Heading towards World War III?

Seizing Russia’s foreign-exchange reserves would be nothing short of “theft,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday. Such an idea was recently floated by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell.

“It seems fair to say that this is a theft they [the Western nations] do not even try to conceal,” the Russian foreign minister told journalists at a press conference during his visit to Algeria.

In a recent interview with FT, Borrell suggested seizing Russia's frozen reserves and using them to cover the costs of rebuilding Ukraine once the conflict is over.

Such actions “become a sort of a habit for the West,” he added, pointing to the fact that the US had frozen funds “belonging to Afghanistan, the Afghan Central Bank.” Washington has no plans to spend them on the needs of the Afghan people “that have suffered the consequences of the 20-year-long NATO presence” on their soil, Lavrov said.

When Borrell himself unveiled the idea on Monday, he also referred to US President Joe Biden’s decision to set aside billions worth of the assets of Afghanistan’s central bank, adding, however, that they would be “used to benefit the Afghan people.”

www.rt.com/russia/555272-lavov-eu-russia-assets-theft

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed during a visit to Kiev that her country, along with the Netherlands, will provide Ukraine with state-of-the-art heavy weapons, including the Panzerhaubitze 2000, and will begin training for the Ukrainian military “over the next few days.”

Accompanied by her Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra for part of the visit to Ukraine, Baerbock said the seven howitzers Germany is giving Kiev to enable it “to protect its cities against future attacks” will arrive in Ukraine before the military training is complete. This way, she explained at a press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmitry Kuleba, the soldiers will be prepared to operate the equipment immediately after their return to the warzone from Germany.

Berlin’s decision to send self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, announced three days ago by Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, marked yet another U-turn in Germany’s post-Nazi policy of not sending heavy weapons to war zones.

www.rt.com/russia/555260-germany-ukraine-weapons-minister

Russian troops have secured the land bridge from Crimea to the Donbas, which will prove difficult for Ukraine to take back. In April, Germany committed tanks to the war in Ukraine with 15 set to arrive in July.

The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said she thinks Britain should be prepared to send weapons to Moldova, which neighbours Ukraine to the South West.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned his Finnish counterpart that joining Nato and abandoning Finland's neutral status would be a "mistake".

He told Sauli Niinistö there was no threat to Finland's security.

The exchange came during a phone call made by the Finnish president, ahead of a formal request which Finland is expected to announce very soon.

Sweden has also indicated its intention to join the Western alliance, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Finland shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia. Until now, it has stayed out of Nato to avoid antagonising its eastern neighbour.

Mr Putin did not make a specific threat of retaliation over Finland's move, but the Russian foreign ministry has indicated there will be retaliation.

Russia's decision to suspended electricity supplies to Finland is being seen as an early sign, however.

In its statement, Russian energy supplier RAO Nordic mentioned problems with payments.

Finland national grid executive Reima Paivinen told the BBC the Russian suspension had not caused any problems.

He said Russian imports accounted for around 10% of national supply, adding that they could be replaced from alternative sources.

www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61450694

Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has been “de facto suspended” by Kiev, President Vladimir Putin has said. He made the remarks during a phone call with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, on Saturday.

The discussion focused on Finland’s push for NATO membership, which has been reinvigorated amid the Ukrainian crisis. According to the Finnish president’s office, Niinisto told Putin that his country is set to make a decision on joining the US-led military bloc within days.

“Vladimir Putin, in particular, shared his assessment of the state of the negotiation process between Russian and Ukrainian representatives, which has been de facto suspended by Kiev, which has not shown interest in a serious and meaningful dialogue,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin warned that Helsinki’s move to abandon its “traditional policy of military neutrality” would be a “mistake,” stressing that there were “no threats to Finland’s security.” The move “may have a negative impact” on “mutually beneficial” relations between the two countries, he outlined.

Finland's neighbor Sweden, is also considering a NATO membership, and could lodge its application as early as Monday, according to local media reports.

www.rt.com/russia/555475-ukraine-suspended-peace-talks