Page 50 - RusRPTJun24

"Among the powers that be in the United States and other key Western states there have gathered quite a few personalities who are, by and large, provocateurs, whose raison d'être is to test Moscow’s strength. I would describe them as trigger-happy street mobsters who have gone on a rampage, if you don’t mind my saying so," Ryabkov said.
The senior diplomat refrained from speculating about Russia's "red lines," because such Western functionaries "are undoubtedly obsessed with constantly demonstrating to themselves and everyone around that they have stepped over Moscow’s another 'red line' that has turned out 'not red enough'."
“The post-1945 multilateral order is losing ground: we see more confrontation & polarity, less cooperation & multilateralism. To tackle the challenges facing us in the 21st century, we need a fair assessment & decisive action. China has risen to super-power status. Middle powers - India, Brazil, South Africa, KSA - are emerging as important actors on the global stage. As Europe we wanted to built a ring of friends & we are surrounded by a ring of fire, from Sahel to Middle East, Caucasus, Ukraine,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a speech to Oxford University on May 3.
Macron discusses under what conditions French troops could help Ukraine directly. When asked about the possibility of sending French troops to Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron answered: "If the Russians broke through the front line, if there was a request from Ukraine, which is not present today, we should legitimately ask ourselves about sending troops." According to Macron, his strategic goal is to prevent Ukraine from losing the war because "if Russia wins in Ukraine, there will be no security in Europe."
Switzerland peace summit to take place on June 15-16, Russia not invited 'at this stage.’ Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba justified the decision not to invite Russia in a comment for the Foreign Policy magazine, saying: "Our approach comes from reality, and from the experience that we (have) gained... Between 2014 and 2022, we had almost 200 rounds of talks with Russia in different formats, with mediators and bilaterally. But nothing worked. It ended up in the large-scale invasion (of 2022).”
President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, is seriously considering foregoing membership in the European Union and joining the BRICS group, a move that could represent a significant geopolitical shift. The prospect of the Balkans joining BRICS is really worrying diplomatic departments in Western countries. Serbia's potential inclusion in BRICS opens unprecedented opportunities for the Communist Party of China (CPC). There is also a possibility that Emmanuel Macron might join a BRICS summit as an observer, a position the French President has been advocating for some time. In August 2023, China referred to BRICS as a closed block open only to certain states, but now there is increasing discussion about expanding access to BRICS' membership mechanisms. According to China's own statements, preliminary negotiations are currently underway with Nigeria, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. Concurrently with negotiations with Serbia, the CPC has begun to describe BRICS as an "open group," making the bloc attractive to other European countries and justifying the invitation of observer nations. China's obvious intent is to bring France into BRICS. However, given France's possible deployment of its Foreign Legion units to Ukraine, the prospects for this issue's
50 RUSSIA Country Report June 2024 www.intellinews.com