Sanctions showdown leaves a bad taste as Latvia cautions against 'normalising' Russia

Latvia's Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs has lambasted the EU for "cherry-picking" sanctions against Russia, warning that normalizing relations with the country is a dangerous precedent. The Baltic nation vehemently opposed the EU's decision to remove two prominent Russian oligarchs from the sanctions list in a prisoner release deal with Azerbaijan.

Despite facing pressure from France and Slovakia to allow the delisting, Kulbergs ultimately caved to avoid threatening the entire sanctions package covering over 2,600 individuals. The Prime Minister expressed concern over the potential message this sets, stating that it normalizes Russia. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has requested emergency EU measures to bolster Europe's diesel and jet fuel supplies amid a global oil market crisis.

The EU executive acknowledged receiving Macron's letter but declined to disclose any measures they would propose. Additionally, EU officials have maintained their commitment to a November deadline for phasing out Chinese-made power inverters from EU-funded energy projects, despite investor complaints. In New York, the EU's Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, is set to announce two $50 million recovery projects for Gaza as part of the "Team Gaza Initiative."

Lastly, a deal allowing the US to expand its military presence in Greenland has been signed by US President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, viewed as a significant step in easing trans-Atlantic tensions following Trump's annexation threats.