Ukrainian MPs allow sale of petrol without mandatory 5% bioethanol until January 1

KYIV, June 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament has until the end of this year temporarily authorised the sale of petrol without the mandatory 5% bioethanol content, cancelling fines and other penalties for companies selling such petrol, lawmakers said on Wednesday.
Ukraine introduced the mandatory addition of 5% bioethanol to motor fuel from May 1 to meet EU sustainability regulations.
Lawmakers and authors of the law have not explained the reason for the amendment, but market sources say the refusal to impose fines and to allow the sale of petrol without bioethanol has been prompted by fears of possible fuel shortages.
Ukraine does not officially disclose the volume of domestic fuel production as most of its facilities have been repeatedly attacked by Russian missiles and drones.
Ukraine imported about 1.2 million tons of petrol in 2024.

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Glasgow Times

10 minutes ago

• Glasgow Times

Lammy urges Iran and US to keep talking as Middle East conflict continues

The Foreign Secretary met his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Geneva on Friday alongside foreign ministers from France and Germany and the EU's foreign policy chief. Following the meeting, Mr Lammy said the Europeans were 'keen to continue ongoing discussions and negotiations with Iran, and we urge Iran to continue their talks with the United States'. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his country would not negotiate with the US while Israeli air strikes continued (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP) He added: 'We were clear: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.' Friday's meeting followed Donald Trump's statement that he would delay a decision on whether the US would join Israeli strikes against Iran for two weeks, raising the prospect of a negotiated solution to the crisis. German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said the group had left the room 'with the impression that the Iranian side is fundamentally ready to continue talking about all important issues'. Speaking to broadcasters after the meeting, Mr Lammy described the situation as 'perilous' and urged Iran to 'take that off ramp' and 'be serious about the diplomacy that is required at this moment'. He added that the US and Europe were pushing for Iran to agree to zero enrichment of uranium as a 'starting point' for negotiations. But Mr Araghchi said Iran would not negotiate with the US as long as Israel continued to carry out airstrikes against the country. Tel Aviv's campaign continued on Friday, with Israel saying its aircraft had hit military targets including missile-manufacturing facilities as it continues to attack locations connected with Iran's nuclear programme. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. Meanwhile, the UK Government has announced it will use charter flights to evacuate Britons stranded in Israel once the country's airspace reopens. Number 10 said on Friday morning the situation remains 'fast-moving' and it will continue to be monitored closely. A spokesman added: 'We are advising British nationals to continue to register their presence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to be contactable with further guidance on these flights.' Mr Lammy said work is under way to provide the flights 'based on levels of demand' from UK citizens who want to leave the region. 'The UK will provide charter flights for British nationals from Tel Aviv when airspace reopens,' he said. 'The safety of British nationals remains our top priority.' According to the Israeli government, some 22,000 tourists are seeking to board evacuation flights. It is unclear how many of these may be UK citizens. Government advice for British nationals in the country remains to follow local guidance, as well as to let officials know about their presence within Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Land routes out of Israel remain open and British staff are on hand to support UK nationals who have crossed the border, he added. The move follows criticism of the Foreign Office's initial response, which saw family members of embassy staff evacuated while UK citizens were not advised to leave and told to follow local guidance. The Government said the move to temporarily withdraw family members had been a 'precautionary measure'. On Friday, the Foreign Office announced that UK staff had also been evacuated from Iran, with the embassy continuing to operate remotely.

