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Yes, but also the strategic investment, because its that which will de-unfriendlify our shareholder structure. The past rationale foreign banks or investors might be nervous of getting caught be secondary sanctions or pandering to the US looks less relevant by the hour.

New government in Bulgaria ends arms/cash to Ukraine. Calls for peace talks that consider both sides and aims to restore relations and energy co-operation with Russia. More Presidents and Prime Ministers in Europe critical of EU bureaucrat policy and overreach. The war establishment has run out of clean sock puppets to keep the war grift going. I read Saudi signed 30 economic deals with Russia at SPIEF - only 3 sectors were disclosed but there were mining/metals meetings, and several Russian mining firms have presented investment proposals into Saudi. Again evidence of BRICS+ and SCO+ nations pursuing sovereignity and national interest as trust in the US wanes and dollar loses its reserve status, albeit still retaining importance as collateral in the global financial system.

The Merz Must Go protests are interesting. Its an affluent section of society on the streets with professionally made banners and organisation, which makes this organised and funded. When his hopeless coalition collapses, there's no German and no effective EU backing to Project Ukraine. Merz has been the guy writing the big cheques after US lost interest.

At SPIEF, RDIF CEO brushed off a British reporters question about a trilateral meeting with the US and Ukraine. He said there's bilateral US-Russia dialogue and separately, economic deals will be made to in turn promote the political rapprochement. In addition, he said there's potential for joint Russia-US-German deals, which imv is a reference to Nordstream. The US is interested in buying it and the Germans want Russian gas. Merz has worked with Von der Leyen to make a US purchase difficult, so made an enemy of Trump and his business circle. For Moscow, US ownership provides security over the transit.

A US cabinet official attended SPIEF and participated in the US-Russia cultural session on traditional values. RDIF head made many interesting comments on more joint agreements expected in the near future but one stood out - economic deals will frontrun, to in part enable, political normalisation. The approach described as economic cooperation to establish trust between markets to take place against the usual loud voices seeking to derail normalisation.

Talk that Germany's BSW is on way to Moscow to meet Putin. Meanwhile, President Stubb of Finland has made interesting comments breaking with strict war propaganda protocol, which may make him acceptable as Europe's representative to Moscow. Obviously Starmer may be ousted by Burnham in weeks, Merz isn't far behind and Macronean will start packing his bags at the end of the year.

What Ukraine farming belt? Pay attention. Its all sold to BlackRock but the really good stuff now part of Russia. But don't worry, BlackRock also sponsors CoD players to go get it some more. It's the weekend, so perfect time to get yourself into shape.

Macron's ego will motivate him to conclude a deal before he's gone from office. The talk is they'll push hard by November.

The E3 leaders are in their sunset period. Macronean must go in April 2027 - he's at the end of his second term. John Bardella from Le Pen's RN is most likely to win both first and any second round run-off. As for Merz, anyone's guess when the system ejects him but reaching the end of his term is highly unlikely. As for Starmer and Labour, just pure irrelevance. This is only a timing issue now.

Remember there's also a 325.37% chance that more projects are going to be announced between Russia and US in "the near future" to quote the RDI CEO. And metals and critical minerals is one of the sectors. Keeping it more relevant to EUA. The US still imports Pd, U, Potash and ever increasing amounts of Nitrogen based fertiliser from Russia.

Too much has been invested into the character of Zelensky to simply drop him. But the political system in Europe that's kept him there is in decline. Vote one failed leader out, get a carbon copy wearing a different hat. Now new parties are rising that have had enough and that's because the public's had enough. So change is coming, and Zelensky's handlers will do what they can with an ever weakening hand to save him before they themselves are ousted.

