"Russia-Ukraine war live news: Putin claims progress on grain exports; Iran’s supreme leader endorses Moscow’s invasion | Ukraine | The Guardian"
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/l...rans-supreme-leader-endorses-moscows-invasion
Putin won the endorsement of the Iranian supreme leader,
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for the invasion of Ukraine on Tuesday.
Khamenei told Putin:
War is a harsh and difficult issue, and
Iran is not at all pleased that ordinary people suffer from it, but in the case of Ukraine if you had not taken the initiative, the other side would have caused the war with its own initiative.
If the road is open to Nato, it knows no boundaries and if it was not stopped in Ukraine they would start the same war some time later under the pretext of Crimea.
He said
Russia and Iran needed to work together gradually to reduce the power of the dollar.
Putin echoed Iran’s judgment that he had no choice but to invade, saying: “No one is in favour of war, and the loss of ordinary people’s lives is a great tragedy, but the behaviour of the west made us have no choice but to react. Some European countries said ‘We were against Ukraine’s membership in Nato, but we agreed under American pressure,’ which shows their lack of independence.”
The European Union will set out emergency plans later today to reduce gas demand within months, warning countries that without deep cuts now they could struggle for fuel during winter if Russia cuts off deliveries.
Reuters reports:
Europe is racing to fill its gas storage ahead of winter and build a supply buffer in case Moscow further restricts supplies in retaliation for European support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. Russia’s Gazprom has already halted deliveries to some EU states.
The European Commission will urge countries to prepare for possible further cuts by slashing gas use. A draft of the EU plan, seen by Reuters, would propose a voluntary target for countries to cut their gas demand over the next eight months, which could be made legally binding in a supply emergency.
EU officials said the target would be for a 10-15% cut in gas use.
The proposal, which could change before it is published, would need approval from EU countries who are largely responsible for their own energy policies.
There has been resistance from some countries, including Poland, who feel their contingency plans do not need a boost from Brussels.