The U.S. just STOLE, and sent, $20 billion to Ukraine, using cash from frozen Russian assets. | Russia’s reaction? Calling it “simply robbery” and threatening to snatch Western assets in return. Moscow is accusing the U.S. of cooking up “Russophobic” moves before Biden hands over the White House. The U.S. says the funds fulfill a G7 promise to back Ukraine’s fight against Russia, and Moscow is not taking it lightly. Hal Turner Editorial Opinion: There is no authority under US law or under International law, for one country to "seize" the sovereign wealth funds of any other country, whether there is a war going on (Ukraine) or not. The US just did exactly that. This is outright theft. Brought to you by the same people who just overthrew the government of Syria last weekend. Miscreants, Murderers and Thieves: That is the United States Federal Government.

■ Moscow slams decision to grant Kiev loan funded by Russian frozen assets (TASS)
■ US loan to Ukraine is ‘theft’ of Russian money – deputy FM (RT.com)

The loan is provided within the framework of the initiative of the Group of Seven on provision of the $50 bln loan to Kiev, the Treasury said | The US Department of the Treasury announces the disbursement of the $20 bln loan to Ukraine with the repayment from proceeds earned from Russian assets frozen in the West. ● The loan is provided within the framework of the initiative of the Group of Seven on provision of the $50 bln loan to Kiev, the Treasury said. "These funds - paid for by the windfall proceeds earned from Russia’s own immobilized assets - will provide Ukraine a critical infusion of support," Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said. Washington is going to toughen sanctions against Russia, she added.

Moon of Alabama | During its Ukrainian proxy war on Russia the Biden administration and its minions have pushed China for allegedly providing support to Russia. This year it even started to sanction Chinese companies for allegedly providing 'dual-use items' to Russian businesses.

US President-elect Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would impose 100% tariffs on BRICS countries if they did not abandon plans to create an alternative currency to the US dollar.

💬 "The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER. We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy," Trump said on Truth Social. The President-elect emphasized that any country that attempts to replace the US dollar in international trade will "wave goodbye to America."

■ TRUMP: We require a commitment from these Countries (X)
■ Donald Trump Threatens BRICS Countries—Including Russia, India—With 100% Tariffs (Forbes)
■ That's the end of the fairy tale. The "sucker" responded with threats (tsargrad.tv)

Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov earlier said that the upcoming face-to-face meeting in Astana will be the sixth personal gathering between Putin and Tokayev in 2024. | November 27 will see talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana as part of Putin’s two-day state visit to Kazakhstan. The two leaders are expected to discuss further development of the bilateral strategic partnership, especially in light of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and Russia chairing the Commonwealth of Independent States and BRICS.

⚡ Казахстан и Россия: новые горизонты стратегического партнерства (Касым-Жомарт Токаев)
■ Путин и Токаев заявили о продолжении взаимной поддержки против подрыва стабильности (Известия)
■ Assessing The Feasibility Of A Russian Gas Pipeline To China Through Kazakhstan (Andrew Korybko)

The Russian foreign minister noted that American companies had already bought up most of the fertile land | The United States needs Ukraine's rare-earth metals, including lithium, and intends to take them as payment for military assistance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with participants in the academic and educational program of the A. M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Support Fund "Dialogue for the Future."

💬 "It is no coincidence that US Senator Lindsey Graham said outright (he is not a diplomat and does not hide his thoughts), that the US needs to ensure that Russia suffer a defeat in Ukraine, because there are many rare-earth metals, including lithium," Lavrov said. "He said so to Vladimir Zelensky when he visited him recently. He said that the US needs these riches. And he added that they would help Ukraine and in return they would take all this from it as payback."

Lavrov noted that American companies had already bought up most of the fertile land.

💬 "They keep talking about the 'Black Sea initiative', about the need to feed Africa. First of all, the West exported more than 50% of grain to the European Union, and not to Africa. American corporations made money on this grain. And they want to do the same to the rest of our neighbor's wealth," Lavrov stressed.

