Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
The European Commission has proposed suspending some of the trade parts of the EU Israel association agreement, 18 months after Ireland and Spain asked commission president Ursula von der Leyen to review the agreement in light of the war in Gaza (13:36).
Senior EU officials said the proposals were “appropriate and proportionate” as a response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza (13:37, 13:53), and will still need to be approved by the EU member states (14:07).
But Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar warned the EU against taking action, calling the proposal to suspend the trade element of the EU-Israel association agreement “morally and politically distorted” (15:35).
In other news,
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said that two foreign laboratories had confirmed her husband was poisoned, after tests on biological samples secretly smuggled out of Russia (10:54).
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday he was unaware of Navalnaya’s claims.
Elsewhere,
Denmark is for the first time to buy long-range precision weapons such as missiles and drones, Mette Frederiksen has abruptly announced, as she warned “Russia is testing us” (12:39, 12:58, 13:00).
Frederiksen warned that Russia is “constantly trying to push the boundaries” and “wants conflict with Nato” (13:04).
The total package, worth €7.7bn, is “the largest single investment in Danish defence ever,” the country’s ministry said (13:16).
Russia’s ambassador to Denmark branded the plans as “pure madness” and said he considered the comments to be “publicly threatening a nuclear power” (17:41).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Danish plans on long-range missiles are 'pure madness,' Russian ambassador says
Russia’s ambassador to Denmark has reacted to Copenhagen’s announcement that it is getting long-range weapons (12:39, 12:58), telling Berlingske that it is “pure madness”.
Vladimir Barbin said:
“No one, anywhere, ever in the world has considered publicly threatening a nuclear power. These statements will undoubtedly be taken into account.”
