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Tag: European Union

  • Thousands Rally Again in Bulgaria to Demand Government’s Resignation

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    SOFIA, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Thousands of Bulgarians rallied on ‌Wednesday ​evening against the country’s minority ‌government and what they say is its failure to tackle endemic ​corruption in the European Union’s poorest member state.

    The protests in the capital Sofia and dozens of other ‍towns and cities across the Black ​Sea nation are the latest in a series of rolling demonstrations and come as ​Bulgaria prepares ⁠to adopt the euro on January 1.

    Protesters used lasers to project the words “Resignation”, “Mafia Out”, and “For Fair Elections” on the parliament building in central Sofia.

    “I think the energy of the people will gradually force them (the government) to step down because many reforms are needed,” said Dobri ‌Lakov, 64, a Sofia resident.

    “First and foremost, judicial reform. If the judicial system is fixed, ​everything ‌else will fall into place, ‍absolutely everything.”

    Bulgaria’s ⁠parliament will hold a vote of no-confidence on Thursday in the government of Prime Minister Rosen Zheleznikov, the sixth such vote since it took power on January 15 this year.

    Last week, the government withdrew its 2026 budget plan, the first drafted in euros, due to the mass protests. Opposition parties and other organisations said they were protesting against plans to hike social security contributions and taxes ​on dividends to finance higher state spending.

    Despite the government’s retreat over the budget plan, the protests have continued unabated in a country which has held seven national elections in the past four years – most recently in October 2024 – amid deep political and social divisions.

    “It is finally time for normality to come to Bulgaria and for us to free ourselves from the oligarchy, the mafia, and the forces that represent them,” said Angelin Bahchevanov, an IT specialist.

    Bulgarian news agency BTA reported on Wednesday that Boyko Borissov, a former prime minister and leader of the ruling GERB ​party, said the ruling coalition partners had agreed not to resign before Bulgaria joins the euro zone on January 1.

    However, Assen Vassilev of the reformist opposition party “We Continue the Change”, which was among the organisers of Wednesday’s protest, said: “We will enter ​the euro zone, even if the government has resigned.”

    (Reporting by Fedja Grulovic; Writing by Ivana SekularacEditing by Gareth Jones)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Elon Musk’s X social media platform fined $140 million for violating EU transparency rules

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    European Union regulators on Friday said it is fining Elon Musk’s social media platform X $140 million (120 million euros) for violating regulations aimed at protecting internet users in the trading bloc from digital abuses. 

    The European Commission said that X breached “transparency obligations” under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The fine represents the EU’s first move to sanction a company for violating the law since the law was enacted in 2022. 

    In a statement issued Friday, the commission accused X of using its ‘blue checkmark’ in a way that deceives users. Anyone can pay to get the verification, making it hard for users to judge the authenticity of the accounts they engage with on the social media platform, the EU said. This could expose users to scams and “other forms of manipulation by malicious actors,” the commission noted.

    The European Commission also took aim at X’s ads repository, which it said fails to meet accessibility requirements under the DSA. Internet platforms in the EU are required to provide a database of all the digital advertisements they have carried, with details such as who paid for them and the intended audience. That goal is to help researchers detect scams, fake ads and coordinated influence campaigns.

    X has 60 days to tell the European Commission how it plans to address the group’s concerns.

    Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr took issue with the fine and defended X. “Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company,” he wrote on X Friday in a post shared by X owner Elon Musk.

    X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The DSA requires platforms to remove “illegal content,” among other restrictions, with companies that fail to comply at risk of hefty fines. The law has been a thorn in the side of American tech companies and members of the Trump administration, who claim the sweeping rule violates free speech. 

    During a speech in Munich this February, Vice President J.D. Vance said the EU’s content moderation policies amount to “authoritarian censorship,” according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a nonprofit think tank.

    Edited by

    Alain Sherter

    The Associated Press

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  • Germany’s Merz: Ukraine Will Need Strong Army After Any Peace Deal

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    BERLIN (Reuters) -Ukraine will need strong armed forces and security guarantees after any peace deal with Russia is agreed and Kyiv should not be forced to surrender territory, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday.

