Today
MACRON: “SUPPORTING” RUSSIA MEANS BECOME “COMPLICIOUS”
French President Emmanuel Macron warned in Beijing on Wednesday that, in the conflict in Ukraine, “anyone who helps the aggressor would put themselves in the situation of being complicit in a breach of international law”, regarding a possible delivery of Weapons from China to Russia.
But the head of state also indicated, in response to questions from journalists, that he would not brandish the threat of sanctions during his meeting with Xi Jinping on Thursday, because “it’s never a good way to ‘engage than to threaten’.
KREMLIN REFUSED TO COMMENT ON TRUMP’S CHARGE
The Kremlin on Wednesday declined to comment on the indictment of former US President Donald Trump.
“We do not believe that we have the right to interfere in the internal affairs of the United States and we believe that the United States does not have the right to interfere in our affairs. So we do not wish to comment “Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
THE HEAD OF THE IAEA IN RUSSIA
The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, traveled to Russia on Wednesday for talks aimed at securing the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which has been repeatedly targeted by shootings. “I met with senior officials from several Russian agencies (…) I am continuing my efforts to protect the Zaporizhya nuclear power plant,” he declared.
Last week, the head of the IAEA visited the Zaporizhia power plant, controlled by Russian forces in southern Ukraine, calling for urgent measures to be taken to avoid a nuclear disaster.
RUSSIAN ATHLETES
Poland, like Germany and France before it, announced on Wednesday that it had canceled a World Cup stage, scheduled for April in Poznan and qualifying for the 2024 Olympics, in reaction to the reinstatement of Russian athletes by the Federation. International (FIE).
“We cannot organize this event according to the conditions set by the FIE”, which “imposed on us” to welcome Russian athletes, told AFP the vice-president of the Polish Federation PFSz, Adam Konopka.
PUTIN’S PARANOIA
A former Russian officer, who has deserted, tells how Putin communicates and moves. In a river interview, Gleb Karakulov describes an isolated and paranoid president.
A CYBER DOME TO PROTECT THE EU
To deal with the proliferation of cyberattacks since the start of the war in Ukraine, the European Union will present on April 18 a legislative text to set up a cyber dome.
LEROY MERLIN
French Leroy Merlin, a giant in the sale of DIY equipment and one of the main foreign employers in Russia, announced on Friday that it wanted to sell all of its stores in this country to “local management”, more than a year later. the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.
This operation “must make it possible to preserve the jobs of the 45,000 employees and to perpetuate the activity of the company”, argues in a press release the French group.
CHINA CAN “PLAY A MAJOR ROLE” ACCORDING TO MACRON
Arrived in China for a state visit, Emmanuel Macron estimated that China can “play a major role” to “find a path of peace” in the war in Ukraine.
“China has affirmed its attachment to the United Nations Charter, territorial integrity, sovereignty are part of it, to defend them is also to walk together and find a path of peace” he began.
“I think that this dialogue with China is essential (…) we would be wrong to leave the exclusivity of the dialogue with China to other continental Europeans such as the Russians, and to consider that it would be the only voice that would come to give his reading of the events, his reading of the game and to propose strategic options”.
BANQUE
VTB, the second Russian bank, announced on Wednesday a loss of 7 billion euros in 2022, due to the “unprecedented” sanctions which hit it in retaliation for the Russian offensive in Ukraine, in particular its exclusion from the payment system international Swift.
“In 2022, the VTB group faced unprecedented difficulties and challenges. (…) We became the first target of the maximum possible sanctions, which led to significant losses,” lamented Dmitry Pianov , financial director of VTB, quoted in a press release from the group.
EMMANUEL MACRON ARRIVES IN CHINA
French President Emmanuel Macron landed in Beijing on Wednesday for a three-day state visit to China, the Elysee Palace said, his first trip to the country since 2019.
He is due to meet the French community in the followingnoon, before an intense day of discussions Thursday with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and a trip to Canton (south) on Friday. If the visit has economic aims, the resolution of the war in Ukraine will be a central point of discussions with China, friend of Russia.
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION
Emmanuel Macron is expected in China this Wednesday with the aim of maintaining dialogue on Ukraine and involving China in the search for an end to the conflict.
Finland became NATO’s 31st member on Tuesday, ending a policy of military non-alignment.
Here are the highlights of the past 24 hours.
THIERRY BRETON CALLS FOR “ACCELERATE” THE PACE OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY
Invited on LCI, Thierry Breton, European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market, called for “accelerating” the French defense industry in order to be able to provide the military aid promised to Ukraine.
“The defense industry, which lived at its own pace, must also no longer switch to two shifts but to three shifts, it must work 7 days a week” he indicated.
ZELENSKY ARRIVE EN POLOGNE
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Poland on Wednesday morning for his first official visit to the country, the Polish presidency said. “Mr. President has crossed the Polish border. He is on Polish territory,” Marcin Przydacz, an adviser to the Polish presidency, told TVN24 television, without giving details.
He is due to meet his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda to discuss issues related to security, economic and agricultural cooperation, including those relating to the transport of Ukrainian grain through Poland, as well as issues related to the history between the two countries. .
DEPORTED CHILDREN
The Russian commissioner for children, Maria Lvova-Belova, targeted by an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, said on Tuesday April 4 that she was ready to send deported children back to Ukraine, if their families made them. Requirement. Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of having “abducted” more than 16,000 children from Ukraine since the start of the offensive a year ago.
For its part, Moscow claims to have “saved” these children from the fighting and to have put in place procedures to reunite them with their families.
MACRON A PÉKIN
Emmanuel Macron arrives in Beijing on Wednesday to reconnect with China, emphasizing the relaunch of human contacts to try to maintain dialogue on Ukraine and prevent the Asian giant from “switching to the war camp” .
The French head of state, expected in the followingnoon, begins his three-day state visit with a speech to the French community to “state the challenges and objectives” of this trip, according to his entourage, at the eve of an intense day of discussions with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, to which the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will be partly associated.
