World
Putin should make concessions before direct talks with Europe: Kallas
Russian President Vladimir Putin should make tangible concessions before the European Union picks up the phone to re-establish direct communications, High Representative Kaja Kallas said on Thursday as more European leaders call for direct engagement with the Kremlin as part of the Russia-Ukraine peace process currently being brokered by the White House.
“We can’t be the demandeurs here that, you know, we go to Russia (and say) talk to us,” Kallas said on Thursday after a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels.
“The concessions that the Americans are putting on Ukraine are quite strong,” she added, referring to reports that Washington is asking Kyiv to give up the areas of the Donbas still under Ukrainian control in exchange for security guarantees.
“I don’t think there is anything that we can offer to Russia on top of what they already get in their understanding with the Americans, which means that why should they talk to us? Because they get what they want in this relationship.”
Kallas pointed to the fact that in the recent round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi between Ukrainian, Russian, and American officials, Moscow was represented by a military officer, General Igor Kostyukov, rather than a political envoy “with the right to make decisions”.
Both Kyiv and Moscow described the talks as constructive, though their stances differ.
Instead of focusing on who should talk to Putin, Kallas added, European countries should devote their energy to further crippling his war machine, which has plunged Ukrainians into blackouts at sub-zero temperatures. Brussels aims to approve a new package of sanctions on Russia around the war’s fourth anniversary on 24 February.
“What we are working on is putting more pressure on Russia so that they would go from pretending to negotiate to actually negotiate, and also to take into account the worries that we have with Russia that this war will not continue and this war will not expand to other territories,” Kallas said in reply to a Euronews question.
“I think this is important to understand.”
To talk or not to talk
The contentious issue of re-engagement with Russia is high on the agenda after public backing from French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who argued the EU needed to speak with a unified voice vis-à-vis Putin.
“I believe the time has come for Europe to also speak with Russia,” Meloni said. “If Europe decides to take part in this phase of negotiations by talking only to one of the two sides, I fear that in the end the positive contribution it can make will be limited.”
The Italian leader suggested the EU appoint a special envoy to lead the conversation on behalf of all 27 member states, though she did not put forward a specific name.
The European Commission, a long-standing advocate of the strategy of diplomatic isolation, later admitted that direct talks will happen “at some point” but not yet.
On Thursday, before heading into the ministerial meeting that Kallas chaired, Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Xavier Bettel told Euronews that discussions with the Kremlin should not be off the table.
“We need to talk with them if we want a solution,” Bettel told Euronews’ flagship morning programme Europe Today. “And if I am too small to do it, then President Macron or someone else (should be) able to represent Europe, because they don’t want to talk to Kaja Kallas,” he added.
Bettel, who met Putin in Moscow in 2015 while serving as Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, said he did not have the “ego” to say he is the “right person” to act as an EU envoy.
“But if people are convinced that I could be helpful I will do it in any position,” he explained. “And I don’t need to be on the front of the scene. I can do it also in the back.”
Still, the idea of re-engaging with Putin remains unpalatable for some capitals, who fear the EU would fall into a trap and legitimise a president accused of war crimes.
World
Russian gas imports rise despite EU phase-out
Gas imports from Russia into the European Union increased during the first months of 2026, a new report has revealed, even as the bloc formally begins a historic withdrawal from Russian natural gas.
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The EU banned Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) from entering the bloc by the beginning of 2027 and mid-2027, albeit with exceptions for Hungary and Slovakia, which were allowed to tap Moscow’s gas in case of supply disruption given their landlocked position.
Yet according to the report from the EU’s agency of energy regulators (ACER), which was published on Wednesday, Russian gas imports have increased rather than declined during the reporting period, with pipeline imports rising 7 percent year-on-year compared to 2025 and LNG imports growing by 11 percent.
LNG imports accelerated further after the ban took effect in March, rising 17 percent against the same period in 2025.
The new release is ACER’s first monitoring report since the law was adopted in March. The agency attributed a rise in imports to companies accelerating deliveries under existing contracts before stricter prohibitions take effect, rather than to a reversal of EU rules.
“LNG authorised contracts for deliveries into the EU account for 20 to 32 billion cubic metres (bcm), entering the EU at the external borders of four member states: Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In turn, long-term contracts for Russian pipeline gas remain authorised in Hungary, Slovakia and Greece,” reads the report.
New Russian gas contracts have effectively been prohibited since March 2026, while older long-term agreements are being allowed to expire gradually through 2027 to avoid market disruption.
For now, authorised contracts still represent between 45 and 55 bcm of annual supply capacity, ACER said, down from the 150-157 bcm that Moscow used to export to the EU prior to the war in Ukraine.
Not a sanctions failure
ACER argues that this trend does not indicate a growing dependence on Russia, and nor does it mean that the bloc’s sanctions against Russia are failing.
Instead, importers appear to be maximising deliveries before future restrictions and responding to global supply uncertainty after disruptions caused by the war between Israel, the US and Iran affected Middle Eastern LNG trade.
The ban on transhipments of Russian LNG via the EU to other destinations also seems to have contributed, the energy regulators argue, as some of the Russian LNG that had previously been transshipped at selected EU ports until March 2025 may have remained within the EU market.
Ronald Pinto, an LNG analyst at the market intelligence firm Kpler, endorsed ACER’s assessment, noting that Russian LNG imports into the EU reached record highs in both April and May.
“Faced with disruptions to global LNG supply, European market participants relied on other available sources of LNG, likely making full use of the flexibility available within their existing contractual volumes,” Pinto told Euronews.
