German Bundestag deputy Waldemar Gerdt called the demand of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to exchange Crimea for Nord Stream-2 nonsense.
“Every time Ukrainian politicians try to outdo each other in their zeal to please overseas and Western sponsors,” the deputy said in an interview with RIA Novosti.Gerdt added that the idea of exchanging Crimea for gas is ” a complete absurdity and pure populism.”
The parliamentarian also said that the demand of Kiev does not carry any commercial, legal, legal and moral meaning. According to Gerdt, Kiev is only interested in the territory of Crimea, while Ukrainian politicians do not care about the population of the peninsula.
“How should this so-called return happen if Ukraine has cut off the local population from water and light,” the MP added.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba set two conditions for the launch of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline: “de-occupation of territories” and “energy security of Ukraine”.
The Russian president exchanged a joke with the American leader Joe Biden. This happened when the press was being led out of the conference room. The video shows both of them laughing.
The meeting of the Presidents of Russia and the United States has started in Geneva. Putin and Biden began negotiations in a narrow format. It is reported that after them they will make brief remarks to the media.
Further negotiations will continue in an expanded format. According to the plan, the leaders should discuss ways to develop bilateral relations, strategic security in the world, the situation in hot spots of the planet and the fight against the pandemic.
Read also: Putin and Biden: live broadcast of the meeting in Geneva
The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an interview with the head of state Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the Associated Press. In an interview with reporters, Zelensky spoke about the expectations from the meeting between Putin and Biden.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the whole world is now closely following what is happening in Geneva. According to him, the very fact of negotiations is already a significant result.
“They meet and try to convey something to each other. We know many meetings of many US presidents with the only president of the Russian Federation for many years, ” Zelensky said. He noted that Russia and the United States have different views on Ukraine and on world processes. “I think the whole world is waiting. I say this openly and I am happy, because when people sit down and talk, even if they come out without a result, it is already the result of their meeting.”
Zelensky noted that he expects a clearer position from Western countries regarding the Nord Stream-2 pipeline under construction.
“In all this case – I’m sorry, maybe you were waiting for some other answer – I put the Nord Stream ,the Biden-Putin summit, the NATO summit on the same level, although these are different things in terms of their weight,” the Ukrainian leader said. According to him, the West’s position lacks specifics – in particular, when it comes to Ukraine’s membership in NATO.
When asked about the meeting with Putin, Zelensky said that it would be. But only if the Russian counterpart is ready for a dialogue.
“Today I do not know the reasons, but they are too long. And delaying the issue will not solve it. They raise the question of the Russian language, the church, and so on, ” he said. – I have a very open position here: if you want respect for the Russian language, respect Ukrainian.”
The President of Ukraine noted that he hopes to agree on the terms of the meeting with Putin in the near future.
Read also: Putin and Biden: live broadcast of the meeting in Geneva
“Moscow’s development programs have always received special attention on a nationwide scale,” Alexey Chesnakov, head of the Center for Political Conjuncture, said in an interview with MK. – This special position of the” leading edge ” of Russia’s development applies, of course, also to political programs. It can be stated that the current program proposed by the Moscow branch of United Russia fully corresponds to this status, expectations and opportunities that the capital currently has.
According to the political scientist, the obvious achievements of Sergei Sobyanin and the Moscow government in general in recent years can and most likely will be used by the capital’s United Russia as a demonstration of the potential of the ruling party. Muscovites see in practice what this team can do, and the program of the Moscow branch of the party itself, according to Alexey Chesnakov, will be an obvious proof of the strategic vision of the future. This document indicates the existence of specific projects for the development of the city as the largest in Russia and one of the largest agglomeration in the world.
– In some areas, the program of the Moscow “United Russia” can be scaled to the federal level, in some it is not justified, – says the expert. – You need to understand that Moscow has its own dynamics of development, which in some ways coincides with the all-Russian, and in some ways is far ahead of it. In any case, the capital sets the standards for the rest of the country. And in this sense, promisingthe projects and programs developed by the ruling party for Moscow are always worthy of attention at the federal level.
Alexey Chesnakov suggested that the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic is not able to seriously affect the city’s development programs. Only some of the campaign management methods associated with the risk of mass events can be adjusted. The special regime in the city is still maintained.
