Multiple World Leaders Make Statements on Geopolitical Tensions, Economic Issues, and Conflicts

Trump says he does not want war with China if Taiwan declares independence The US president says he wants the authorities in China and Taiwan "to cool down"

BRICS must step up efforts to prevent new debt crisis — Lavrov "The New Development Bank, whose annual meeting is currently taking place in Moscow, could play an important role in implementing this initiative," the Russian foreign minister emphasized

Fantastic trade deals, very successful visit: Trump's trip to China in review The US president expressed the utmost respect for Xi Jinping and described his relationship with the Chinese leader as "a very strong one"

Putin's test for Europe, Nazi revival, US-China relations: Lavrov's statements Russia will not be drawn into any triangulation attempts by the US to pit Moscow and Beijing against one another, the Russian foreign minister said

Insurance for ships passing through Strait of Hormuz turned out to be unclaimed — FT According to the publication, the program did not meet the requirements imposed on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz

US statements about control over Hormuz meant for home audience — Iranian envoy to Minsk According to Alireza Sanei, the US authorities know that the strait is controlled by Iran

Yermak to remain in pre-trial detention for three more nights — lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak says that transactions for the remaining amount have been made, but the money did not reach the court’s account in time

British PM could voluntarily step down in favor of Manchester mayor — newspaper Sources cited by The Daily Telegraph said this scenario is possible if different factions within the Labour Party unite around Andy Burnham

Tehran demands that US establish peace in Lebanon — Iranian ambassador to Belarus Alireza Sanei says that Iran's proposals also include the unfreezing of assets "that have been frozen for many years in banks of various countries"

Iran guarantees safe passage through Hormuz Strait for all vessels after end of war — MFA Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that complete cessation of hostilities is the only solution

Finnish economist urges to cut ties with Kiev over drone incidents Authorities in Helsinki earlier condemned the flights and crashes of Ukrainian drones, calling the incidents unacceptable

Hamas military wing commander killed in Israel’ strike on Gaza City — minister According to Israel Katz, Izz al-Din al-Haddad was one of the architects of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel

Lavrov stresses importance of strengthening BRICS solidarity on global stage The Russian foreign minister is convinced that "only through active collective efforts can the BRICS countries ensure that their interests and the interests of the Global South and East are genuinely taken into account in leading multilateral forums"

Fall of Latvian government fraught with major political collapse — expert Maria Pavlova warned that Latvia could remain without a stable government until the parliamentary elections scheduled for October

China's Xi, Trump discuss in detail economic issues at summit — Chinese MFA According to China’s top diplomat, the two sides "reached broadly balanced and positive results, including in further implementation of all agreements reached during previous consultations"

Russia seeks to strengthen BRICS cooperation on counter-terrorism — Lavrov The Russian foreign minister pointed out that such joint work is particularly relevant given that several countries are exploiting these issues "as a pretext for economic, political, and military pressure on unwelcome governments"

Zelensky may need allegations of Russia plans to attack to divert attention — senior MP Leonid Slutsky noted that the head of Kiev regime could be trying to create a background for yet another "terrorist provocation, possibly not against Russia alone"

Trump says US forces eliminate senior ISIS leader in joint operation in Nigeria The US leader said that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki "will no longer terrorize the people of Africa, or help plan operations to target Americans"

Trump says he declined Chinese leader’s offer to help resolve conflict with Iran The US leader emphasized: "I also said we don’t need assistance"

US leader says he did not underestimate Iran during conflict According to Donald Trump, Washington deliberately chose not to destroy part of Iran’s infrastructure

Attack on Iran aimed at reshaping region’s geopolitical map — ambassador to Belarus According to Alireza Sanei, the US also sought to undermine or destroy Iran’s missile arsenal and deprive the country of its drone capabilities

UEC becomes world leader in combat aircraft engine production in 2025 UEC CEO Alexander Grachev noted that, being cut off from international cooperation in 2021, the corporation had to work "in isolation" for five years