However, Pinto also pointed out a slight year-on-year decline in Russian pipeline imports into the EU following maintenance in early June, suggesting a commercial reaction to the 17 June deadline banning imports of Russian pipeline gas under short-term contracts.
“This could indicate that market participants are beginning to reduce their exposure in light of the phase-out regulation,” the analyst said.
Remaining dependencies
While Russian gas now accounts for roughly 12 percent of EU gas demand, ACER says that dependence is no longer evenly spread across Europe.
Most EU countries have sharply reduced purchases since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, except for Hungary, Slovakia and Greece.
These countries, particularly Hungary and Slovakia, continue to receive Russian pipeline gas primarily through the TurkStream corridor and face the greatest challenge in replacing supplies before the 2027 deadline.
“In 2024, Hungary and Slovakia are estimated to source approximately 70–80 percent of their gas from Russia, while Russian gas is deemed representing approximately 50-55 percent of Greek gas imports,” reads the report.
The principal remaining challenge is not overall gas availability, ACEA said, but ensuring sufficient infrastructure to deliver alternative supplies into landlocked Central European markets.
“The remaining dependence on Russian gas remains unevenly distributed across member states; while most countries have significantly reduced their exposure, a small number of countries continue,” reads ACER’s report.
Diversification and new challenges
ACER concludes that Europe is significantly better prepared than during the 2022 energy crisis due to profound diversification in the gas market.
However, such diversification comes at a new cost, as the bloc has developed new dependencies, particularly with the US, Algeria, and Qatar, the latter having suffered a loss in production due to the war against Iran.
These countries are currently pressuring the EU to scrap its methane rules, which would require oil and gas producers to pay for the pollution linked to their production, with the US suggesting that the EU could lose imports.
“If things (methane rules) stay as they are today, they’re almost certain to reduce the energy flows from the United States to Europe,” US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said at a press briefing on 25 June. “I think this leads to very significant problems in the EU, which already suffers from much higher than global average energy prices.”
The EU is also counting on more gas from planned Romanian Black Sea production and increasing imports through Azerbaijan’s Southern Gas Corridor.
Overall, ACER concludes that the real economic consequences of ditching Russian gas have yet to arrive, pointing instead to the complete ban on LNG imports from January 2027 and the end of pipeline imports in September 2027 as the real tests.
World
Map: 6.0-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Off Mexico’s Coast
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. The New York Times
A strong, 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck in the Gulf of California on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The temblor happened at 1:45 p.m. Mountain time about 47 miles southwest of El Progreso, Mexico, data from the agency shows.
As seismologists review available data, they may revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Aftershocks detected
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
The New York Times
When quakes and aftershocks occurred
Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Mountain time. Shake data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 2:02 p.m. Mountain time. Aftershocks data is as of Tuesday, June 30 at 6:01 p.m. Mountain time.
World
Boy, 2, pulled alive from rubble six days after Venezuela’s devastating twin earthquakes
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Emergency workers in Venezuela on Tuesday rescued a 2-year-old boy who had been trapped beneath the rubble for six days, marking the only reported rescue of a survivor on the sixth day of operations following last week’s devastating earthquakes.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said in a Telegram post that Jordanian emergency workers pulled the child from a collapsed building in La Guaira, an area hit the hardest by last week’s earthquakes.
The child, identified by authorities as Klieber Moran, was rescued after spending six days trapped beneath the rubble, Rodríguez said.
Moran was taken to a hospital for treatment, she added.
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A Jordanian team works to rescue a child trapped under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela, in a location given as Caracas, Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez said in a televised address Tuesday that officials remain hopeful more survivors will be found.
“We must hold onto the hope of continuing to find people alive beneath the rubble,” Jorge said. “Early this morning, a 2-year-old boy was rescued and is currently receiving care at a health center in Caracas.”
Rescue efforts have continued since magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck Venezuela’s northern coast last Wednesday.
DEATH TOLL FROM VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES RISES TO AT LEAST 235, WITH THOUSANDS REPORTED MISSING
Emergency workers rescued a 2-year-old boy after he spent six days trapped beneath the rubble following last week’s earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The death toll from the twin earthquakes rose to 1,943 on Tuesday, with more than 10,500 people injured, according to Venezuelan officials. On Monday, the death toll stood at 1,719.
Tuesday’s rescue marked another glimmer of hope amid the disaster that has devastated the South American country.
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department shared video showing American search-and-rescue teams pulling an infant alive from beneath the rubble in Venezuela.
EX-MLB PLAYER SAYS WIFE DIED IN DEVASTATING VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES
A child receives emergency medical attention after being rescued by a Jordanian team from under rubble following earthquakes in Venezuela. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The infant, who is 9 months old, was rescued along with her mother, the State Department told Fox News Digital. Both suffered only minor injuries, according to the rescue team.
“Against impossible odds, hope endures,” the State Department posted on X.
On Tuesday, a shipment from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) containing 47 metric tons of humanitarian supplies arrived in Venezuela.
FORMER METS PITCHER NARROWLY ESCAPES DEATH IN VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKES THANKS TO ELEVATOR MALFUNCTION
Emergency workers rescued 2-year-old Klieber Moran from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in Venezuela six days after the country’s devastating earthquakes, according to Venezuelan officials. (Jordan Public Security/Handout via REUTERS)
The shipment includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, including supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention and treatment, according to the United Nations.
Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams from Virginia, California and Florida were dispatched to Venezuela on Friday to help search collapsed buildings.
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According to the State Department, the three USAR teams include 312 personnel and 18 canine teams, made up of firefighters, physicians, structural engineers and canine search specialists, and deployed with more than 200,000 pounds of specialized rescue equipment.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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