Europe

26 June 2022; MEMO: The top diplomats of Iran and the European Union on Saturday expressed readiness to resume stalled nuclear talks in Vienna, signaling an end to a three-month deadlock, Anadolu Agency reports.

Addressing a joint presser following their talks in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the eighth round of talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear accord will resume in "coming days."

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/: Western countries are reluctant to answer Russia’s questions about their mercenaries in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 25. /TASS/: Moscow will supply Iskander-M missile systems to Minsk in the coming months, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the opening of talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Saturday.

"As you and I have agreed upon, you were asking about this, we made a decision. In the coming months, we will supply Belarus with Iskander-M tactical missile systems which, as it is known, can use both ballistic and cruise missiles both in the standard and nuclear modifications," Putin said.

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/: Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu inspected the troops involved in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Sunday.

The defense minister heard reports by commanders at troop command posts about the current situation and the operations of the Russian armed forces in major operational areas, the ministry said.

MOSCOW, June 26. /TASS/: A Chernomorneftegaz drilling platform in the Black Sea has come under shelling by Ukrainian troops again, a spokesman for Crimea’s emergencies services said on Sunday.

"Yes, it was a shelling attack by Ukrainian troops. No one was hurt," the spokesman told TASS.

The shelling attack was reported by the Baza Telegram channel.

Chernomorneftegaz drilling platforms came under shelling by Ukrainian troops on Monday, June 20. There were 109 people on them. Three were hurt, seven went missing. The search operation continues.

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany, June 26 (Reuters) - All leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies are concerned about a looming economic crisis as growth slows and inflation soars, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after a working session on the global economy at this year's annual G7 summit.

"All members are concerned about the crisis we are confronting – falling growth rates in some countries, rising inflation, raw materials shortages, disrupted supply changes – these aren't small challenges," Scholz said in a televised statement.

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany, June 26 (Reuters) - World leaders must recognise the price of supporting Ukraine including the surge in energy and food costs but must also acknowledge that the price of allowing Russia to win would be far higher, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Speaking at the start of a Group of Seven summit on Sunday, Johnson said the West needed to maintain its unity in the face of Moscow's aggression.

KYIV, June 25 (Reuters) - Russia is using its reserve forces in a covert mobilisation to replenish its ranks in eastern Ukraine and there is no point in simply waiting for its offensive potential to fizzle out, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency said on Saturday.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence, told Reuters in an interview in Kyiv that he believed Ukraine could only achieve a victory against Russia through military force.

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany, June 26 (Reuters) - Large investments in gas infrastructure in developing countries are needed, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said as leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies unveiled projects on energy and infrastructure financing on Sunday.

"(It) is quite clear that in the present situation we'll have short-term needs that will require large investments in gas infrastructure in developing countries and elsewhere," Draghi said during a joint statement with G7 leaders.

SCHLOSS ELMAU, Germany, June 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. is confident that NATO's new strategy document will include "strong" language on China, a White House official said on Sunday, adding that negotiations on how to refer to Beijing were still underway.

The military alliance is at work preparing a new strategic concept - a strategy document setting out its aims and values - which is due to be unveiled at a summit in Madrid next week.