    Stressing that European as well as Ukrainian security interests were at stake, Merz said guarantees were being discussed with the U.S. and Ukraine.

    “Ukraine needs strong armed forces, and if a peace agreement is reached … Ukraine will continue to need strong armed forces and reliable security guarantees from its partners,” said Merz at a press conference with his Estonian counterpart.

    The most important guarantee, he said, was a well-equipped Ukrainian army.

    “That is why we are also discussing the future target size of the Ukrainian army,” Merz said, adding it was too early to discuss any deployment of international troops.

    European countries have insisted that the upper limit for Ukraine should be 800,000 soldiers rather than 600,000.

    Merz also said Ukraine should not be forced to accept territorial concessions and that the front line must be the starting point for any negotiations.

    (Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Andreas Rinke; editing by Matthias Williams and Ros Russell)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Putin Says U.S.-Ukraine Text Could Form Basis Future Peace Agreement

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    BISHKEK (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the outlines of a draft peace plan discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine but that if not then Russia would continue to fight.

    “In general, we agree that this can be the basis for future agreements,” Putin said, adding that the variant of the plan discussed by the United States and Ukraine in Geneva had been passed to Russia.

    Putin said that the United States was taking into account Russia’s position but that some things still need to be discussed. He said that if Europe wanted a pledge not to attack it, then Russia was willing to give such a pledge.

    Russia, Putin said, was still being told it should cease the fighting.

    “Ukrainian troops must withdraw from the territories they hold, and then the fighting will cease. If they don’t leave, then we shall achieve this by armed means. That’s it,” Putin said. Russian forces, he said, were advancing in Ukraine at a faster pace.

    Putin said that he considered the Ukrainian leadership to be illegitimate and so it was legally impossible to sign a deal with Ukraine, so it was important to ensure any agreement was recognised by the international community – and that the international community recognised Russian gains in Ukraine.

    Putin rejected the suggestion that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had shown himself to be biased towards Moscow in peace talks over Ukraine, describing it as nonsense.

    (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin Writing by Maxim Rodionov; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Russia to Close Polish Consulate in Siberia in Row Over Railway Sabotage

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    MOSCOW/WARSAW (Reuters) -Russia on Thursday ordered Poland to close its consulate in the Siberian city of Irkutsk in retaliation for Warsaw’s decision to close the last Russian consulate in Poland after a railway explosion that was blamed on Moscow.

    Poland, a former Warsaw Pact member which joined the U.S.-led NATO military alliance in 1999, said two Ukrainians working for Moscow were behind a blast earlier this month on the line that links Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the blast was an “unprecedented act of sabotage” and Poland’s special services said evidence pointed to Russian intelligence being behind it.

    Moscow denied that, saying levels of “Russophobia” were so high in Europe that it was routinely blamed for any incident without any evidence being presented.

    Russia’s Foreign Ministry summoned Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski and handed him a note explaining that the Irkutsk consulate would be closed from December 30 in response to Warsaw’s decision to close the Gdansk consulate.

    “The curtailment of the Russian consular presence in Poland under an absurd pretext is an openly hostile, unjustified step by the Polish leadership,” the Foreign Ministry said.

    Moscow said it wanted to issue a reminder that any attacks on Russia would elicit “an adequate, painful response.”

    Poland said it saw no basis for closing its consulate in Irkutsk.

    “We accepted Russia’s decision to withdraw consent, although we believe there were no grounds for it because it is not Poland that is organising acts of terror in Russia,” Maciej Wewior, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, told reporters.

    He said there were three employees at the consulate and they would leave Russia by the end of next month.

    (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, Maxim Rodionov in London and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw; editing by Mark Trevelyan)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Ukrainian Nord Stream Suspect to Be Extradited to Germany From Italy on Thursday, Say Prosecutors

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    FRANKFURT (Reuters) -A Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022 will be flown to Germany on Thursday after Italy’s top court approved his extradition last week, a spokesperson for Germany’s federal prosecutors said.

    Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, explosions in the Baltic Sea three years ago largely severed Russian gas transit to Europe, squeezing energy supplies on the continent, although Russia had already largely stopped deliveries.

