Heads of state

Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Poland Lech Walesa called for the population of Russia to be reduced to 50 million people, "Figaro" reported, quoted by Ukrainsworld.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with the leaders of 8 countries on the occasion of Eid al-Adha on July 9. 

Under the motto of former President Vaclav Havel "Europe as a task", from July 1, 2022 the Czech Republic takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Ljubljana – Marta Kos, vice-president of the Freedom Movement, has officially announced her bid for the presidency of the republic. She will run as her party’s candidate, while the other two coalition parties said following her announcement on Tuesday that they would likely run with candidates of their own.

Ljubljana – Delo notes in Monday’s commentary that President Borut Pahor’s speech at the Statehood Day ceremony was his last major speech in his long political career, signalling the end of an era.

Ljubljana – Slovenia is receiving congratulations from many world leaders on Statehood Day, with President Borut Pahor having received messages from Queen Elizabeth II, US President Joe Biden, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others.

Ljubljana – Lawyer Nataša Pirc Musar, best known in her former role as information commissioner, has announced she will enter the presidential race in the autumn election as an independent, becoming the first candidate to formally announce her bid.

The United States has urged its citizens not to travel to Ukraine because of information that Russian forces have captured two American citizens. Zelensky met in Kyiv with Dritan Abazovic and Edi Rama.
Macron told Zelensky that Kyiv is obliged to negotiate with Moscow.

It should be recalled that Aleksandar Vui met today with the Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan Kharchenko, and official confirmation was awaited from him that the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, to Serbia was cancelled.

They called on him for serious direct negotiations with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
Putin told the two leaders that the delivery of weapons to Ukraine was dangerous, warning of "the risks of further destabilization of the situation and worsening of the humanitarian crisis," the Kremlin said.