RUSSIA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday over the alleged risks that Kiev creates associated with the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). “We cannot remain silent about the discussions that have been growing lately about the possible use of nuclear weapons, and especially in this connection, we cannot remain silent about the reckless actions of the Kiev regime, which are aimed at creating risks of using various kinds of weapons of mass destruction,” BAHA news agency quoted Lavrov as saying at a meeting.
US
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Biden administration will not ease the sanctions against Venezuela until the country’s President Nicolas Maduro takes “constructive steps” to ensure “free elections.” Earlier reports claimed the US will relax its sanctions policy to allow Chevron to resume pumping oil in Venezuela. Blinken also warned sanctions against Venezuela could also be reinforced “if there’s even more repression by the regime.”
UK – FRANCE
British Prime Minister Liz Truss who met French President Emmanuel Macron for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the French president’s European Political Community meeting in Prague, discussed the next summit between their countries that will take place in 2023 in an effort to enhance their renewed bilateral agenda, particularly on the matter of energy, the two said in a joint statement issued on Thursday. “Ending European reliance on Russian energy and tackling the criminal gangs that traffic people across Europe are priorities that President @EmmanuelMacron and I share,” Truss tweeted. “Good to agree closer cooperation on these areas with our French friends today.”