There is nothing in the G7 declaration to suggest that Europe has come up with any breakthroughs in quitting its addiction to Russian gas.
Time:
“Its best hope seems to lie in a revival of the political will to seek alternative sources of energy, which will take years if not decades to shift the balance of European consumption away from Russia,” Simon Shuster concludes. “The U.S. could, at least in the long term, help counter Russia’s dominance on the European market,” the journalist contemplates. “E.U. leaders have started lobbying Obama to allow American companies to export more gas to Europe. The president has remained non-committal, not least of all because exporting gas would raise prices in the U.S. by taking supplies away from the home market. But even if the U.S. did begin shipping more gas to Europe, it wouldn’t do much to change the equation”.
time.com
Western media: intensification of contradictions between EU and U.S. Obama can’t isolate Putin.
The New York Times:
In Brussels, Mr. Obama skated lightly over the disparate positions regarding Mr. Putin. “Do I expect unanimity among the 28 E.U. members?” he said. “I’ve now been president five and a half years, and I’ve learned a thing or two about the European Union.” There will be disagreements among members, he said, and “we take that for granted.” He emphasized the need to bear some losses to defend shared values. “Europeans have to stand up for those ideals and principles even if it creates some economic inconvenience,” he said, adding that “if we have sectoral sanctions, I think it will inevitably hit Russia a lot worse than it hits Europe, which have much more diversified and resilient economies.”
www.nytimes.com
El Pais:
During his European tour the President again “encounters the complexity of Europe,” El Pais states. D-Day commemoration events were to be a celebration of transatlantic unity, but for President Obama they ‘have left a bitter taste’. Europe’s complexity was fully revealed in Paris yesterday. Putin was not invited to visit G7 summit, but many leaders of this block will meet him anyway. The fact that Holland had a dinner with Putin and Obama at the same day shows “a lesson for the U.S. President.” Obama spots difficulties in solving problems with Europe and EU, the author concludes.
internacional.elpais.com
Facing international isolation of Russia, Vladimir Putin decides to use a three years old invitation from Heinz Fischer, the president of Austria.
Die Presse:
Putin will pay a one-day working visit to Austria on 24 June. He is planning to stay in Vienna just for “several hours”. There is no other information about his plans. It is also informed that Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Kozak, who represents Russia in the bilateral Joint Russian-Austrian Economic Commission, won’t accompany Putin, as a travel ban has been imposed on him by the EU. In the EU “Austria is considered as a friendly country toward Moscow”. Chancellor Faymann regularly speaks out against harsh sanctions on Russia, the article states.
diepresse.com
Poroshenko’s visit in Normandy (France): the french – the heart of Europe beats on Ukraine’s side.
Le Monde
Demonstrational invitation of President-elect Poroshenko to celebrations in Normandy shows where the Europe’s heart beats. “The pressure on Russian president needs to continue,” Le Monde considers. Still, Petro Poroshenko needs to be prepared for the battle with Russian tyranny.
www.lemonde.fr
The German: Putin did not speak with Poroshenko on equal terms, but Poroshenko needs this meeting more.
Tages-Anzeiger:
Russian president with French initiative has taken a quarter of an hour to talk with Poroshenko about a possible ceasefire. “But the conversation was held behind firmly closed doors: no handshake, no words of appreciation for the man who has already been elected in the first round as the new head of state of the neighboring country. Putin stated clear: he didn’t recognise him as equal. Moreover, Poroshenko needed this gesture of his Russian counterpart to significantly strengthen his negotiation position in the eastern part of Ukraine,” Tages-Anzeiger analyzes.
www.tagesanzeiger.ch
The analysis of Poroshenko’s inauguration speech: Poroshenko said what everybody expected, at the same time without populism.
Gazeta Wyborcza.
On Saturday he highlighted key points and showed his power and determination. In such a way he gave a reason for the hope.
wyborcza.pl
The Sunday Times.
“Ukraine’s new president presented the peaceful plan, but who knows how things turn out.” The Sunday Times points out.
www.thetimes.co.uk
Petro Poroshenko needs to balance between diplomacy and war.
Le Figaro is quoting Yevhen Kurnashov from Gorshenin Institute. He thinks efforts in diplomacy do not actually mean the end of military actions. “Poroshenko faces the war, which is waged by gunmen of different groups – bandits, extremists, mercenaries. The war operation will be staged along with diplomatic efforts,” Kurashov supposes. New president will also use tycoons’ influence, as Dmytro Firtash, who is closed to Gazprom, or Arkadiy Rotenberg, who is a friend of Putin, the expert thinks.
www.lefigaro.fr
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier thinks Ukrainian crisis could be solved only by bilateral talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Tagesspiegel:
On Tuesday, 10 June, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will meet his Russian and Poland counterparts at a trilateral meeting. Steinmeier said a lot should be done to solve the Ukrainian crisis, but welcomed signs of de-escalation in the Ukraine crisis after presidential election and the first meeting between Poroshenko and Putin in Normady . Minister calls for Ukrainian authorities not to lose “the common sense” while holding military operations. “Under such tough circumstances the common sense and cautious measures are needed,” Steinmeier says. German Foreign Minister calls for Russia and Ukraine to save the borders from armed gunmen trespassing.
German Foreign Minister also says Russia needs to “publicly support territorial integrity of Ukraine” in order to halt down the situation in Donbass, which is currently under control of pro-Russian activists!!!
www.tagesspiegel.de
