The “stupid peace offer” that Russian President Vladimir Putin made to Ukraine on Friday shows that he is “obviously panicking”. Resigned Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said this at the summit for peace in Ukraine, which is being held in Switzerland, the National News Agency of the Netherlands ANP reported, quoted by BTA.
On the eve of the conference, Putin proposed conditions under which Russia would be ready to talk about ending the war. Ukraine should renounce its NATO membership and withdraw from some areas occupied by the Russians.
Russia was not invited to the Lucerne Peace Forum. According to host country Switzerland, this is due to the fact that the Kremlin has repeatedly stated that it has no interest and will ignore any invitation. China also did not attend the conference.
Rutte thinks Putin is making a mistake by not wanting to come to talk, and refutes rumors that the Russian leader will visit North Korea. He points out that half of the UN is represented in Switzerland and that many countries have delegated their heads of state or government.
The member states of the European Union will not be directly involved in the loan of 50 billion US dollars, which the G-7 countries plan to collect for Ukraine, reported Reuters, quoted by BTA, referring to the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melons.
During the summit in southern Italy, the G7 agreed to provide loans that would be secured by the interest accrued on the blocked Russian funds.
„The loan of nearly 50 billion has already been announced and will be provided by the United States, as well as Canada and Great Britain, and perhaps Japan, in accordance with its constitutional limitations,”, Meloni said during a press conference.< /p>
„Currently, European countries are not participating in this loan, given the fact that all assets are mobilized in Europe," she said. Meloni hinted that the EU's contribution consists in providing a guarantee mechanism for the repayment of the loan, Reuters specified.
Earlier this week, EU officials told Reuters that the European Union, which includes G7 members France, Germany and Italy, could provide about half of the amount, a clear contradiction to Meloni's words.< /p>
About €260 billion in Russian assets have been frozen under sanctions imposed since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
About 190 billion euros of the assets are held in the Brussels-based financial institution "Euroclear" (Euroclear), making the EU a key player in any asset utilization plan. The US holds about $5 billion of these assets. Meloni also said he wasn't worried about the prospect of Russian assets being unfrozen before the loan was repaid, as that could only happen as a result of peace talks that would include commitments to Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.
The leaders of the G7 countries unanimously supported the French proposal for a temporary truce in the global conflicts during the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, the Italian Prime Minister said, quoted by Reuters and BTA. p>
The French capital will host the Summer Olympics from July 26 to August 11, and then the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8. The G7 leaders called on “all countries to respect the Olympic truce, individually and collectively,", their statement said.
„This is a French request, a good request, it was included unanimously," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who chairs the G7, told reporters during her closing press conference.
The pursuit of an end to armed conflicts within the framework of an Olympic truce is a long-standing tradition, and the final communiqué refers to a UN General Assembly resolution on this issue adopted in November.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in April that he would work for a truce during the Paris Olympics. He clarified that he meant the Middle East, as well as Ukraine and Sudan.
At the time, Russia reacted coolly to the proposal to temporarily suspend the offensive in Ukraine and said that Kiev could use it as an opportunity to regroup and rearm.