    Investigators spent years piecing together the mystery of who was behind them.

    SUSPECT DENIES ROLE IN ATTACKS

    The suspect, identified as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, denies any role in the attacks. His lawyer Nicola Canestrini has said he is confident that his client will be acquitted after a trial in Germany.

    German prosecutors accuse him of belonging to a group of people who planted devices on the pipelines near the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic.

    He faces charges of collusion to cause an explosion, anti-constitutional sabotage and destruction of important structures.

    The suspect was detained on a European arrest warrant in the Italian town of Rimini in August but fought attempts to transfer him to Germany. 

    Last month, a court in Poland ruled against handing over another Ukrainian suspect wanted by Germany in connection with the explosions and ordered his immediate release from detention.

    (Reporting by Tilman BlasshoferWriting by Madeline ChambersEditing by Ludwig Burger)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Turkey Says Lebanon-Cyprus Maritime Deal Violates Turkish Cypriots’ Rights, Is Unacceptable

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    ANKARA (Reuters) -A maritime demarcation deal signed between Lebanon and Cyprus violates the rights of Turkish Cypriots on the island and is therefore unacceptable, Turkey said on Thursday.

    Lebanon and Cyprus on Wednesday signed the long-awaited deal, which aims to pave the way for potential exploration of offshore gas fields and deepen energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.

    Turkey, a NATO member, does not recognise the Greek Cypriot government on the ethnically-split island of Cyprus, and is the only country to recognise the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It has repeatedly complained that Greek Cypriots were disregarding and usurping Turkish Cypriot rights.

    ‘NOT POSSIBLE FOR US TO ACCEPT’

    “It is not possible for us to accept any agreement in which the rights of the TRNC are disregarded,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said at its weekly press briefing, using an acronym for the Turkish Cypriot government.

    “We evaluate that this accord, which disregards the TRNC’s rights, is also in violation of the interests of the Lebanese people, and tell our Lebanese counterparts that we are ready for cooperation on maritime issues,” it added.

    Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli said the deal was another example of Greek Cypriots disregarding the rights of Turkish Cypriots, and said the Greek Cypriot administration was not the sole representative of the island and therefore did not have the authority to take decisions concerning the whole island.

    “We call on the international community, namely countries of the region, not to support these unilateral steps by the Greek Cypriot Administration and not to become instruments in attempts to usurp the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots, who are sovereign and equal elements of the island,” Keceli said on X.

    Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup. The last round of peace talks between the two sides collapsed in 2017, with efforts to revive them at a stalemate since.

    (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Conor Humphries)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Turkey Says Russia-Ukraine Ceasefire Needed First Before Discussing Troop Deployment

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    ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey’s defence ministry said on Thursday that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia must be achieved first before any discussions can take place on possible troop deployment for a potential reassurance force.

    On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron said the force would have French, British and Turkish soldiers. Ankara, which has maintained cordial ties with both Moscow and Kyiv during the war, has said it was open to discussing such a deployment but only if its modalities were set.

    “First, a ceasefire must be established between Russia and Ukraine. Afterward, a mission framework must be established with a clear mandate, and the extent to which each country will contribute must be determined,” the ministry said at a press briefing when asked about Macron’s comments.

    (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)

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  • Poland to Receive $51 Billion From EU’s Defence Investment Programme, PM Says

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    WARSAW (Reuters) -Poland will receive 44 billion euros ($50.91 billion) from the European Union’s SAFE programme to boost its armed forces, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday. 

    The SAFE programme provides up to 150 billion euros in cheap loans to EU member states that request financial assistance for investments in defence capabilities.

    In televised comments at the start of a government meeting, Tusk said some of the funds would be allocated to the purchase of drone equipment for the EU’s Eastern Shield, which protects the bloc’s eastern borders with Russia and Belarus.

    The funds will also be used for space projects, the development of artificial intelligence in the area of defence, equipment for the military, border guards and police, and the SAFE Baltic programme, Tusk said.

