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Added on the 08/07/2022 11:42:22 - Copyright : France 24 EN
US Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin rejects Russian President Vladimir Putin's demands that Ukraine withdraw its troops from territory claimed by Moscow to end the Kremlin's invasion. Speaking in Brussels at a meeting of NATO defence ministers, Austin says "Putin has occupied, illegally occupied, sovereign Ukrainian territory. He is not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to bring about peace." SOUNDBITE
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says conditions set out by Russian President Vladimir Putin for initiating Ukraine peace talks are "not a proposal made in good faith". Stoltenberg's comment comes during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels and follows Moscow's proposal that Kyiv pull its troops out of regions claimed by Russia and cease efforts to join NATO in return for peace talks. SOUNDBITE
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warns European leaders that Russia's Vladimir Putin would exploit any failure to agree to launch his country's EU membership talks. "People in Europe won't see any benefit if Moscow receives a pass from Brussels in the form of negativity towards Ukraine. Putin will surely use this against you personally and against all of Europe," Zelensky tells an EU summit by videolink. SOUNDBITE ++ TEXT 347R2JH
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko hold bilateral talks in Minsk in a room full of delegates, which included the defence ministers of both nations. IMAGES
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, meets with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, ahead of trilateral talks with Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, a month after the worst clashes between the two countries since their war in 2020. The talks come after Putin's initial head-to-head with Pashinyan, where the Armenian leader thanked Moscow for its ongoing peacekeeping missions in the region. Russia is seeking to reassert its role as a key powerbroker between the Caucasus arch-foes as Western engagement in the region grows and Moscow -- distracted by its war in Ukraine -- is visibly losing influence after decades of domination. IMAGES COMPLETES EN32MH7E9
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Sochi ahead of trilateral talks with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev a month after the worst clashes between the two countries since their war in 2020. Moscow is seeking to reassert its role as a key powerbroker between the Caucasus arch-foes amid the growing Western engagement in the region, where Russia -- distracted by its war in Ukraine -- is visibly losing influence after decades of domination. IMAGES