■ Ukraine can make America rich – Trump ally (RT.com)
■ UK sees privatisation ‘opportunities’ in Ukraine war (Declassified UK)

The US national debt reflects the borrowing by the government to finance its operations and obligations. Concerns about the sustainability of the debt level, its impact on future economic growth, and its potential burden on taxpayers continue to be the subject of significant debate among policymakers and economists. | The US national debt has exceeded the mark of $36 trillion and updated the historical maximum, according to the US Treasury Department. This is the largest national debt in the world in nominal terms, and it has increased by $2 trillion since the beginning of the year. ■ As of November 21 (the last day for which statistics are available), the national debt was just over $36,034,994,586,981. ■ The US national debt is the amount owed by the federal government to creditors. The latter can be individuals, such as American citizens or small foreign investors, as well as states and large endowments. ■ The national debt is divided into two parts: intragovernmental and public. Intragovernmental debt is debt owed to various government agencies, such as pension funds. It makes up about 20% of the total debt, and as of November 21, it was $7.3 trillion. Public debt is owed to private entities, individuals, and foreign countries. It makes up the remaining 80% of the debt, or nearly $28.7 trillion as of November 21.

'Get them out,' president-elect reportedly instructed his generals, concerned they could be caught in a potential conflict | US President-elect Donald Trump wants to pull American troops out of northern Syria instead of leaving them as “cannon fodder” if fighting breaks out between other parties, said his political ally Rober F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy, who endorsed the Republican candidate in Tuesday’s presidential election, said that Trump recently expressed concern to him about the US military presence in Syria. In an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Kennedy discussed the role of US presidents in critical decision-making processes and shared details of a recent conversation he had with Trump.

■ US Ramps Up Systematic Looting of Syrian Oil, Ships 35 Tankers Out of Country (07/17/23) |

US troops began digging in in Syria in 2016-2017, with Donald Trump stating repeatedly (to the Washington establishment’s horror) that America would "keep the oil" and retain boots on the ground in Syria "only for the oil." The Biden White House claims US forces remain in the country to prevent Daesh’s* resurgence, but US actions speak otherwise. | U.S. forces in Syria have ramped up the looting of the war-torn country's oil resources, with local sources in the al-Yarubiyah countryside in eastern Hasakah province telling Syrian media on Saturday that the latest act of smuggling involved 35 oil tankers, which made their way into northern Iraq via the illegal al-Walid border crossing. "The U.S. occupation forces brought to their bases in northern Iraq a convoy consisting of 120 vehicles, including 65 tankers, some of them carrying covered damaged military equipment, 20 refrigerated trucks, and 35 tanks loaded with stolen Syrian oil," the sources said, adding that the convoy was accompanied by four Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia pickups for protection. Saturday’s account follows on reporting last week that a convoy of 39 tankers loaded with Syrian crude left fields in Hasakah and was similarly smuggled into Iraq, this time via the Mahmoudiya checkpoint -- another border crossing which the Damascus government doesn't control and hence considers illegal.

136-point recovery plan includes direct payments to those affected, reconstruction of industrial areas and infrastructure | Spain's Valencia region requested €31.4 billion ($34 billion) in emergency aid from the central government Monday following devastating floods that killed 217 people. ■ The comprehensive aid request to Madrid includes additional housing support of up to €15,000 per household, €7 billion for industrial reconstruction, €2.6 billion for immediate reconstruction of public infrastructure and €2.2 billion for flood prevention infrastructure, according to information shared by the regional government. ■ Valencia’s president, Carlos Mazon, unveiled a 136-point recovery plan at an extraordinary Cabinet meeting, alongside an immediate regional aid package worth €250 million. The plan includes direct payments of €6,000 to residents whose homes were damaged, with disbursements expected this week. Local municipalities will receive minimum grants of €200,000 for urgent expenses, while the regional government has secured tax payment deferrals for affected residents. ■ The floods and Storm Dana damaged more than 20,000 hectares of agricultural land and destroyed over 100,000 vehicles across 50 municipalities. Some 30% of homes were reportedly damaged along with numerous hospitals, industrial sites and shopping centers.

