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Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at stalled Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> peace talks, the European Union<\/strong>\u2019s potential expansion, and U.S.<\/strong> sanctions on Cuba<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published an open letter<\/a> to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday offering to hold in-person negotiations on ending the war between their two countries.<\/p>\n With U.S. negotiators having so far failed to secure a lasting cease-fire in the war, FP\u2019s Sam Skove reported<\/a> last month that both Russia and Ukraine have soured on Washington as a mediator and begun looking for alternatives. In his letter, Zelensky suggests cutting out the middlemen altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see that the United States is fully focused on the issue of Iran, and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention,\u201d Zelensky wrote. \u201cUkraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us\u2014and you. I am proposing a meeting.<\/p>\n However, the rare direct address wasn\u2019t all diplomatic niceties. Zelensky oscillated between championing Kyiv\u2019s resilience and mocking the 73-year-old Russian leader, from his age (\u201cAfter 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll. And with time, the fatigue with you will only grow\u201d) to his reliance on North Korea and China for support (\u201cYou are the first ruler of Russia to turn to Pyongyang for assistance\u201d).<\/p>\n Zelensky also called out Moscow\u2019s shrinking resources, citing Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil facilities. \u201cYou will not have enough money or political capital to keep buying the loyalty of Russians the way you have for the past 26 years,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n Putin was not amused. Speaking at Russia\u2019s annual economic conference in St. Petersburg on Friday, the Russian leader rejected<\/a> Zelensky\u2019s overture. \u201cI don\u2019t see the point in meeting,\u201d Putin said, accusing Kyiv of seeking dialogue to prevent the further advancement of Russian troops. \u201cLet \u200bthe experts get to work and come \u200cup with some solutions. After that, we can meet.\u201d<\/p>\n He dismissed<\/a> Zelensky\u2019s taunts, saying, \u201cThe most important thing is whether you are capable of functioning properly, doing your job properly.\u201d Putin expressed gratitude for U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to end the war, but he insisted that there was still \u201cwork to do\u201d and vowed to strengthen Russia\u2019s air defenses in the interim. On Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone strike<\/a> hit an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, right as the economic conference was getting underway.<\/p>\n Putin also rejected Zelensky\u2019s claims that war fatigue, high inflation, and rising internal discontent were taking a toll<\/a> on Russian citizens. Although he admitted that Moscow\u2019s deficit may increase this year, he stressed that \u201cinflation has slowed down significantly and it keeps going down,\u201d adding that these rates are expected to be around 5.2 percent in 2026.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the international community appears more open to Zelensky\u2019s demands. Trump welcomed<\/a> the idea of in-person talks. \u201cIt would be very good if they met,\u201d the U.S. president told reporters on Thursday. \u201cThey should get it done.\u201d The following day, France announced that French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will hold talks with Zelensky in London on Sunday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Six new members?<\/strong> More than 30 leaders gathered<\/a> in Montenegro on Friday to discuss advancing six Balkan states\u2019 European Union membership bids. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia appear set to join a new Franco-German initiative<\/a> that creates incentives, such as privileged access to the bloc\u2019s single market, for the hopeful countries to pursue faster reforms.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, the enlargement, namely to the Western Balkans, is the most important geopolitical investment that the European Union is doing,\u201d European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa said on Thursday ahead of the summit. \u201cIt is not just an opportunity. It is a geostrategic necessity for Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n Costa said EU expansion<\/a> is vital to counter Russian and Chinese influence in the region, which he warned threatens the wider continent\u2019s security. Of the six states seeking membership, Montenegro is viewed as the most promising candidate, followed closely by Albania, though the EU still harbors concerns over the latter\u2019s ability to tackle organized crime. Meanwhile, Serbia\u2019s prospects appear far less promising<\/a>, as far-right President Aleksandar Vucic has pulled Belgrade closer into Moscow\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n Pressure on Havana.<\/strong> The U.S. State Department on Thursday imposed<\/a> sanctions on Cuban President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel, his wife, and three other individuals, citing the regime\u2019s \u201cdecades-long campaign of political, ideological, and institutional warfare against the United States.\u201d The penalties signal growing U.S. pressure on Cuba\u2019s leadership as part of the White House\u2019s wider regime-change ambitions<\/a> for the island nation.<\/p>\n D\u00edaz-Canel denounced the sanctions on Thursday, saying that they\u2019re intended to reinforce the U.S. blockade<\/a> of the country. \u201cThis political blindness is added to the coercive measures applied in recent weeks against our country, designed to harm the Cuban people,\u201d D\u00edaz-Canel wrote<\/a> on X. These measures likely refer to a recent executive order<\/a> expanding sanctions on the island as well as U.S. criminal proceedings<\/a> against former Cuban President Ra\u00fal Castro.<\/p>\n When a reporter asked Trump on Thursday whether the latest sanctions were meant to accelerate Cuba\u2019s collapse<\/a>, the U.S. president sidestepped the question. \u201cWe just want them to be a nicely run country,\u201d Trump said, adding that \u201cwe\u2019re going to handle that as soon as we\u2019ve finished\u201d U.S. military operations in Iran. \u201cI like to do one thing at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n Seeking oil opportunities.<\/strong> India sought to deepen energy cooperation<\/a> with Venezuela during a second day of high-level talks on Friday. Indian Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri \u201creaffirmed India\u2019s strong support for Venezuela\u2019s energy reconstruction, adding that Indian companies are ready to \u200bdeepen their presence in Venezuela,\u201d New Delhi\u2019s oil ministry said on Friday, adding that Venezuela was one of India\u2019s largest crude suppliers in April and May.<\/p>\n India halted all Venezuelan crude purchases last year after Trump ordered<\/a> a 25 percent tariff on countries that bought the South American nation\u2019s oil. However, the easing of U.S. sanctions<\/a> in February allowed New Delhi to resume purchases. According to shipping data seen by Reuters<\/a>, India was the second-largest importer of Venezuelan oil in May, with purchases hitting 427,000 barrels \u200ba day.<\/p>\n This week\u2019s meetings came as economists warn that global growth<\/a> could hit critical lows if supply chain disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are not resolved soon.<\/p>\n An international panel of arbitrators formally announced on Monday that it had rejected a multimillion-dollar claim by Rwanda against the United Kingdom concerning a scrapped deal over what?<\/p>\n A. Refugee resettlement In today\u2019s economy, even some royals are looking for a second income. According to a report<\/a> from Britain\u2019s public spending watchdog on Friday, former British prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sublet<\/a> three royal cottages in the city of Windsor while living there rent-free. As a British royal, Mountbatten-Windsor was required to pay only \u201cpeppercorn rent,\u201d worth\u2014in practice\u2014zero pounds. Income from renting out the cottages went to the former prince, though the exact amount charged is unclear. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal title and asked to leave the estate in February over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n A. Refugee resettlement<\/p>\n Rwanda argued that it had spent considerable funds preparing to host migrants who had arrived in Britain as part of the deal, FP\u2019s Nosmot Gbadamosi reports<\/a> in Africa Brief.<\/p>\n To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, click here<\/a>, or sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\u2018I Am Proposing a Meeting\u2019<\/h3>\n
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B. Military funding
C. Public health aid
D. Rare-earth mining<\/p>\nOdds and Ends<\/h3>\n
And the Answer Is\u2026<\/h3>\n