    SAFE Baltic expands the activities that Poland’s navy and border guards can conduct in the geopolitically sensitive Baltic Sea region.

    “Thanks to our efforts, we will also be able to finance roads and railways directly related to the security of the Polish state through the SAFE programme,” Tusk added.

    Poland, a strong supporter of neighbouring Ukraine in its efforts to push back invading Russian forces, spends a larger proportion of its national output on defence than any other NATO member state.

    (Reporting by Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Pawel Florkiewicz, Barbara Erling; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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  • ‘Coalition of the Willing’ Supports Trump’s Efforts to Put an End to Ukraine War

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    LONDON (Reuters) -Leaders of Britain, France and Germany, following their Coalition of the Willing meeting on Tuesday, expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine, emphasising that any solution must fully involve Ukraine.

    French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they were “clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force.”

    “This remains one of the fundamental principles for preserving stability and peace in Europe and beyond,” the leaders said in a joint statement.

    (Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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  • French President Macron Says Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan Needs Improvement

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    PARIS (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan goes in the right direction but there are aspects that need improvement to make it acceptable for Ukraine and Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron told RTL radio on Tuesday.

    “It’s an initiative that goes in the right direction: peace. However, there are aspects of that plan that deserve to be discussed, negotiated, improved,” Macron said. “We want peace, but we don’t want a peace that would be a capitulation.”

    He added that only the Ukrainians could decide what territorial concessions they are ready to make.

    “What was put on the table gives us an idea of what would be acceptable for the Russians. Does that mean that it is what must be accepted by the Ukrainians and the Europeans? The answer is no,” Macron added.

    Macron added Ukraine’s first line of defence in case of peace with Russia would be regenerating its own army, and there can be not limit on it. He also said frozen Russian assets are in Europe, and Europe alone can decide what to do with them.

    Asked if he was ready to go to Washington to help negotiate a better deal, Macron said he had no current plan to do so.

    (Reporting by Alessandro Parodi and Michel Rose;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

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  • Europe and Africa need each other more than ever, says von der Leyen

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    Europe and Africa “need each other more than ever before” in a global economy that is becoming “more confrontational,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday.

    Speaking at the European Union-African Union summit in the Angolan capital of Luanda, von der Leyen said the two continents must deepen economic cooperation in an era of trade barriers, global overcapacity and export restrictions.

    Von der Leyen said she sees the potential for the expansion of existing trade relations, even though a third of African exports already go to Europe.

    She also pointed to the EU’s Global Gateway agenda, which she called “more than an infrastructure development programme,” highlighting the example of the Lobito Corridor in southern Africa.

    At the last EU-African Union summit three years ago, a goal was agreed to invest a total of €150 billion ($173 billion) in Africa by 2027, von der Leyen said.

    More than €120 billion has already been mobilized, she said, arguing that “at a time when other major investors are rethinking their global engagement, Europe’s commitment to Africa is here to stay.”

    “The case for Africa and Europe to join forces is overwhelming,” the European Commission president said. “Let us find new ways of doing so. Let us walk this path together.”

    Leaders from the two blocs are convening in Luanda amid a whirlwind of international diplomacy in southern Africa on the heels of a G20 summit in Johannesburg, the first such meeting on African soil.

    The talks have arguably been overshadowed by frantic discussions on the controversial US peace plan for Ukraine, with EU leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz holding a meeting on the proposal in Luanda on Monday.

    On the first day of the summit, officials were set to cover a range of issues, including peace, security and multilateral cooperation, migration, mobility and prosperity, before a joint declaration is released on Tuesday.

    The EU currently deploys 12 civilian and military missions and operations on the continent, including in Libya, Mali, Somalia and the Central African Republic, most of which are aimed at supporting counterterrorism efforts, increasing stability and conflict prevention.

    But both sides are also looking to further increase cooperation across other areas, 25 years since the first EU-AU summit was held in Cairo in 2000.