■ Una semana de horror (CS) + Mazón reclama al Gobierno 31.402 millones en ayudas para los afectados por la DANA
■ DANA, zona cero (V): "Todo lo que estaba a menos de dos metros de altura está destruido" (RTVE)
■ The shattered lives of Paiporta at the epicenter of Spain's floods (11/03/24)

Adnrew Korybko | He wanted to dispel whatever doubts some undecided voters might still have about his ties to Russia by reminding them that he imposed sanctions against that megaproject, which debunked the Democrats’ Russiagate claims and were even hypocritically waived by Biden for a nine-month period. | Trump boasted during his live interview with Tucker Carlson at a charity event in Arizona on Thursday night that he was responsible for “killing” Nord Stream II. In his words, “The Democrats] love to say that I was a friend of Russia, I worked for Russia, I was a Russian spy. The biggest job Russia ever had [was] Nord Stream 2. This is the biggest pipeline in the world, [it] goes from Russia to Germany and all over Europe. I killed it. Nobody would kill it but me. I stopped it.” He has a point that’ll now be elaborated on. ■ For starters, he clearly wasn’t referring to September 2022’s terrorist attack since he wasn’t in office then and therefore couldn’t have had anything to do with it. Rather, what he wanted to convey is that the Democrats’ false claims of him being a Russian puppet are debunked by the fact that he sanctioned Nord Stream II, which was done in an attempt to poach the European energy market from Russia. In an unexpected turn of events, Biden waived those sanctions in May 2021, one month before meeting Putin.

Elon Musk on D.O.G.E:

"I think we can reduce the annual federal budget by atleast $2 trillion per year. Your tax money is being wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that." pic.twitter.com/isu5ZHOaGz

— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) October 27, 2024

Donald Trump wants the tycoon to lead his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and audit the federal government | Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has made an appearance at a Donald Trump rally at Madison Square Garden where he promised to save American taxpayers trillions of dollars if the Republican candidate wins. ● Despite previously having proclaimed political neutrality, Musk has leaned towards the former president in recent months, publicly endorsing him after the first assassination attempt. Following this, Trump promised that if he wins the November election, he will establish a “government efficiency” commission headed by the billionaire entrepreneur. ● As he walked on stage in New York on Sunday, Musk was asked, “How much do you think we can cut from this wasted $6.5 trillion Harris-Biden budget?”

■ Musk Vows to Cut US Budget Spending by $2 Trillion If Trump Wins (Sputnik)

The country is outperforming Japan in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the Washington-based organization | The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has ranked Russia as the world’s fourth-largest economy based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP compares economic productivity and standards of living between countries by adjusting for differences in the cost of goods and services. In its World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday, the IMF said Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 amounts to 3.55% of global GDP in terms of PPP, outperforming Japan, which has 3.38%. According to the report, Russia ranks fourth in terms of PPP after China (18.8%), the US (15%), and India (7.9%). The latest figures show that the world’s leading economies by PPP now include three BRICS countries – China, India, and Russia – the report authors noted, pointing out that Russia’s upgrade has been driven by Western sanctions.

Simplicius | The BRICS 2024 summit kicked off as the big highlight of the week. There are an endless amount of things to be said from a variety of different analytical perspectives, but we’ll just mention a few of the salient points that stick out most for now. | Overall, the key takeaway from the BRICS summit can be the following. Look closely at some of the scenes presented: India and China after having just negotiated a settlement to their border conflict, Armenia and Azerbaijan hashing out their disputes, other “ostracized” members of the world community being greeted with open arms, no leering judgmental supremacism, condescending sermonizing and pompous pontificating like so often seen by the West at their global institutions, from the EU to the UN, etc. ■ The BRICS’ strongest achievement is sending a message of acceptance, compromise, openness, civility, and cooperation—the true definition of anti-illiberal qualities, the same the West so adamantly claims it champions. There was a kind of contagious energy that was palpable in the air: an alternate vision for a world led by sovereign grownups, not the small-minded, nervous little elitist compradors and pushy apparatchiks, the likes seen dotting the halls of the West’s equivalent institutions.

■ Les BRICS, ce nouveau Veau d'Or ? (Karine Bechet-Golovko)

BRICS member states have approved Bolivia’s admission to the organization as a partner nation, Bolivian President Luis Arce said on Friday. | The Bolivian president added that this step represented the most significant achievement of Bolivian foreign policy, with the results being multidimensional. [...] Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that BRICS member states had agreed on a list of partner states during the summit in Russia’s Kazan.

