Europe

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/: Work to agree the format of negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden continues, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.

"We do not say anything about the format now, work to agree the format continues, I will not tell you anything for now," he said when asked whether the two leaders will have face-to-face talks in Geneva and whether the two countries’ ambassadors will take part in the negotiations.

MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/: Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) plans to deliver five latest and two repaired warships to the Navy this year, USC Head Aleksey Rakhmanov said in a live broadcast of the Rossiya-24 TV Channel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday.

"This year, our program stipulates seven delivery orders. This relates to the construction of new ships plus two more vessels from repairs," he said.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/: Russia’s production capacity is currently sufficient to meet the domestic demand for coronavirus vaccines, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

"If we are talking about domestic supplies, then yes," he said when asked whether the current production capacity is enough to meet the domestic demand for COVID-19 vaccines.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3. /TASS/: Russia plans to fully abandon the US greenback in the structure of the National Wealth Fund (NWF) and reduce the share of the British pound within a month, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov revealed on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday, adding that the share of euro and yuan will rise, gold will be added, but the portfolio of Japanese yen will remain unchanged in the NWF.

03 June 2021; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has received an invitation to participate in the Berlin Conference on the Libyan settlement scheduled for 23 June.

03 June 2021; MEMO: Belfast City Council passed a motion on Tuesday supporting the expulsion of the Israeli ambassadors from both Ireland and the United Kingdom. The local authority will write to the governments in Dublin and London urging them to expel the ambassadors "with immediate effect".

(Reuters) --- The top European Union court dismissed on Thursday Hungary's challenge against the opening in 2018 of a disciplinary procedure against Budapest for undermining democracy in the formerly communist country.

Budapest had challenged on procedural grounds a European Parliament vote three years ago stating that Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policies were posing "a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded."

(Reuters) --- The European Union will impose a new round of sanctions on Myanmar's military junta and its economic interests in the coming days, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Reuters on Thursday.

In an interview in Jakarta after meetings with Southeast Asian diplomats, Borrell said the fresh sanctions from the EU would be the third batch introduced since the military ousted Myanmar's democratically-elected government on Feb. 1.

(Reuters) --- Leading Bulgarian politicians welcomed U.S. sanctions on three Bulgarians and 64 companies linked to them over alleged corruption on Thursday, while the European Union signalled its approval by saying it would not impose countermeasures.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday the sanctions were its single biggest action against graft to date, and also targeted plans to create a conduit for Russian political leaders to influence the Bulgarian government. 

03 June 2021; MEMO: A number of Jewish community groups in Switzerland have failed to have the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, designated as a "terrorist" organisation, Arabi 21 reported on Wednesday. The latest Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip has apparently reignited the debate in the European country about the movement's status.