    President of the European Council Antonio Costa (L) and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen make a statement after the informal talks between EU heads of government on Ukraine at the EU-Africa Summit. Dati Bendo/European Commission/dpa

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  • United EU Position Is Key to ‘Good Outcome’ From Ukraine Peace Moves, EU’s Costa Says

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    BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A united and coordinated European Union position is key to ensuring a “good outcome” from talks on ending the war in Ukraine, European Council President Antonio Costa said on Monday after speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

    “Spoke with Zelenskiy ahead of this morning’s informal EU leaders’ meeting on Ukraine peace efforts, to get his assessment of the situation. A united and coordinated EU position is key in ensuring a good outcome of peace negotiations – for Ukraine and for Europe,” Costa wrote on X.

    (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

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  • China’s Premier Pitches to German Chancellor Closer Collaboration in Strategic Industries

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    BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s Premier Li Qiang pitched closer collaboration to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in new energy, smart manufacturing, biomedicine and intelligent driving during a meeting on Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Xinhua reported.

    Relations between the world’s second- and third-largest economies have improved significantly over the past month, after Chinese export curbs on chips and rare earths caused major disruptions for German firms and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to cancel a visit to Beijing last month due to China rejecting all but one of his meetings.

    German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil made the first official visit of Merz’s premiership last week, stabilising ties by meeting China’s top economic official Vice Premier He Lifeng, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs weigh on the two major exporters.

    Merz is also expected to visit China soon.

    Li said he “hoped Germany would maintain a rational and pragmatic policy toward China, eliminate interference and pressure, focus on shared interests, and consolidate the foundation for cooperation,” a state media readout released late on Sunday quoted China’s second-ranking official as saying.

    For all the friction over Beijing’s support for Russia and its actions in the Indo-Pacific, and Berlin’s vocal criticism of China’s human rights record and state-subsidised industrial policy, the two countries remain bound by a vast and mutually advantageous commercial relationship.

    “China is willing to work with Germany to seize future development opportunities … in emerging fields such as new energy, smart manufacturing, biomedicine, hydrogen energy technology, and intelligent driving, Li said in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is hosting the first G20 summit on the continent.

    China bought $95 billion worth of German goods last year, around 12% of which were cars, Chinese data shows, putting it among the $19 trillion economy’s top 10 trading partners. Germany purchased $107 billion of Chinese goods, mostly chips and other electronic components.

    But Berlin stands out for China as an investment partner, having injected $6.6 billion in fresh capital in 2024, according to data from the Mercator Institute for China Studies, accounting for 45% of all foreign direct investment into China from the European Union and the United Kingdom.

    For Germany, China represents a practically irreplaceable auto market, and is responsible for almost a third of German automakers’ sales. German chemicals and pharmaceuticals firms also have a large presence in the country, although they are facing increasing pressure from domestic competitors.

    (Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Richard Chang)

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  • Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Is Grateful for Efforts by US, Trump

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    (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukraine was grateful to the United States and to President Donald Trump for all U.S. efforts aimed at helping Kyiv.

    “Ukraine is thankful to the United States, to every American heart and particularly to President Trump for the help which, starting with Javelin (missiles), saves Ukrainian lives,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram after Trump said Ukraine’s leaders had expressed “zero gratitude” for U.S. assistance.

    Zelenskiy also expressed thanks to Europe and the G7 and G20 groupings of countries for their help, saying efforts to maintain this support were important.

    “This is why we are working so carefully on every point, every step towards peace,” he wrote. “Everything has to be worked out correctly so that we can truly end this war and prevent war from happening again.”

    (Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Edmund Klamann)

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  • Full Text of European Counter-Proposal to US Ukraine Peace Plan

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    BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Below is the text of a European counter-proposal to the United States’ draft 28-point Ukraine peace plan, seen by Reuters on Sunday.

    The counter-proposal, drafted by Europe’s E3 powers of Britain, France and Germany, takes the U.S. plan as its basis but then goes through it point by point with suggested changes and deletions.

    1. Ukraine’s sovereignty to be reconfirmed.

    2. There will be a total and complete non-aggression agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine and NATO. All ambiguities from the last 30 years will be resolved.

    (Point 3 of U.S. plan is deleted. A draft of that plan seen by Reuters said: “There will be the expectation that Russia will not invade its neighbours and NATO will not expand further.”)