■ BRICS Summit Proves There's Alternative to Western-Led Global Order – Bolivian President (Sputnik)

The Chinese president says Beijing and Moscow should further deepen economic ties while defending the UN-based global system | Beijing and Moscow should further deepen their already strong economic cooperation while defending global stability, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at talks with counterpart Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan on Tuesday. He also stressed that Sino-Russian ties have been steadily developing in recent years despite the turbulent geopolitical situation. ● BRICS country leaders were joined by those from aspiring member states for the group's 16th annual summit in the capital of Russia’s Tatarstan Republic. Russia holds the rotating chairmanship of the group this year. ● Commenting on relations with Moscow, Xi stated that “despite the chaotic and confused external situation, trade and cooperation in other spheres between the two countries are actively developing,” as evidenced by a number of large-scale joint projects. Chinese TV quoted the president as stressing the importance of further enhancing the bilateral economic partnership as part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the Eurasian Economic Union.

■ World ‘tired’ of US-led West – RT editor-in-chief (RT.com)
■ Xi advocates high quality development of greater BRICS cooperation (Global Times)
■ The five major goals empower 'Greater BRICS Cooperation' with focused strength (Global Times editorial)

Russia’s city of Kazan is hosting the 16th BRICS Summit on October 22-24. Day one of the gathering featured a packed itinerary that included Russian President Vladimir Putin's bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa. | The agenda of the second day of the 16th BRICS Summit – the association’s main event during Russia’s presidency – is expected to be a packed one. ● Russian President Vladimir Putin will continue the marathon of bilateral talks on the second day of the summit in Kazan, according to presidential aide Yuri Ushakov.

■ PUTIN: Multipolar world order, leading role of emerging economies, and Western debt: Key takeaways (RT.com)
■ UN reform, conflicts, sanctions: key provisions of BRICS Kazan Summit Declaration (TASS)
■ UN secretary general arrives in Russia’s Kazan for BRICS Summit (TASS)
■ A new world order in the making: Here’s why this BRICS summit will be special (Egountchi Behanzin)

Lubos Blaha has questioned the move against Moscow, noting that US funds were not targeted when it attacked Iraq | The blocking of sovereign Russian funds in the West amounts to “theft,” Slovak MEP Lubos Blaha has said. He called on the EU authorities to stop pumping Ukraine with money and weapons in the conflict with Moscow. ● The US, EU, and their allies have frozen an estimated $300 billion in assets belonging to the Russian state since the Ukraine conflict escalated more than two years ago. The bulk of the funds, around €197 billion ($214 billion), is being held at Brussels-based clearinghouse Euroclear.

💬 “The freezing of Russian assets is theft and robbery. You can find hundreds of justifications for this, but this is theft,” Blaha said at a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Monday. “Europe didn’t steal American assets at the time of unjustified aggression against Iraq, Will we do the same with Israeli assets?” the lawmaker asked, referring to the latest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Blaha, who visited Moscow earlier this month, also called on EU lawmakers to use “common sense,” stating that Brussels should “stop sending Ukraine weapons and billions of euros” that are needed in the bloc. “This is unfair to our own citizens,” the MEP insisted. ● On Tuesday, the European Parliament backed the allocation of a loan of up to €35 billion ($38 billion) for Ukraine, using immobilized Russian assets as collateral for the repayments.

The BRICS Summit, attended by heads of state, is held in Kazan, Russia, on 22-24 October. | The 16th annual BRICS summit began on Tuesday in the Russian city of Kazan, in the Republic of Tatarstan. The three-day summit will bring together officials from 36 countries, including 22 top ones, as well as leaders of six international organizations. [...] The summit will be devoted to discussions on strengthening multilateralism, integrating new members of the bloc and addressing regional challenges. Russian President Vladimir Putin will host the summit.

⚡ Dumping US dollar ‘keeps politics out of economic development’ – Putin (RT.com)
■ BRICS not aiming to ‘defeat the dollar’ – Kremlin (RT.com)
■ Putin to have a series of bilateral meetings on sidelines of BRICS Summit (TASS)
■ Developments on payment mechanisms expected in BRICS — Russian Foreign Ministry (TASS)
■ BRICS Economic Dominance Taking Shape, West Can Do Nothing About It - French Politician (Sputnik)

Andrew Korybko | It’s important for the public to be more aware of this since it helps explain Russian and Israeli policies towards one another in the context of the Ukrainian Conflict and the regional Israeli-Resistance War. | There’s been grassroots pressure on Turkiye to cut off Azerbaijan’s oil exports to Israel via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline ever since what can now be described as the regional Israeli-Resistance War broke out one year ago. Activists believe that this trade literally fuels Israel’s war machine and thus makes all the involved parties indirectly complicit in its alleged war crimes. Regardless of whatever one thinks about this claim, what’s interesting is that there’s no such pressure upon Russia.

