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☆ Top diplomats meet in Davos on Ukraine 'peace formula'
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a joint press conference with Lithuania's President (not in picture) in Vilnius, Lithuania, on January 10, 2024. Ukraine pushed ahead with its peace formula to end nearly two years of war with Russia with a meeting of national security advisers from around the world in Davos on Sunday. Switzerland, which hosted the NSA representatives, said the Ukraine peace talks aimed to finalise principles "for a lasting and just peace in Ukraine" at the level of national security advisers. The role of the Global South in Ukraine's peace formula talks has come into focus in Davos. It is unclear, however, if countries in the Global South agree with that as a peace formula.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, Andriy Yermak, Penny Pritzker, James O'Brien, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, Nuhu Ribadu, Yermak Organizations: Lithuania's, Sunday, Economic, U.S, State, Eurasian Affairs, National, NSA Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, Ukraine, Russia, Davos, Switzerland, Africa, Latin America, East, Asia, Swiss

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his airplane upon arrival at Brussels Airport in Brussels, Belgium, on November 27, 2023, as he travels to a NATO foreign ministers' meeting. "We've always said that this is a matter for Ukraine to decide," O'Brien said. At a press conference in Brussels on Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he expected alliance foreign ministers to "reaffirm NATO’s long-term support" for Ukraine. Turkey has informed NATO that its parliament will not complete ratification of the bid ahead of the meetings, sources told Reuters last week. Blinken will also represent the United States at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Skopje, North Macedonia, this week, O'Brien said.

Persons: Antony Blinken disembarks, SAUL LOEB, Antony Blinken, James O'Brien, Blinken, we've, O'Brien, Biden, We've, Jens Stoltenberg, O, Brien, Stoltenberg, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, Andrew Gray, Lisa Shumaker, Chizu Nomiyama, Deepa Babington Organizations: Brussels, NATO, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Ukraine, State Department, Biden, State, Eurasian, U.S . Congress, Germany's, Reuters, Washington, Organization for Security, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, Russia, Europe, Gaza, Israel, Washington, Ukraine, United States, Taiwan, Germany, Kyiv, Moscow, Belgian, Turkey, Hungary, U.S, Western Balkans, Kosovo, Skopje, North Macedonia

JPMorgan had handled some Russian grain export payments for a few months with reassurances from Washington. However, that cooperation stopped in early August, said Russia's Foreign Ministry, after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal in July. UNDERMINING U.N. EFFORTSU.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday that Russia's bombardment was undermining U.N. efforts to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, U.N. officials agreed to help Russian exports reach global markets. "It has led many of those whose goodwill is needed, notably in the private sector, to question whether there is any real interest in re-joining the Black Sea Initiative."

Persons: Morgan, Sarah Meyssonnier, Moscow, James O'Brien, ”, O'Brien, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Michelle Nichols, Michael Perry Organizations: JPMorgan, REUTERS, Washington, State Department, Reuters, Wednesday, Foreign Ministry, State Department's Office, United Nations, Security, Black Sea Initiative, United, Russia's, Russian Foreign Ministry, Guterres, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Russia, New York, United Nations, Turkey, United

☆ Russia says JPMorgan stops processing its grain payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Michelle Nichols | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Turkish-flagged bulker TQ Samsun, carrying grain under UN's Black Sea Grain Initiative, is pictured in the Black Sea, north of Bosphorus Strait, off Istanbul, Turkey July 17, 2023. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File PhotoUNITED NATIONS, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that U.S. bank JPMorgan (JPM.N) had this week stopped processing payments for the Russian Agricultural Bank as Moscow demanded action, not promises, from Washington to help Russian grain and fertilizer reach global markets. Under a related pact - also brokered in July 2022 - U.N. officials agreed to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. As a workaround to that demand, JPMorgan had been processing some Russian grain export payments with reassurances from Washington. Russia may export at least 55 million tonnes of grain in the 2023/24 marketing season, slightly less than the estimated record-breaking 57 million tonnes in the 2022/23 season, Russia's Grain Union said last month.

Persons: Yoruk, Dmitry Peskov, Antony Blinken, Maria Zakharova, James O'Brien, O'Brien, Michelle Nichols, Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, UNITED NATIONS, JPMorgan, Russian Agricultural Bank, SWIFT, European Union, United Nations, U.S . State Department, Russia's, Ministry, Thomson Locations: Samsun, Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey, Russia, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine

