Hello,

This week, Germany's AfD defied foreign ministry warnings to meet sanctioned Kremlin and Gazprom officials in St Petersburg, while Israel seized Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon and drew condemnation from the UK, France, and Germany over its expanding offensive.

This comes as Armenia rejected a Russian demand for a referendum on leaving the EAEU, with Moscow responding by recalling its ambassador and suspending Armenian exports.

Read more below ⤵️

1️⃣ 🇩🇪🇷🇺 AfD official meets Putin adviser and Gazprom chief: Foreign policy spokesperson Markus Frohnmaier attended St Petersburg's economic forum, meeting Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev and Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, both under Western sanctions, defying explicit warnings from Germany's foreign ministry. Frohnmaier called for Nord Stream's recommissioning and resumed Russian gas exports, as the AfD leads opposition polls on a platform of restoring ties with Moscow.

2️⃣ 🇮🇱🇱🇧 Israel seizes Beaufort Castle as Lebanon offensive expands: Israeli forces captured the historic southern Lebanon fortress as troops pushed beyond the Litani river, with Netanyahu calling it a decisive policy shift. The UK, France and Germany condemned the escalation and Lebanon's prime minister accused Israel of collective punishment.

3️⃣ 🇹🇷🇦🇿 Turkey plans Azerbaijan-Europe electricity corridor: Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced plans for an electricity transmission corridor modelled on the TANAP gas pipeline, potentially extending through Georgia and Bulgaria, alongside $30 billion in domestic grid upgrades over the next decade. AzerEnergy has already begun construction of Azerbaijan's sections of the planned line, with a separate 230km transmission link from Nakhchivan to Turkey also in development.

4️⃣ 🇭🇺 Hungary's Magyar moves to remove Orban-appointed president: Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced plans to amend the constitution to remove President Tamas Sulyok after the president refused to resign by Magyar's Sunday deadline, with the process expected to take around a month. Magyar's Tisza party holds a two-thirds parliamentary majority and accused Sulyok of failing to uphold his constitutional duties, while Sulyok has sought a legal assessment from the Venice Commission.

5️⃣ 🇵🇱🇱🇹 Poland and Lithuania confirm nuclear deterrence talks: Both countries acknowledged participating in discussions about expanding their role in NATO's nuclear deterrence framework, following Financial Times reporting that the U.S. had signaled openness to deploying nuclear assets in new European countries. Poland denied plans to host nuclear weapons on its soil, with analysts suggesting a middle-ground arrangement involving Polish aircraft certified to carry U.S. weapons without those weapons being permanently deployed in Poland.

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🇦🇲🇷🇺 Armenia rejects Russian referendum demand

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan has rejected a demand from Vladimir Putin to hold an immediate referendum on leaving the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union in favour of EU membership, calling the request "unreasonable." 

The demand followed a joint statement from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan at a May 29 EAEU summit, with Putin warning Armenia against Western ambitions by invoking the "Ukrainian scenario." 

Russia has since recalled its ambassador and suspended Armenian fish and seafood imports, a sector directing 30 percent of its exports to Russia, following earlier bans on Armenian produce, flowers, mineral water, and alcohol. 

The EU accused Moscow of attempting to destabilise Armenia's economy ahead of parliamentary elections on June 7.

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1️⃣ 🇩🇪 Germany loses UN Security Council seat bid: Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul called the failure to secure a rotating council seat a "bitter defeat," attributing the loss to Russian lobbying against Berlin, Germany's support for Ukraine and Israel, and a late entry into the race. Portugal received 134 votes and Austria 131, against Germany's 104, with Kyrgyzstan, Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe also elected to the council.

2️⃣ 🇺🇦🇪🇺 All EU states back opening Ukraine accession talks after Hungary deal: A bilateral agreement between Kyiv and Budapest on minority rights cleared the last remaining veto, with formal opening of the first accession cluster tentatively scheduled for June 15 in Luxembourg. Hungary had blocked Ukraine's membership bid for over a year under Viktor Orban, with Magyar warning that even if Ukraine completes the full accession process, Hungary would still put membership to a public vote.

3️⃣ 🇦🇺🇺🇸 AUKUS amended to provide Australia only used submarines: Australia will now receive three in-service Virginia-class submarines from US Navy stock rather than the previously planned mix of two used and one new vessel, with Defence Minister Richard Marles citing cost efficiency and operational simplicity as justifications. The AUKUS programme is projected to cost up to $235 billion over 30 years, and US shipyards are currently struggling to meet their own production targets of two new submarines annually.

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