The publication of the evidence will depend on how the situation around the investigation unfolds, Maria Zakharova said | Russia has proof of the United States’ and the UK’s involvement in the Nord Stream gas pipeline sabotage, and publication of said evidence will depend on the situation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. She made this comment, answering a question about the data, obtained by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).

💬 "This evidence exists. As to whether we will publish it - which will also tell you what kind of evidence it is - that would depend on how the situation around the investigation unfolds," Zakharova said. "Because we have repeatedly offered cooperation to everyone, we did it both publicly and via the available legal channels between law enforcement agencies, we have contacted them repeatedly. We supported these legal requests, both politically and publicly, and we received zero response."

[...] Previously, SVR Director Sergey Naryshkin claimed that the United States and the UK are directly involved in the Nord Stream sabotage. He stated that professional saboteurs rom the Anglo-Saxon intelligence agencies were involved during the organization, preparation and carrying out of the detonation. According to the official, the US Administration "has found such sabotage justified in order to guarantee Europe’s - mainly Germany’s - separation from Russia."

■ US-Marine soll kurz vor Nord-Stream-Zerstörung am Tatort gewesen sein, berichtet dänische Zeitung (Die Weltwoche)

Nigeria has announced it will begin selling CRUDE OIL in local currencies other than the U.S. Dollar. | Nigeria is one of the Top 15 countries in the world for crude oil production. It has the eighth largest oil reserves globally and is the sixth largest Exporter of oil. De-dollarization continues, unabated. The world is finally "on to" the United States and its Fiat currency. They're calling it a "US-dollar Ponzi scheme." Let this sink in...[...] This isn’t just unsustainable, it’s the greatest Ponzi scheme the world has ever known. Fiat currency, printed and devalued at will, has turned the global economy into a ticking time bomb. When this system collapses, it won’t be the Western elites who pay the price, it will be you.

Oil price soared on Thursday after US President Joe Biden said the United States was discussing with Israel possible strikes on Iranian oil facilities. | WTI, the US contract, rose by as much as five percent before paring back some gains to sit at around $73 per barrel while Brent, the international benchmark, rose around four percent to $76.81. Biden told reporters at the White House however that he was not expecting Israel to launch any retaliation for Tehran's missile barrage on Israel before Thursday at least. When asked by a reporter if he supported Israel striking Iran's oil facilities, Biden said "we're discussing that. I think that would be a little... anyway." ● A rise in oil prices could be hugely damaging for Biden's Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat confronts Republican former president Donald Trump in a November 5 election where the cost of living is a major issue. Biden said he did not expect any immediate action from Israel -- even if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently paid little heed to calls for restraint as he targets the Iran-allied Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

■ Bank of England issues oil price shock warning (RT.com)
■ Biden’s Israel Policy Has Led Us to the Brink of War on Iran (Medea Benjamin)

The far-right president has been tackling inflation through severe spending cuts, which have led to widespread poverty. | Argentina’s poverty rate has surged to nearly 53% in the first six months of President Javier Milei’s term, marking the highest level in two decades. The government reported 3.4 million people have fallen into poverty this year, reflecting the impact of Milei's far-right austerity measures. Since assuming office in December, Milei has drastically reduced public spending to control chronic inflation and eliminate the budget deficit.

EU economic cooperation with Moscow continues despite the sanctions, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said | A significant number of companies in the EU continue to discreetly do business with Russia despite the bloc’s sanctions, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. 💬 “Here I would like to disappoint the idealists, as the situation is that everyone in Europe is doing this,” Szijjarto said in Budapest on Friday.“ The difference between us and the others in general is that we speak honestly and openly about this issue. All of Europe does business with the Russians, but some deny this; we don’t need that.” Szijjarto added that Hungary does not agree with the sanctions, but since this is EU policy, Budapest respects them. Hungary typically vetoes specific EU proposals if they seriously harm national interests, he said, adding that developing economic cooperation with Russia is one of those interests.

"Among the next steps is a meeting of the UN Security Council on sabotage on the Russian gas pipelines, scheduled for September 26." | The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, built to deliver gas under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Europe, were hit by explosions in September 2022. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation into it as an act of international terrorism. Russia has repeatedly requested information about the explosions but has not received any, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Western countries still refuse to cooperate with Russia in investigating the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday.

