concluded on the authority of the incumbent president and don't necessarily bind his successors.

▪️ President Donald Trump tore apart his predecessor Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran (which was not confirmed by Senate) in 2018. This illustrated the fragility of the executive agreement - which was also called "historic" in July 2015.

▪️ Recent YouGov, Yahoo News, Emerson polls show Trump leads Biden in the 2024 presidential race. Trump is also leading Biden in key battleground states which provided for Biden's victory in the 2020 elections, as per RealClearPolitics.

▪️ Even if Biden wins in 2024, his second tenure will end in 2029, meaning the fate of the 10-year accord will depend on his successor.

▪️ Treaties aren't immune to the US president's unilateral action: In 1978, President Jimmy Carter withdrew from 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty with the island of Taiwan. President George W. Bush tore apart the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Moscow in 2002.

▪️ Last but not least, in the absence of clarification of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Zelensky's legitimacy as a signatory is null and void: under the nation's Constitution, the presidential tenure is limited to five years and is not subject to extension under martial law.

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❗️There will be no further expansion of NATO “in the near future”, according to the Pentagon.

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Scott Ritter: Keeping Ukraine out of NATO serves as key to resolving demilitarization & denazification

Shining the spotlight on Moscow’s commitment to finding a resolution to the Ukraine conflict, former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter commented on Vladimir Putin's speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry. The ex-US Marine intel officer suggested that the special military operation's objectives of demilitarization and denazification could be achieved through the negotiation process.

"Demilitarization will occur through the negotiation process," he stated, pointing out that Ukraine's commitment to non-membership in NATO would eliminate the need for NATO equipment and advisors, thus achieving demilitarization.

Concerning denazification, Ritter noted that Putin was clear that figures like Volodymyr Zelensky and right-wing groups such as the Azov Battalion* do not represent Ukraine's future. These groups would be phased out as part of Ukraine's post-conflict reconstruction.

"Vladimir Putin made it clear that Volodymyr Zelensky is not the political future of Ukraine," Ritter stressed. He underscored that genuine neutrality and the political rebuilding of Ukraine would empower suppressed opposition forces, and lead to a change in the internal political landscape.

*banned in Russia

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Ukraine rejects new Russian peace proposal

Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, claimed that Putin's new initiative to settle the conflict allegedly does not contain a "real peace proposal".

Vladimir Putin has declared that Russia is making another real peace proposal, but if the West and Kiev reject it, they will be responsible for the bloodshed.

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❗️With such statements they want to deprive the citizens of Ukraine of a real chance for peace, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Sputnik, commenting on Zelensky's office's rejection of Putin's peace initiative.

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❗️Russian troops carried out 19 group strikes on Ukrainian military facilities during the week, the Russian Defense Ministry announced

Energy facilities, airfield infrastructure, Storm Shadow missile depots and mercenary bases were hit.

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❗️ This week, Russian troops liberated settlements of Artemovka in Lugansk People's Republic and Timkovka in Kharkov region

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian Defense Ministry's daily briefing on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine:

▪️ The Yug combat group destroyed 22 field ammunition depots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukrainian losses amounted to 3,785 soldiers;

▪️ Units of the Tsentr combat group repelled 34 Ukrainian counterattacks;

▪️ The Sever combat group defeated four brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in one week. The enemy lost up to 1,710 soldiers;

▪️ The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 555 soldiers in one week due to the actions of the Dnepr battlegroup;

▪️ Zapad battle group units destroyed three electronic warfare stations and four field ammunition depots. Ukrainian losses amounted to 3,405 soldiers in one week;

▪️ Russian forces shot down one MiG-29 fighter jet, Su-27 and Su-25 aircraft, and two Mi-8 helicopters of the Ukrainian Air Force in one week. Russian air defense systems shot down 13 ATACMS missiles, two Patriot missiles and two Neptune anti-ship missiles in one week.

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