Russia drew attention to the fact that US President Joe Biden allowed a hypothetical possibility of Ukraine’s joining NATO, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov.
“As for Ukraine, we heard that hypothetically, President Biden allowed the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO,” he said on Channel One.
Peskov noted that earlier such statements from the United States were not made and the Russian Federation will pay attention to this “in full”. Peskov is also sure that Russian President Vladimir Putin, if necessary, will indicate to Biden the position of Moscow on this issue.
“Putin is always clear in setting out the “red lines” for the Russian Federation, especially in such a difficult conversation that will take place today, ” Peskov said.
The meeting of the presidents of Russia and the United States will be held today, June 16. Vladimir Putin intends to spend one day in Geneva and return to Russia immediately after the events-unlike Joe Biden, who has already spent a week in Europe: he visited the G7 summit and met with Queen Elizabeth II in the UK. The negotiations, according to the forecasts of the Russian side, will last about 4-5 hours. The start is scheduled for 14: 00 Moscow time.
Read in “MK”: “Putin and Biden: online broadcast of the meeting in Geneva”.
The State Duma adopted in the third and final reading a draft law of the Russian government aimed at tightening the requirements for banks issuing consumer loans and protecting the rights of borrowers. As stated in the explanatory note, the law is intended to protect Russians from unscrupulous creditors.
First, the document provides for a ban on making the conclusion and execution of a consumer loan agreement conditional on the need to purchase additional services provided by the lender or third parties for a separate fee. Secondly, the law contains provisions that prevent the practice of including in the consumer loan agreement a condition that obliges the borrower to provide for the presence of the account from which the debt is repaid under such an agreement,the minimum balance of funds or the availability of an amount sufficient to repay the payment provided for in the contract (payment schedule) on a day that is not the day of the next payment.
In addition, the procedure for calculating the full cost of a consumer loan, calculating the maximum amount of a penalty (fine or penalty) for non-performance or improper performance by the borrower of obligations to repay a consumer loan or pay interest on its amount is specified.
Photo: kremlin.ru The White House has released Joe Biden’s schedule for the summit with Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
At 14.25 on Wednesday, June 16, negotiations will begin with a photo shoot of Putin, Biden and Swiss President Guy Parmelin. The bilateral meeting of the presidents will start in 10 minutes.
The 1st round of the extended meeting between Putin and Biden with the participation of delegations is scheduled for 15.55, and the 2nd round of the extended meeting is scheduled for 17.40.
It is reported that Biden will fly to Washington from Geneva immediately after the talks.
Earlier, the media reported on what the American leader will fly to a meeting with Putin.
The US military is considering deploying a permanent naval task force in the Pacific to counter China. This was reported by the newspaper Politico.
According to the new plan, the Pentagon will be able to attract additional funds and resources as part of the competition with Beijing. These initiatives are the result of work commissioned by President Joe Biden’s China task force, which recently made recommendations to Austin.
It is specified that the Pacific group will be formed by analogy with the permanent NATO naval forces in the Atlantic created in 1968. Now it is not known whether only American ships will be included in the group, or whether other countries may also participate. No final decision has been made. The Pentagon has not yet informed Congress of these plans.
The Washington Post reported that the US State Department insisted on imposing sanctions against the project of the Russian gas pipeline “Nord Stream-2” and the head of the company Nord Stream 2 AG Matthias Waring, but Joe Biden refused, fearing to spoil relations with Germany.
According to the newspaper, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, his deputy and Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland were not against sanctions aimed at blocking the project, without exception for the company’s executive director.
Joe Biden and other senior representatives of the National Security Council were against the sanctions, saying that they could spoil relations with Germany. It is specified that at the moment the project is already 90% complete, so the White House considers it as a fait accompli. It makes no sense to jeopardize relations between the United States and Germany.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, June 15, held meetings with his Swiss counterpart Guy Parmelin and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis, the press service of the White House reported.
“President Biden thanked President Parmelin for organizing the US-Russia summit on June 16 and paid tribute to the unique role of Switzerland, which provides a neutral territory for diplomacy and negotiations,” the statement said.
At the same time, the meeting discussed the situation with coronavirus infection, as well as the distribution of vaccines against COVID-19.
