Turkish officials told Bloomberg that while they don't expect Trump to visit Istanbul, they are not ruling it out, and preparations for any scenario are underway.
Melkonyants was arrested in August 2023 in connection with the activities of the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO), which was co-founded by Golos's legal predecessor, the Golos association.
Ukraine's underground storage facilities are currently using 19.4% of their capacity. Almost 32%, or 2.79 bcm, less gas is available in the storages than in the previous year, according to the estimates.
The majority of Ukrainians, 71%, do not support holding elections before a full peace deal, even in the case of a ceasefire and security guarantees, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) on May 14.
"He'd like me to be there, and that's a possibility. ... I don't know that he would be there if I'm not there. We're going to find out," U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling to Qatar, Reuters reported.
Trump has long demanded that NATO allies increase their military spending, previously calling for the alliance to raise its benchmark from 2% to 5% of GDP.
More than 1,000 Russian government entities and 1,200 private companies are involved in the economy of occupied Mariupol, a major southeastern city occupied by Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, according to a research paper published on May 14.
The measures target almost 200 ships of Russia's "shadow fleet," 30 companies involved in sanctions evasion, 75 sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Russian military-industrial complex, and more.
The government has approved "reform roadmaps in the rule of law, public administration, and democratic institutions, as well as Ukraine’s negotiation position," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
The statement did not name the ex-official by name, but details of the case indicate it relates to Oleh Hladkovsky, a former deputy secretary of Ukraine's top security body who has been wanted since mid-April.
Georgian police officers stand guard as protestors demonstrate against the Russian-inspired "foreign agent" law introduced by the Georgian government in Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 14, 2024. (Mirian Meladze/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Brussels has frozen 30 million euros ($32 million) in defense sector funding for Georgia after halting its EU accession process in June, EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski said on July 9.
EU granted candidate status to Georgia at the end of 2023, but relations with Tbilisi deteriorated after Georgia's parliament passed a "foreign agents" law despite mass protests and a veto by Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili.
The law mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics, leading Washington and Brussels to denounce the bill as incompatible with Western values.
The European Council said on June 27 that the law represents a back-sliding on the steps set out for Georgia's candidate status, "de facto leading to a halt of the accession process."
"Other measures are being considered if the situation further deteriorates."
"It is sad to see EU-Georgia relations at such a low point, when they could have been at an all-time high," Herczynski said.
The EPF assists in funding security and defense to EU partners, including Moldova, North Macedonia, and the African Union. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been supported with 6.1 billion euros ($6.6 billion) in EPF funding.
The U.S. Defense Department said on July 5 that it has indefinitely postponed joint military exercises with Georgia amid a comprehensive evaluation of its bilateral relationship with Tbilisi.
Peter Leonard