    4. After a peace agreement is signed, a dialogue between Russia and NATO will convene to address all security concerns and create a de-escalatory environment to ensure global security and increase the opportunity for connectivity and future economic opportunity.

    5. Ukraine will receive robust Security Guarantees

    6. Size of Ukraine military to be capped at 800,000 in peacetime.

    7. Ukraine joining NATO depends on consensus of NATO members, which does not exist.

    8. NATO agrees not to permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime.

    9. NATO fighter jets will be stationed in Poland

    10. US guarantee that mirrors Article 5

    a. US to receive compensation for the guarantee

    b. If Ukraine invades Russia, it forfeits the guarantee

    c. If Russia invades Ukraine, in addition to a robust coordinated military response, all global sanctions will be restored and any kind of recognition for the new territory and all other benefits from this agreement will be withdrawn.

    11. Ukraine is eligible for EU membership and will get short-term preferred market access to Europe while this is being evaluated

    12. Robust Global Redevelopment Package for Ukraine including but not limited to:

    a. Creation of Ukraine Development fund to invest in high growth industries including technology, data centres and Al efforts

    b. The United States will partner with Ukraine to jointly restore, grow, modernize and operate Ukraine’s gas infrastructure, which includes its pipeline and storage facilities

    c. A joint effort to redevelop areas impacted by the war to restore, redevelop and modernize cities and residential areas

    d. Infrastructure development

    e. Mineral and natural resource extraction

    f. A special financing package will be developed by the World Bank to provide financing to accelerate these efforts.

    13. Russia to be progressively re-integrated into the global economy

    a. Sanction relief will be discussed and agreed upon in phases and on a case-by-case basis.

    b. The United States will enter into a long-term Economic Cooperation Agreement to pursue mutual development in the areas of energy, natural resources, infrastructure, AI, datacenters, rare earths, joint projects in the Arctic, as well as various other mutually beneficial corporate opportunities.

    c. Russia to be invited back into the G8

    14. Ukraine will be fully reconstructed and compensated financially, including through Russian sovereign assets that will remain frozen until Russia compensates damage to Ukraine.

    15. A joint Security taskforce will be established with the participation of US, Ukraine, Russia and the Europeans to promote and enforce all of the provisions of this agreement

    16. Russia will legislatively enshrine a non-aggression policy towards Europe and Ukraine

    17. The United States and Russia agree to extend nuclear non-proliferation and control treaties, including Fair Start

    18. Ukraine agrees to remain a non-nuclear state under the NPT

    19. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be restarted under supervision of the IAEA, and the produced power shall be shared equitably in a 50-50 split between Russia and Ukraine.

    20. Ukraine will adopt EU rules on religious tolerance and the protection of linguistic minorities.

    Ukraine commits not to recover its occupied sovereign territory through military means. Negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact.

    22. Once future territorial arrangements have been agreed, both the Russian Federation and Ukraine undertake not to change these arrangements by force. Any security guarantees will not apply if there is a breach of this obligation

    23. Russia shall not obstruct Ukraine’s use of the Dnieper River for purposes of commercial activities, and agreements will be reached for grain shipments to move freely through the Black Sea

    24. A humanitarian committee will be established to resolve open issues:

    a. All remaining prisoners and bodies will be exchanged on the principle of All for All

    b. All civilian detainees and hostages will be returned, including children

    c. There will be a family reunification program

    d. Provisions will be made to address the suffering of victims from the conflict

    25. Ukraine will hold elections as soon as possible after the signing of the peace agreement.

    26. Provision will be made to address the suffering of victims of the conflict.

    27. This agreement will be legally binding. Its implementation will be monitored and guaranteed by a Board of Peace, chaired by President Donald J. Trump. There will be

    28. Upon all sides agreeing to this memorandum, a ceasefire will be immediately effective upon both parties withdrawing to the agreed upon points for the implementation of the agreement to begin. Ceasefire modalities, including monitoring, will be agreed by both parties under US supervision.

