Europe

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/: Russia is able to pay its foreign debts, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said at a press conference on Friday.

"From the point of view of financial resources, we have the possibility and the ability. We also have the desire to pay, and the Finance Ministry has shown all options. Typically, problems with paying sovereign obligations are caused by budgetary issues. We don't have such issues. Once again, we have all of the resources we need to pay off our debts," she said.

 PARIS, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Poor countries are expected to suffer the most from worldwide food crises exacerbated by the war in Ukraine as they will be forced to pay more for less food, the United Nations warned.

The global food import bill was on course to hit a new record of $1.8 trillion this year as the Ukraine conflict pushes up cereal and grain prices.

But it was higher prices and transport costs rather than volumes that would account for the bulk of the expected increase, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization wrote in its latest Food Outlook.

GENEVA, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Foreign direct investment is expected to fall this year, with the food, fuel and financial crises triggered by Russia’s war in Ukraine dampening the business climate, the UN said.
 
  Global FDI recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, reaching nearly $1.6 trillion, but this is unlikely to be sustained in 2022, said the United Nations’ trade and development agency UNCTAD.
 
  “The global environment for international investment changed dramatically with the onset of the war in Ukraine,” said UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan.

ATHENS, June 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greece on Thursday published a series of historical maps looking to refute Turkish accusations that Athens is violating peace treaties that followed World War I and World War II.

Turkish authorities say the Greeks have stationed troops on Aegean islands in violation of the peace treaties that followed the two 20th century conflicts.

Athens counters that the troops are stationed in response to the presence of Turkish military units, aircraft and landing craft on the opposite coast, in addition to Turkiye’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974.

MADRID, June 10 (Reuters) - Algeria's decision to block trade with Spain following a diplomatic row over Western Sahara could be a violation of European Union trade law, two senior EU officials said on Friday.

"The EU is ready to stand up against any type of coercive measures applied against an EU Member State," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said in a joint statement. "However, the EU continues to favour dialogue first to solve controversies."

PARIS, June 10 (Reuters) - France is unwilling to make concessions to Russia and wants Ukraine to win the war against Moscow's invading forces with its territorial integrity restored, a French presidential official said on Friday, as Paris seeks to assuage concerns over its stance in the conflict.

President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies after published interviews on Saturday quoting him as saying it was vital not to "humiliate" Russia so that when the fighting ends there could be a diplomatic solution.

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday condemned Russian proxy authorities in Donbas for what it called an "egregious breach" of the Geneva convention in sentencing to death two British nationals captured in the separatist region while fighting for Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said he was talking to Ukraine rather than Russia about Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, who were convicted of "mercenary activities" by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

Aslin's family said he and Pinner "are not, and never were, mercenaries."

June 10 (Reuters) - Russia and China opened a new cross-border bridge in the far east on Friday which they hope will further boost trade as Moscow reels from sweeping Western sanctions imposed over its actions in Ukraine.

The bridge linking the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk to the Chinese city of Heihe across the Amur river - known in China as Heilongjiang - is just over one kilometre long and cost 19 billion roubles ($342 million), the RIA news agency reported.

KYIV, June 10 (Reuters) - Ukraine sought more help from the West on Friday, pleading for faster deliveries of weapons to hold off better-armed Russian forces and for humanitarian support to combat the march of deadly diseases.

In Sievierodonetsk, the small city that has become the focus of Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine and one of the bloodiest flashpoints in a war well into its fourth month, further heavy fighting was reported.

BRUSSELS, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Mission to EU on Thursday refuted a resolution passed by the European Parliament that criticized the human rights situation in Xinjiang.

The relevant resolution of the parliament is "in total disregard of facts with fabrication and confounding black and white," said a spokesperson of the mission.