But speaking at the close of a summit for peace in Switzerland, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin would not end the war and had to be stopped “in any way we can”, whether by military or diplomatic means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Western aid was not enough to win the war, he added, but the summit had shown that international support for Ukraine was not weakening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The meeting concluded with dozens of countries committing to Ukraine’s territorial integrity. A final document was adopted which blamed the war’s widespread suffering and destruction firmly on Russia. However, several countries attending including India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia did not sign it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 90 countries and international organisations attended the summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia was not invited, and its biggest backer China was not present, leading some to cast doubt on the summit’s effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine this week urged<\/a> international bondholders to accept deep cuts on the value of more than 20 billion US dollars in debt in order to help finance the nation\u2019s war effort, after initial talks just months before a payment standstill expires failed to produce a deal. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bondholders turned down Ukraine\u2019s proposal to reduce the value of foreign currency bonds by up to 60 per cent in negotiations this month, the country\u2019s finance ministry said on Monday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Zelensky\u2019s government is facing a tight deadline to secure the debt restructuring, which it needs in order to continue receiving a bailout from the IMF and to restore flows of private funding for reconstruction. Bondholders granted Kyiv a two-year moratorium on payments in the months following Russia\u2019s invasion in early 2022, but this is set to run out in August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The early talks on a restructuring have reflected deep investor uncertainty about the course of the war and how much debt Ukraine\u2019s economy will be able to carry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark Rutte will be the next NATO secretary-general after all 32 members of the alliance agreed that the outgoing Dutch prime minister will succeed Jens Stoltenberg.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Following endorsements from Hungary<\/strong> and Slovakia<\/strong> on Tuesday, Romania confirmed its support for Rutte on Thursday, with Romanian<\/strong> President Klaus Iohannis\u00a0withdrawing<\/a> his candidacy\u00a0for the NATO top job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During a meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defence, Iohannis said he had notified NATO allies about the withdrawal of his candidacy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same meeting, Romania promised<\/a> to send a full Patriot air defence system to Ukraine\u2014on the condition that the United States help cover the gap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Considering the significant deterioration of the security situation in Ukraine\u2026Council members decided to donate a Patriot system to Ukraine,” the Romanian president’s office said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hungary\u2019s<\/strong> government announced on Tuesday that its upcoming presidency of the European Union will be held under the motto \u201cMake Europe Great Again<\/a>,\u201d but played down any parallels with Donald Trump\u2019s MAGA movement in the United States. \u201cThis is a reference to an active presidency,\u201d Hungary\u2019s EU Affairs Minister J\u00e1nos B\u00f3ka said as he outlined Budapest\u2019s programme for its six month presidency, starting on July 1. \u201cIt actually shows manifest the expectation that together we should be stronger than individually, but that we should be allowed to remain who we are when we come together,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poland\u2019s<\/strong> commissioner for human rights, Marcin Wi\u0105cek, this week voiced concern over the exclusion zone<\/a> introduced by the government at the border with Belarus<\/strong> in response to a surge in attempted crossings by migrants. He warned that the measures will \u201cinterfere with basic constitutional freedoms\u201d, including the right to information and freedom of movement, and \u201cimpede the provision of humanitarian, medical and legal assistance\u201d to those crossing the border. Last Thursday, regulations banning unauthorised people from entering an area along 60km of the border with Belarus came into force. <\/p>\n\n\n\n US chipmaker Onsemi will invest up to two billion US dollars<\/a> to boost its semiconductor output in Czechia<\/strong>, it said on Wednesday, expanding the company’s European capacity as the European Union seeks self-sufficiency in critical supplies.The brownfield project would be the largest one-off direct foreign investment in Czechia. Pending approval of state aid, Onsemi will expand its operations in the eastern town of Roznov pod Radhostem to house the full production chain for silicon carbide semiconductors including final chip modules used in the automotive and renewables sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Serbia<\/strong> is preparing to give Rio Tinto the green light to develop Europe\u2019s largest lithium mine<\/a> two years after Belgrade called off the project, paving the way for a significant boost for the continent\u2019s electric vehicle industry. President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 said in an interview with the Financial Times this week that \u201cnew guarantees\u201d from the Anglo-Australian miner and EU looked set to address Serbia\u2019s concerns over whether necessary environmental standards would be met at the Jadar site in the west of the country. Vu\u010di\u0107 said the mine, “might be a game-changer for Serbia and the entire region\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CVC Capital Partners is planning to list \u017babka Polska<\/a> in an initial public offering expected to value Poland\u2019s<\/strong> biggest convenience store chain at 7.5 billion to eight billion US dollars, it was reported this week. The Warsaw IPO could raise between one billion and 1.5 billion US dollars and is expected to launch as soon as September. CVC bought \u017babka from Mid Europa Partners in 2017, in what was then the biggest deal in the country\u2019s food retail sector. The convenience store chain operates more than 10,000 branches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citizens of Kosovo<\/strong> and Israel will be able to visit the other nation without a visa<\/a> following an agreement between the two governments signed Tuesday, the Kosovar Foreign Ministry said. The visa waiver agreement was signed in the Kosovar capital, Prishtina, by visiting Israeli Interior Minister Moshe Arbel and Kosovar Foreign Minister Donika Gervalla. Gervalla said the agreement will \u201copen a new chapter in promoting our country, our cooperation and economic development, youngsters\u2019 educational development and the implementation of joint initiatives and projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bulgarian<\/strong> President Rumen Radev walked out of a planned meeting<\/a> with Montenegro\u2019s<\/strong> prime minister on Monday\u2014because the PM was four minutes late. Radev, who led a delegation to Podgorica this week, had been due to meet Montenegrin PM Milojko Spaji\u0107 at the government building\u2019s reception hall Monday evening after first meeting with the country\u2019s president, Jakov Milatovi\u0107. But those plans were canceled when Spaji\u0107 didn\u2019t immediately turn up and Radev refused to wait. Spaji\u0107, a 36-year-old ex-Goldman Sachs banker, was elected last October and is Europe\u2019s youngest prime minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Armenian<\/strong> Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has ordered the drafting of a new constitution<\/a> amid demands by Azerbaijan that a reference to Nagorno-Karabakh be removed from Armenia’s fundamental law. Pashinyan gave the Council of Constitutional Reforms until December 30, 2026, to draft and approve the new constitution. Azerbaijani<\/strong> President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly demanded that Yerevan change its constitution as a main condition for concluding a peace treaty with Armenia. Baku wants a reference to Nagorno-Karabakh’s unification with Armenia removed from the constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky official Facebook page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike many news and information platforms, Emerging Europe<\/em> is free to read, and always will be. There is no paywall here. We are independent, not affiliated with nor representing any political party or business organisation. We want the very best for emerging Europe, nothing more, nothing less. Your support will help us continue to spread the word about this amazing region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You can contribute here<\/a>. Thank you.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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