Europe

STOCKHOLM, July 2. /TASS/: The extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) is a matter of political will, says Pyotr Topychkanov, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

"The extension of the New START is a matter of political will. Since Moscow is [already] interested in the extension of the treaty, the question is whether the White House would like to keep it. Unfortunately, the American side prefers to preserve ambiguity until the very last moment," he noted in his written comments for TASS.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: The defense team chose not to appeal the sentence of US national Paul Whelan convicted of espionage in Russia and it came into effect, his lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told TASS on Thursday.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has seized 77 weapons and 103 kilograms of TNT in a nationwide operation, the FSB public relations service told TASS.

"The Federal Security Service foiled criminal activities of 13 residents from St. Petersburg, the Leningrad Region, the Kemerovo Region — Kuzbass, the Krasnodar Region, the Krasnoyarsk Region and the Khabarovsk Region who were engaged in remodeling civil arms and weapons excavated in the Second World War battle zones to reinstate their combat capabilities," the service noted.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: The constitutional amendments have been supported by 77.92% of Russians who took part in the nationwide vote, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said after counting 100% of ballots.

According to the election commission, 21.27% of voters were opposed to the amendments. According to the latest data, the turnout was 65%.

MOSCOW, July 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Russians have strongly supported constitutional reforms that could keep President Vladimir Putin in power until 2036, partial results indicate.

With about 87% of ballots counted, more than 77% of voters backed the measures, the electoral commission said.

The reforms would reset Putin’s term limits to zero in 2024, allowing him to serve two more six-year terms.

Opposition members have said he is trying to become “president for life”, a claim Putin denies.

KYIV (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund urged Ukraine on Thursday to maintain the independence of the central bank after Governor Yakiv Smoliy unexpectedly resigned, citing “systematic political pressure”.

The negative fallout from Smoliy’s resignation prompted the finance ministry to say it was not going ahead with a planned offering of dollar-denominated Eurobonds.

Smoliy’s resignation from the National Bank of Ukraine risks derailing a $5 billion deal agreed with the IMF last month to fight an economic slump exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Thursday the government would consider increasing budget spending by 1.8 trillion roubles ($25.6 billion) to fight the coronavirus and support the economy.

Some economists have said Russia’s regulations surrounding budget spending have hindered its ability to adequately fund anti-crisis measures.

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Kingdom wants to be the first to develop a commercial jet plane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean without any carbon emissions, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson surprised some in the aviation sector on Tuesday when he promised the United Kingdom would produce the world’s first zero emission long haul passenger plane.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Negotiations towards the European Union’s coronavirus recovery fund still have a long way to go before a summit of EU leaders later this month, a senior EU official involved in the talks said on Thursday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said negotiators aimed to keep the size of the proposed 750 billion euro ($846.75 billion) recovery fund but to reduce the size of the EU’s multi-year budget slightly.

BERLIN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Germany took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) from Croatia for the next six months in a "difficult time" determined by COVID-19, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a speech to the Bundestag (parliament) in Berlin on Wednesday.

"Of course, our presidency will be marked by the coronavirus pandemic, the efforts to contain it and to deal with its consequences," said Merkel, stressing that the European Council had agreed that "special solutions are needed."