    (Reporting by Andrew Gray)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Turkey’s Erdogan Says He Will Speak to Russia’s Putin on Monday

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    ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would have a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday to discuss peace efforts in Ukraine, adding that he would also ask him to restart a deal for the safe passage of grains via the Black Sea.

    NATO member Turkey has maintained cordial ties with both Kyiv and Moscow during the war, providing military help to Ukraine but refusing to join Western sanctions on Moscow. It has hosted three rounds of peace talks between the warring parties in Istanbul and offered to host a leaders’ meeting.

    Speaking at a press conference on Sunday after a G20 summit in South Africa, Erdogan said the 2022 Black Sea grain deal, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, aimed to pave the path for a peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine.

    “We were able to succeed in this up to a certain point and it did not continue after. Now, during the discussions we will have tomorrow, I will again ask Mr. Putin about this. I think it would be very beneficial if we can start this process,” he said.

    He added that he would also discuss how to “end the deaths” during the call, and that he would share with European and U.S. leaders and allies the outcomes of his conversation with Putin.

    Erdogan did not comment directly on Washington’s 28-point draft plan to end the war. Kyiv and European allies have voiced alarm over what they see as major concessions to the aggressor Russia, as officials meet in Geneva to discuss it.

    The Black Sea Grain Initiative was inked in July 2022 to allow the safe export of nearly 33 million metric tons of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, despite the war.

    Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023, complaining that its own food and fertiliser exports faced serious obstacles. It has also complained of restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance as a barrier to shipments.

    Last week, Erdogan hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Ankara, and on Sunday discussed the war in Ukraine with the leaders of France and Italy, according to his office.

    He called for all diplomatic efforts to be utilised to reach a fair and lasting peace in Ukraine, saying the resumption of talks in Istanbul could help this effort.

    (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Ros Russell)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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  • Ukraine, U.S. and other Western allies meet in Geneva to discuss peace plan

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    Talks to discuss a U.S.-proposed peace plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine got underway in Geneva on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said.

    The head of the Ukrainian delegation, presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak, wrote on social media that they held their first meeting with national security advisers from the U.K., France and Germany.

    “The next meeting is with the U.S. delegation. We are in a very constructive mood,” Yermak said. “We continue working together to achieve a lasting and just peace for Ukraine.”

    U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to join the talks together with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram that he was waiting for the outcome of the talks.

    “A positive result is needed for all of us,” he said. “Ukrainian and American teams, teams of our European partners – are in close contact, and I very much hope there will be a result. Bloodshed must be stopped and it must be guaranteed that the war will not be reignited.”

    The 28-point blueprint drawn up by the U.S. sparked alarm in Kyiv and across Europe, quickly rallying Western allies around Ukraine in a push to revise the plan, which is seen as favoring Moscow. They said in a joint statement on Saturday that while the plan “includes important elements that will be essential for a just and lasting peace,” additional work is required.

    Zelenskyy, himself, said on Friday that his country could face a stark choice between standing up for its sovereign rights and preserving the U.S. support it needs.

    The plan acquiesces to many of Russia’s demands that Ukraine has categorically rejected on dozens of occasions, including giving up large pieces of territory.  President Trump said Friday that he wants Ukraine to accept the plan by late next week.

    Speaking before Sunday’s talks, Alice Rufo, France’s minister delegate at the Defense Ministry, told broadcaster France Info that key points of discussion would include the plan’s restrictions on the Ukrainian army, which she described as “a limitation on its sovereignty.”

    “Ukraine must be able to defend itself,” she said. “Russia wants war and waged war many times in fact over the past years.”

    Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Mr. Trump said the U.S. proposal was not his “final offer.”

    “I would like to get to peace. It should have happened a long time ago. The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened,” Mr. Trump said. “One way or the other, we have to get it ended.”

    Mr. Trump didn’t explain what he meant by the plan not being his final offer and the White House didn’t respond to a request for clarification.

    Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday that Warsaw was ready to work on the plan with the leaders of Europe, Canada and Japan, but also said that it “would be good to know for sure who is the author of the plan and where was it created.”

    Some U.S. lawmakers said Saturday that Rubio had described the plan as a Russian “wish list” rather than a Washington-led proposal.