There's a window for the Europeans to negotiate with a tiny bit of leverage. For some weeks, the media has run stories about the battlefield situation swinging back in AFUs favour and "game changing" drone attacks. This year, more and more anti drone technologies will appear. Drones will have their tank moment. Plugging porous defence lines due to manpower shortages with drones will become increasingly less effective. As for long range drones, they must carry small payloads and thus cause minor damage. At SPIEF, the conference centre is nowhere near the oil silos or even the city itself, so claiming it caused embarrassment is again spin. So the drone hype can only last so long. As for the conflict itself, it began in 2014 over Donbass. Its people rejected the nazi junta installed in a violent coup. Its been the target of capture by Ukraine ever since including a defeated incursion in 2014-15 and again when Zelensky was elected. On the flipside, its the focus of liberation by the Russians. Zelensky and his handlers will pour everything into what remains of Donetsk under its control. So as Trump alluded to, Zelensky will have nothing to trade with once he loses Donbass. It's loss will be impossible to hide from western publics. The trouble is, Zelensky and his handlers want a "forever war" - a Korea type line, rather than a settlement. Expect a massive push from the Europeans and indeed neocons in the US, for a conflict freeze by November. After all, that was likely the order Sen Blumenthal gave to Zelensky this week in Kiev along with ordering him to appoint Budanov as Armed Forces Chief.

Same as Anchorage. Putin tells Trump to get Zelensky into line and war ends. Germany now preparing for negotiations. US cutting bilateral deals. While Zelensky can't face withdrawal from Donbass to achieve immediate peace, that will increasingly not be a matter of choice. The effective end of any meaningful Ukrainian presence in DPR ends when the last two cities are placed into operational encirclement, which looks set to be in 2026. After that, its small villages and fields.

Point is US and Russia signing joint projects with RDIF regardless of Ukraine. Thats the most important development. The US is responding to changes in Germany and increasing interest from the Global South.

Saudi has apparently sent a very strong delegation to SPIEF this year. Germans are back. US is there again with an administration official. China and India of course, the former having setup over 1,000 new companies in Russia in Q1. In Europe, Germany is the most critical domino for Project Ukraine. Without German support, there's no EU support or frankly EU. This looks more certain than the US withdrawing its addiction to war. The world has changed since 2022-24. EUA should be pursuing partnerships and investments from sovereign nations to a) transform the shareholder structure away from "unfriendly" nation status and b) align that investment with an appropriate listing venue, because this one in the UK is nothing but an anchor on the company and also advertises our "unfriendly" status. Lets see some creativity.

BoB, agree on the far right. They've masqueraded as "the left" and neoliberals of today would be unrecognisable by the liberals who stood against wars of the past, such as the student protests against the Vietnam war. The EU and likeminded parties are in fact better characterised as right-wing neoliberals, completely intolerant of others and seeking to push their ideology down the barrel of a gun. Corbyn is genuinely leftwing and modern Labour couldn't stomach him. Thats why as I said after the last GE, it was already obvious Greens would rise to replace Labour as the party of the left.

Its funny, that's exactly the sort of trope the AfD MP in attendance replied to. The polls show the public agrees. I expect AfD and BSW, both calling for better relations with Moscow and re-opening Nordstream, to keep rising in the polls. As for Merz, only a matter of time before CSU walks out to collapse the coalition or he's replaced.

Good to see AfD at SPIEF, confidently replying to CDU tropes by pointing out its policy toward diplomacy with Russia is evidently more popular with German voters than imploding the economy for Zelensky.

According to the Chamber, German companies have >€100bn of assets in Russia, and 75% improved performance last year. Just for context.

If a Russian-German Trade Chamber delegation returning to SPIEF for the first time sinde 2021, representing 1,600 German businesses operating in Russia that turned over €10bn last year, being one more than 100 countries attending are "minor nobodies," then comfort yourself indeed. BILD, which is a well connected tabloid type rag is already helping spread the story that seniors at the CDU are talking about replacing Merz.

The Germans are at St Petersburg International Economic Forum today, along with the Americans, French and dozens of other countries. When or before German Chancellor Merz gets roasted in local elections in September, or before then, he will be gone. His replacement will almost certainly adopt AfD policies to arrest the deindustrialisation and budget deficit crisis. That means a return to Russian pipeline gas and seeking improved relations. Fact is, today's AfD is closer to the traditional CDU of old. Latest poll shows CDU/CSU at 21% and AfD nearing 30% - those are two important psychological and meaningful thresholds, and they're certain to be crossed soon.