RUSSIA HAS NEVER POSED THREAT TO FINLAND OR SWEDEN: PESKOV
Moscow has never posed a threat to Helsinki or Stockholm, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Monday.
"I just want to recall Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that Russia has never posed any threat to either Finland or Sweden, just as these countries have not posed any threat to us. President Putin stated this more than once," Peskov replied to a request from TASS for comment on a statement by the head of the Finnish Security Police, Antti Pelttari, who noted that Helsinki was surprised Moscow was not trying to put pressure on Finland because of the country's wish to join NATO.
Finnish and Swedish ambassadors to NATO, Klaus Korhonen and Axel Wernhoff, on May 18 handed their countries’ applications for NATO membership to the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the same day that Ankara would not support the admission of Sweden and Finland to NATO until they determined their attitude towards terrorist organizations, in particular, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Speaking at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow on May 16 Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would retaliate against the expansion of NATO’s military infrastructures in Finland and Sweden. At the same time, the Russian leader remarked that NATO’s admission of Finland and Sweden did not pose an immediate threat to Russia, because Moscow had no problems in relations with these countries.
ZELENSKY SAYS HE DISCUSSED MILITARY AID, SECURITY GUARANTEES WITH UK’S JOHNSON
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced Monday that he had a phone call with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, discussing London’s military aid for Kiev and an option to speed up work on guarantees of security, which Ukrainian authorities have been demanding from the West.
"Talked with @BorisJohnson. Told about the situation on the front. Received confirmation of a new enhanced defense support package for Ukraine. Raised the issue of intensifying work on security guarantees for Ukraine," Zelensky tweeted, adding that Ukraine and the UK "are looking for ways to avoid the food crisis & unblock ports."
Earlier, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed that London will ship multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine that can hit targets at a distance of up to 80 kilometers. Speaking in an interview on April 16, Zelensky admitted that he does not know yet what security guarantees the West is ready to offer to Kiev. He expressed his concerns that the West is not ready to offer security guarantees equal to those provided to NATO allies.
Shipments of Ukrainian grain to global markets through Black Sea may begin shortly. Turkiye announced earlier that this could be facilitated by signing of a memorandum during the May 8 visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Ankara. On Friday, June 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia guarantees free passage of ships with Ukrainian grain, if Ukraine demines the ports under its control.
BRITAIN’S BORIS JOHNSON TO FACE NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE FROM HIS PARTY
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday evening will face a punishing vote of no confidence by his fellow Conservative Party lawmakers, reflecting anger over lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street and overall discontent with his leadership, which one former ally branded a “charade.”
Almost as soon as Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations ended, the party announced that the threshold of 54 no-confidence letters — equal to 15 percent of the party’s lawmakers in Parliament — had been reached and would trigger a vote.
To survive, Johnson needs a simple majority — or 180 votes — of support from his fellow party members, in secret balloting scheduled for between 6 and 8 p.m. local time (1 and 3 p.m. Eastern).
Many political analysts on Monday predicted that Johnson would remain in office, but that the vote could be remarkably close for a prime minister who helped his party win a landslide election in 2019. Johnson’s salvation may be the lack of an obvious successor within his party.
VOTERS IN KAZAKHSTAN OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Citizens in Kazakhstan have overwhelmingly voted in favour of constitutional changes to limit the grip of its former leader Nursultan Nazarbayev.
According to official results, 77 per cent of voters backed the proposals of current President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The turnout for the referendum was over 68%.
Sunday's referendum was seen as an attempt to repudiate the legacy of former strongman Nazarbayev, who led the former Soviet republic for three decades.
Tokayev had called the referendum after violent demonstrations in January left more than 230 people dead.
The unrest escalated from peaceful protests against rising fuel prices into the deadliest clashes in the country since it gained independence in 1991.
Tokayev had been widely seen as a henchman of Nazarbayev, who resigned in 2019 but continued to influence Kazakh politics.
The riots prompted the 69-year-old President to try and curb the influence of his predecessor and oust some of his close associates.
On Sunday, citizens voted to amend around one-third of Kazakhstan's basic laws, including a provision that declared Nazarbayev the "Head of the Nation".
Tokayev said that voters had abolished the "super-presidential" rule of Nazarbayev, where the former leader's rich family could hold major government positions.
Both Nazarbayev and Tokayev have advocated close ties with neighbouring Russia.
MONKEYPOX: WHO CONFIRMS 780 CASES REPORTED IN 27 COUNTRIES
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported the confirmation of 780 cases of monkey pox in 27 countries where the virus it is not endemic. The association confirms that the global risk level is moderate.
The figure of 780 confirmed cases of monkeypox, registered from May 13 to last Thursday, could be mayor due to limited epidemiological and laboratory information, the agency reported AFP.
I also read: Monkeypox: WHO issued an order to all countries to contain the global outbreak
The United Nations (UN) health agency warned that “it is highly likely that other countries will identify more cases and that there will be further spread of the virus.”
Countries where monkeypox it is not endemic and more cases of the virus were detected according to the WHO are the United Kingdom (207), Spain (156), Portugal (138), Canada (58) and Germany (57).
Apart from Europe and North America, some monkeypox infections were reported in Argentina, Australia, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates.