    The bipartisan group of senators held a news conference, stating that they had spoken with Rubio about the peace plan after he reached out to some of them while en route to Geneva. Independent Maine Sen. Angus King said Rubio told them the plan “was not the administration’s plan” but a “wish list of the Russians.”

    Rubio on Saturday night rejected the claims, writing in a social media post that, “The peace proposal was authored by the U.S. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations. It is based on input from the Russian side. But it is also based on previous and ongoing input from Ukraine.”

    State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott denied their account, calling it “blatantly false.”

    “As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration has consistently maintained, this plan was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians,” he posted on social media.

    A senior U.S. official told CBS News in a statement Saturday night that the Trump administration has “consistently maintained” that the peace plan was authored by the U.S. with input from Russia and Ukraine.

    “This plan has always been a hopeful start to continued negotiations, and eventually the signing of a final peace agreement once and for all,” the statement said.

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  • France will investigate Musk’s Grok chatbot after Holocaust denial claims

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    PARIS (AP) — France’s government is taking action against billionaire Elon Musk ‘s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok after it generated French-language posts that questioned the use of gas chambers at Auschwitz, officials said.

    Grok, built by Musk’s company xAI and integrated into his social media platform X, wrote in a widely shared post in French that gas chambers at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp were designed for “disinfection with Zyklon B against typhus” rather than for mass murder — language long associated with Holocaust denial.

    The Auschwitz Memorial highlighted the exchange on X, saying that the response distorted historical fact and violated the platform’s rules.

    In later posts on its X account, the chatbot acknowledged that its earlier reply to an X user was wrong, said it had been deleted and pointed to historical evidence that Auschwitz’s gas chambers using Zyklon B were used to murder more than 1 million people. The follow-ups were not accompanied by any clarification from X.

    In tests run by The Associated Press on Friday, its responses to questions about Auschwitz appeared to give historically accurate information.

    Grok has a history of making antisemitic comments. Earlier this year, Musk’s company took down posts from the chatbot that appeared to praise Adolf Hitler after complaints about antisemitic content.

    The Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to The Associated Press on Friday that the Holocaust-denial comments have been added to an existing cybercrime investigation into X. The case was opened earlier this year after French officials raised concerns that the platform’s algorithm could be used for foreign interference.

    Prosecutors said that Grok’s remarks are now part of the investigation, and that “the functioning of the AI will be examined.”

    France has one of Europe’s toughest Holocaust denial laws. Contesting the reality or genocidal nature of Nazi crimes can be prosecuted as a crime, alongside other forms of incitement to racial hatred.

    Several French ministers, including Industry Minister Roland Lescure, have also reported Grok’s posts to the Paris prosecutor under a provision that requires public officials to flag possible crimes. In a government statement, they described the AI-generated content as “manifestly illicit,” saying it could amount to racially motivated defamation and the denial of crimes against humanity.

    French authorities referred the posts to a national police platform for illegal online content and alerted France’s digital regulator over suspected breaches of the European Union’s Digital Services Act.

    The case adds to pressure from Brussels. This week, the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said that the bloc is in contact with X about Grok and called some of the chatbot’s output “appalling,” saying it runs against Europe’s fundamental rights and values.

    Two French rights groups, the Ligue des droits de l’Homme and SOS Racisme, have filed a criminal complaint accusing Grok and X of contesting crimes against humanity.

    X and its AI unit, xAI, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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  • Ukraine Strikes Russian Power and Heat Station in Moscow Region, Russian Official Says

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    MOSCOW (Reuters) -Ukraine struck a major heat and power station in the Moscow region on Sunday with drones, triggering a fire and forcing backup power and heat to be switched on, the governor of the Moscow region said.

    Ukrainian drones struck the Shatura Power Station, about 120 km (75 miles) east of the Kremlin, on Sunday, Moscow region governor, Andrei Vorobyov, said.

    “Some of the drones were destroyed by air defense forces. Several fell on the territory of the station. A fire broke out at the facility. Now it is localised,” Vorobyov said.

    (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)

    Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters.

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