The video does not disclose any potential AI use and the DeSantis campaign did not respond to a question about whether the images were fake or whether AI was used to create them. A person with knowledge of the DeSantis campaign operation said the Trump side had been "continuously posting fake images and false talking points to smear the governor." The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Drexel professor Stamm's forensics analysis tool suggests the images were made using an AI model called a diffusion model, which underpin popular AI image generation products like DALL-E and Stability AI. "At some point the AI systems will be outputting images that have no differences from real images," said James O'Brien, a professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Persons: Donald Trump, Russell Cheyne, Anthony Fauci, Trump, Fauci, Ron DeSantis, Matthew Stamm, Hany Farid, DeSantis, Drexel, Biden, James O'Brien, Alexandra Ulmer, Anna Tong, Seana Davis, Rosalba O'Brien, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S, Republican, Aberdeen International Airport, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Republican White, Twitter, Trump, Drexel University, University of California, Republican National Committee, RNC, Thomson Locations: Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain, Florida, Berkeley, U.S, China, Taiwan, San Francisco

☆ Live updates: Russia's war in ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Heather Chen | Andrew Raine | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The move is in response to the "regularly anti-Russian sanctions" imposed by the US administration, according to a statement from Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. Hours earlier, at the Group of Seven summit, the Biden administration unveiled new sanctions targeting Moscow for its war in Ukraine. An adviser to the mayor of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine claims the explosions took place at a base for Moscow's forces. US diplomatic appointment: US President Joe Biden formally nominated James O'Brien to serve as the top State Department official for European affairs — a key role for guiding Washington's response to Russia's war in Ukraine. NATO developments: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told CNN he is still not prepared to support Sweden's NATO membership, repeating his claim that Stockholm has allowed terrorist organizations to harbor in the country.

[1/5] The logo of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is seen on their headquarters in Vienna, Austria, March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Leonhard FoegerVIENNA, March 23 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is pressing Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI) to unwind its highly profitable business in Russia, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. One person said such a plan could include the sale or closure of its Russian bank. A Raiffeisen spokesperson said that it was examining options for its Russia business "including a carefully managed exit" and that it was "expediting" its assessment, adding that it had also reduced lending in the country. HIGH STAKESIn January, the U.S. sanctions authority launched an inquiry into Raiffeisen over its business related to Russia.

☆ Analysis: Washington pushes for harsher action against banks with Russia ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( John O'Donnell | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We are looking at additional banks and financial institutions to see how Russia deals with the outside world. Some European banks, including UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and Raiffeisen Bank International (RBIV.VI), have large businesses there and must follow local rules to grant payment holidays to soldiers. ENFORCEMENTO'Brien said that the United States would step up enforcement, something the EU also hopes to improve. "We are now looking at how sanctions, including financial sanctions, can be most effective," he said. "While the majority of important Russian banks are sanctioned, there is a lot outside that perimeter that you could go after," said Nicolas Veron, of Washington think tank the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

☆ India can buy as much Russian oil as it wants, Yellen says. The caveat: it can't use Western insurance, finance and maritime services.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

India can buy as much Russian oil as it likes, US Treasury Secretary Yellen told Reuters. Indian oil companies can purchase oil at any price they want, as long as they don't use Western services like insurance, finance, and maritime services which are bound by the price cap, Yellen said, per Reuters. Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said last week his country will continue buying discounted Russian oil as the relationship has worked to India's benefit. Despite India's proclivities towards Russian oil, Yellen appeared to be confident that Indian wouldn't find many substitutes for Western insurance, finance and maritime services. Russian oil "is going to be selling at bargain prices and we're happy to have India get that bargain or Africa or China.

The Group of Seven (G7), which includes the United States, Britain, Germany and France, agreed in September to enforce a low price on sales of Russian oil. And with just three weeks to go, time is running out to fully convince the shipping services industry it will work. Concerns are centred around a scenario in which insurers discover that oil in transit at sea, which was believed to have been sold below the price cap, was in fact sold above it. The official spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the matter. "This would be a bad development as no one will want uninsured ships sitting off coasts," he added.

☆ G7 to be ready with details of Russian crude price cap by Dec 5 -official
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - G7 countries will be ready with all the operational details of a price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil by Dec 5th, when the measure is to kick into force, even though many details now remain to be settled, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. I think the price cap has been discussed for long enough that market participants understand that it is coming and they're providing views on the best way to implement it," O'Brien said. The price cap, backed by the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada and the European Union (G7), will not allow shipping and insurance companies to provide services for tankers carrying Russian crude unless the oil was sold at or below a set price. But O'Brien said the whole package would be ready in time. "It would certainly be ready by Dec. 5 and we'll address those issues," he said.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterWhite House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the measures would include penalties on individuals and entities both inside and outside of Russia that support the annexation. Jean-Pierre said the United States will not recognize Russian-annexed areas across Ukraine. But senators pressed O'Brien and Elizabeth Rosenberg, Treasury assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, on U.S. sanctions on Russia's energy sector. Washington and its G7 partners have said they will put a price cap on Russian oil in place, but have held back from directly targeting major Russian energy companies over concerns about energy prices and supply. O'Brien also said Washington will continue working with China to ensure it understands U.S. sanctions and the effect they have on China's engagement with Russia.

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