Israel, Lebanon agree to extend ceasefire for 45 days — US Department of State Spokesperson Tommy Pigott says the State Department will reconvene the political track of negotiations, and a security track will be launched at the Pentagon with military delegations from both countries

Russian troops liberate three communities in Ukraine operation over week — top brass Russian troops delivered one massive and two combined strikes by precision weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles on Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises, energy and transport infrastructure over the period of May 12-15 in response to Kiev’s attacks on civilian facilities

Ceasefire extension opens path to stability — Lebanese delegation According to the statement, Lebanon would continue to engage constructively in the talks and reaffirms "its unwavering commitment to reaching an agreement that fully restores Lebanon’s national sovereignty and guarantees the safety and return of all its citizens"

Xi Jinping mentions Putin during conversation with Trump — The New York Times The Chinese leader, while giving the US President a tour of the Zhongnanhai state residence, recalled that he had spoken with the Russian leader at the same location in 2024

EU militarization could lead to economic collapse within bloc — expert Yegor Sergeyev, a senior researcher at the Institute of International Studies of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, says that the need to increase military spending will inevitably impact other areas of national budgets

Russia cools Western ‘hotheads’ playing with ‘umbrella concepts’ — MFA on Sarmat Sergey Ryabkov stressed that Russia "did not expect, does not expect, and will not expect any reaction from Western adversaries" to tests of both new and existing systems

France’s standing in Africa under Macron weakening by day — news outlet According to the news outlet, the recent Africa Forward summit in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi is a prime example of this decline

Russia needs no Eurovision with its ‘sexless monsters’ — senator Today it is more important for Russia to invest in its own cultural projects and cooperation with friendly countries of the CIS, Asia, BRICS, Airat Gibatdinov said

Single visit by US leader will not resolve Beijing-Washington trade tensions — expert Commenting on Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy, Su Xiaohui noted that the mode of interaction between China and the US is not dictated by Washington

Russia’s GDP decline in Q1 2026 seen at 0.2% — Federal Statistics Service Earlier the Bank of Russia estimated the decline of Russian GDP in the first quarter of 2026 at 0.5% year-on-year

Russia’s weekly inflation at 0.07% on May 5-12, 2026 — Statistics Service Since the beginning of May, consumer prices in the Russian Federation have edged up by 0.06%, and by 3.17% since the beginning of the year

US, Israel could resume strikes on Iran as early as next week — NYT According to sources cited by the newspaper, US President Donald Trump is considering more aggressive bombing of Iran and a special forces ground operation to extract enriched uranium from Iranian nuclear facilities

Top Russian diplomat calls for reforming UN Secretariat According to Sergey Lavrov, the situation in which the Secretariat has "effectively been privatized by a single group of countries" is unacceptable

Europe, while lecturing China, fails to see lawlessness at home, in Ukraine — Russian MFA Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that racism and xenophobia have reached threatening proportions in the EU countries themselves

Risk of major conflict in Middle East persists — Arab League Arab League’s ambassador to Moscow Walid Hamed Shiltag opined that the risk of a major conflict in the region remained because there was still no definitive agreement between the US and Iran

Sarmat needs no advertising, no one else has analogues — Russian deputy foreign minister This system allows guaranteed penetration of both existing and any missile defense systems still in the development phase, Sergey Ryabkov said

Oil production in Russia to remain at 511 mln tons in 2026, in line with 2025 Under the baseline scenario, the ministry expects production to rise to 516 mln tons in 2027

Discussions on denuclearization with Russia and China, Iran operation: Trump’s statements The US president noted that the US will resume and finish the operation in Iran, which is currently 70-75% complete

BRICS called to act as force for promoting balance in global arena — Lavrov According to the top Russian diplomat, BRICS has a "special culture of communication, which rests on mutual respect, sovereign equality, and due account of the opinions of all of its members, finding common solutions, and the striving for the common good"