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Bloomberg
Talks between Russia and Turkey brought no signs of progress on a deal to unblock shipments of Ukrainian grain that have contributed to warnings of global food-supply crisis.
Kyiv, which wasn’t invited to participate in the talks in Ankara, is skeptical of the Kremlin’s intentions and is seeking strong security guarantees that would allow it to export the key commodity.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy agreed in a phone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that everything must be done to facilitate the export of grain, especially via sea. Germany will increase its troop presence in Nato member Lithunia, while former Chancellor Angela Merkel made a return to the public arena, saying President Vladimir Putin made a “big mistake†by invading Ukraine. But she said also isolating Russia isn’t possible over the long term.
Germany will send an additional 500 troops to Lithuania, increasing its military presence there to 1,500 as part of a push to strengthen Nato’s eastern flank, according to people familiar with the plan.
Baltic nations Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have made urgent requests for more troops to counter a potential Russian attack after its invasion of Ukraine. The German move sets the stage for a wider decision by North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders at a summit in Madrid at the end of this month to expand the alliance’s military presence in eastern Europe.
Microsoft is significantly reducing its business in Russia, joining the list of prominent technology firms cutting back or exiting the country after the invasion of Ukraine.
The company will continue to fulfill existing contractual obligations and keep a suspension of new sales in place, while more than 400 employees will be affected, it said.
Poland’s largest oil company has seen fuel volume sales surge 10% at its gas stations in recent months after the arrival of Ukrainian refugees caused a spike in demand.
Refiner PKN Orlen SA estimates that there are about 1 million additional Ukrainian cars in the country of 38 million people — the main reason behind a sudden increase in sales.
Ukraine doesn’t need a peace deal that would freeze the current conflict for years and doesn’t take into account its interests, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, adding that Kyiv must be part of any negotiations. “Nobody will be able to agree on something behind our back,†Kuleba said. He added: “Ukraine doesn’t need a Minsk-3,†referring to the 2014 and 2015 Minsk ceasefire agreements that failed to end hostilities with Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.