According to a report, ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) traveled to Moscow again. The broadcasters RTL and ntv reported on Monday that he had stayed at a hotel in the city center of the Russian capital. When asked what he was doing there, the chancellor said: “I’m going on vacation here for a few days. Moscow is a beautiful city.”
According to the information, Schröder’s hotel is not far from the headquarters of the Russian oil company Rosneft. The former chancellor decided in May to give up his position on the supervisory board there and also declared that he would not accept an offered position on the supervisory board of the Russian gas company Gazprom. (AFP)
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to set a good example when it comes to saving electricity in view of the impending energy shortage. His official residence in Berlin, Schloss Bellevue, is usually no longer illuminated at night. This only happens on special occasions such as state visits, said a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency in Berlin. The representative lighting of the castle facade was already switched off in May, the lighting of the outdoor area was limited to the level required for safety reasons. (dpa)
Due to the declining number of refugees from the Ukraine, the ecumenical station mission at the main station in Dresden has switched back to normal operations. For four months, the full-time and voluntary employees of the Diakonie Dresden at the Dresden main station were the first contacts and partners for the people arriving from the Ukraine, the Diakonie Dresden, as the sponsor of the station mission, announced on Monday.
In addition to arranging accommodation and onward travel, it was initially primarily about the initial care of the arriving people. A total of more than 22,700 packed lunches have been distributed at the main station since March 1 as part of the Ukraine aid, which could be packed with the support of the Salvation Army, our own employees and volunteers, among other things. Between March 11 and May 31, the station mission registered almost 23,500 people staying in the rooms, about a quarter of them children. These were looked after by a total of around 270 honorary and daily up to six full-time helpers. (epd)
The CDU chairman and Union faction leader Friedrich Merz has again criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s handling of arms deliveries to Ukraine. “The exchange of rings has become a dead end because of Chancellor Scholz’s hesitance,” he told the “Spiegel”. “More and more, we get the fatal impression that the federal government just wants to buy as much time as possible, while Ukraine is literally fighting for survival,” said Merz. The opposition leader emphasized to the “Spiegel” that so far “not a single ring exchange” had been implemented.
The idea behind the “tank ring exchange” was that eastern NATO partners would give older tanks from Soviet hands to Ukraine and receive replacements from Germany. This was to ensure rapid delivery of heavy weapons.
Merz told the “Spiegel”: “It should make the Chancellor think that even Poland – one of our most important partners – is now publicly turning away from Germany and sharply criticizing the federal government for its inaction.” Warsaw recently accused the federal government of “deceptive maneuvers”. .
As part of the agreement to end the blockade of Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea, Russia is demanding support from the United Nations in the fight against Western sanctions. “In the present case, the UN must fulfill its part concerning the indirect restrictions aimed at Russian supplies of grain and fertilizers,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, according to the Interfax agency.
On the other hand, the Kremlin spokesman did not rate the internationally sharply criticized rocket attack by Russian troops against the port of Odessa last Saturday as a problem. The missiles would only have destroyed military infrastructure. “Therefore, something like this shouldn’t have any impact on the beginning of the loading process,” said Peskow.
According to Moscow, the agreement signed on Friday states that the United Nations wants to work to ease sanctions that indirectly restrict Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports.
However, the UN has not yet confirmed this. They only wrote in writing on Friday that the agreement was based on the principle “that the measures imposed on the Russian Federation do not apply to these products”. (dpa)
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, grain exports will not be affected in any way after a rocket attack on the port of the Ukrainian city of Odessa. The grain agreement signed by Russia does not prevent the country from attacking military infrastructure in Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia agreed on Friday to export grain from three Ukrainian ports. Only a few hours later, the port of Odessa came under fire. (Reuters)