After recent rumblings surfaced of how many nations would embrace the impending BRICS Pay system, the bloc has confirmed 159 participants are set to adopt the new payment system. Indeed, the economic alliance system is poised to hit the ground running when it finally launches. | Now, all eyes are on when that launch will take place. Many have surmised that it would be announced at the highly anticipated 2024 Summit. Moreover, it would be set to go live in what would be a groundbreaking unveiling. If that were to happen, the bloc has already noted there is a long line of entities ready to embrace it. ● Earlier this year, the BRICS bloc announced the creation of a blockchain-based payment platform. It would redefine the collective’s global economic standing. Moreover, it would compete with some of the largest payment systems worldwide. That includes the Western-dominated SWIFT system. ● Now, the BRICS group confirmed that 159 participants will adopt the new payment system. Indeed, Russian officials verified the number in a recent correction, according to a Yahoo report. Although previous statements rumored 160 countries would be involved, the number was clarified in subsequent reports.

Military-technical cooperation between Russia and Mongolia includes the supply of weapons to Ulaanbaatar and the training of military personnel, currently Russia has already trained 340 Mongolian soldiers, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said on Tuesday.

💬 "The supply of weapons and military equipment, repair, maintenance, modernization," Fomin outlined the areas of cooperation, adding "... we are cooperating on the military-technical line. And in the military as well. We teach. We have already trained about 340 people this year."

One of the training sites for Mongolian military personnel is the presidential cadet school in Kyzyl, the official said. ● Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Mongolia at Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh's invitation on Monday to attend celebrations of the 85th anniversary of the Soviet-Mongol victory over militarist Japan on the Khalkhin Gol River.

■ Asian nation told ICC to ‘get lost’ with Putin warrant – Medvedev (09/04/24)
■ Putin invites Mongolian president to BRICS summit (09/03/24 )

Kiev’s financial adviser arranged face-to-face meetings with bondholders in July 2022 after initial talks failed, according to a report | Ukraine reached its recent agreement with bondholders on a debt restructuring as a result of efforts by Rothschild & Co, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources involved in the talks. Kiev appointed Rothschild as an advisor to its Finance Ministry in 2017. ■ Kiev announced last week that it had reached an agreement with a group of foreign investors to restructure its $20 billion debt. Bondholders – including US financial giants BlackRock and Pimco, as well as French asset manager Amundi – granted Ukraine a two-year debt freeze in February 2022 when the conflict with Russia broke out. ■ The bondholders’ committee, which represents the holders of 25% of the bonds, has agreed to accept losses of 37%, or $8.7 billion, on the nominal value of their debt. [...] The restructuring of the massive debt will help Kiev save $11.4 billion over the next three years. This is crucial for both its war effort and its IMF program, Reuters wrote, describing the debt restructuring as one of the fastest and largest in history, eclipsed in scale only by those undertaken by Argentina and Greece.

The European Union has expressed concern regarding NATO member Turkey’s ongoing bid to join the BRICS organization, saying that as an EU membership candidate, Ankara had to “respect” the EU’s “values” and foreign policy preferences, despite its being free to join the alliances of its choosing. | Ankara has been in negotiations to join the EU since 2005. Progress in the talks has essentially been frozen, though, due to political roadblocks created by certain EU members faulting, what they call, the country’s democratic shortcomings. Ankara sees the reasons hindering its EU accession as obstacles unrelated to its suitability for membership. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly warned that his country could part ways with the European Union in reaction to the bloc's long-drawn-out failure to honor its pledge to accept Ankara as a member.

■ Turkey Bids to Join BRICS in Push to Build Alliances Beyond West (Bloomberg)

Foreign Minister Szijjártó sat down for three hours with the CEO of the Russian energy giant. | Less than 24 hours after clashing with the EU’s foreign policy chief at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Hungary’s top diplomat Péter Szijjártó made a surprise trip to Russia. ■ The foreign minister sat down with the head of state-owned energy giant Gazprom on Friday, the day after a Foreign Affairs Council meeting where Hungary’s position on the war in Ukraine and its simplified immigration program for Russians and Belarusians were challenged by his colleagues. [...] After his three-hour meeting with Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller — who has been sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom for his role in supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine — Szijjártó wrote that Hungary’s energy security “cannot be guaranteed” without Russian gas.