NBC News

17 minutes ago

• NBC News

Two weeks' notice: Trump's deadline on Iran is a familiar one

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He went on to repeatedly cite the time frame for impending actions on health care and infrastructure that never materialized during his first four years in office. Trump's use of the timing prediction has accelerated in recent weeks — and he's used it on items ranging from trade deals and tariffs to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Much of what he's predicted hasn't come to pass, with questions he's said he'd answer remaining unanswered. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Two weeks to set rates on tariffs Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on April 23, Trump said the country was going to have "great deals" on trade. "And by the way, if we don't have a deal with a company or a country, we're going to set the tariff. We just set the tariff. It's something that we think — that will happen, I say, over the next couple of weeks, wouldn't you say? I think so," Trump said. "Over the next two, three weeks. We'll be setting the number. And we're going to pick — could be for China too." Two weeks to decide on continued aid for Ukraine During an April 24 Oval Office meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump was asked if he'd continued providing military intelligence and aid to Ukraine if there was no peace deal with Russia. "Let's see what happens. I think we're going to make a deal, and if we make a deal, it'll be wonderful. We won't have to worry about your question. You can ask that question in two weeks, and we'll see. But I think we're getting very close," Trump said. Two weeks to find out if Trump trusts Putin Asked by reporters on April 27 if he trusted Russian President Vladimir Putin, given the ramped-up attacks on Ukraine while Trump was calling for a ceasefire, the president said, 'We'll let you know in about two weeks.' Two weeks to determine Putin's path in Ukraine In an interview that aired May 4 on NBC's " Meet the Press," Trump was asked by moderator Kristen Welker if he'd misread Putin's position on Russia's war with Ukraine. "No, I'll tell you about in a month from now, or two weeks from now. I have no idea. I can tell you this, he's ... his ambition was stopped to a large extent when he saw that it was me that was now leading the charge," Trump said. Two weeks to set a trade deal with China Trump told reporters on May 4 on Air Force One that he'd be "setting" a trade deal with China. "At some point in the next two weeks or three weeks, I'm gonna be setting the deal. I'm gonna say that such and such a country has had a tremendous trade surplus, surplus their way, with us. They've taken advantage of us in various ways," Trump said. Two weeks to announce tariffs on pharmaceutical companies Asked on May 5 in the Oval Office if he'd made any determination on tariff rates and timing for pharmaceutical companies, Trump said, "I have. I'll announce it over the next two weeks." Asked about those same tariffs on Tuesday, Trump said, "We're going to be doing pharmaceuticals very soon." Two weeks to sign trade deals During a May 6 meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office, Trump suggested a number of trade deals were imminent. "We also have a situation, because everyone says, when, when? When are you going to sign deals? We don't have to sign deals. We could sign 25 deals right now, Howard [Lutnick, the commerce secretary], if we wanted. We don't have to sign deals. They have to sign deals with us. They want a piece of our market. We don't want a piece of their market," Trump said. "So we can just sit down, and I'll do this at some point over the next two weeks." Two weeks to meet Putin and end the war Trump was asked in Abu Dhabi on May 16 when he would meet with Putin to discuss ending the war. "As soon as we can set it up," Trump replied. "And I think in, uh, two or three weeks we could have it be a much, much safer place." Two weeks to set trade terms At a May 16 business roundtable in Abu Dhabi, Trump said he'd soon be setting the terms of the trade deals he wanted, and that Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent would be notifying trading partners. "So at a certain point over the next two to three weeks, I think Scott and Howard will be sending letters out, essentially telling people it won't be very fair. But we'll be telling people what they'll be paying to do business in the United States. They'll essentially be paying to be doing business in the United States," the president said. Two weeks to determine if Zelenskyy is doing a good job Asked on May 19 in the Oval Office if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was doing enough to help end the war, Trump said, "I'd rather tell you in about two weeks from now because I can't say yes or no. "I think — look, he's a strong person, Zelenskyy, a strong guy and he's not the easiest person to deal with, but I think that he wants to stop. It's a very bad — it's a very bad thing that's happening over there. I think he wants to stop, but I could answer that question better in two weeks or four weeks from now." Two weeks to determine if Putin wants to end the war Trump was asked again if he believed Putin wanted to end the war while taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on May 28. "I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks, within two weeks. We're going to find out very soon. We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not. And if he is, we'll respond a little bit differently. But it will take about a week and a half, two weeks," Trump said. Two weeks to send out trade deal offers After touting a preliminary trade deal with China, Trump was asked at the Kennedy Center which country he expected to sign a deal with next. "Well, we're dealing with Japan. We're dealing with South Korea. We're dealing with a lot of them. We're dealing with about 15 countries. But as you know, we have about 150 plus and you can't do that. So we're going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries and telling them what the deal is, like I did with E.U.," Trump responded. Two weeks to decide whether to attack Iran Press secretary Karoline Leavitt began her briefing on Thursday by discussing potential U.S. involvement in Israel's conflict with Iran. "Regarding the ongoing situation in Iran, I know there has been a lot of speculation amongst all of you in the media regarding the president's decision-making and whether or not the United States will be directly involved," she said. "In light of that news, I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.' That's a quote directly from the president for all of you today."

ITV News

33 minutes ago

• ITV News

European talks with Iran end with no agreement to continue negotiations

Iran has confirmed to European ministers in Geneva on Friday night they will not hold peace talks with the US while the Israeli offensive between the Iranian foreign minister and the foreign ministers of the UK, France and Germany, plus the EU's High Representative, have broken up with no agreement on when or where follow up talks could take place and confirmation from the Iranian's they will not hold talks with the US while Israel continues to European 3and EU 1 told Iran's Abbas Araghchi that 'the threat of military action [from the US] is real and approaching but a diplomatic pathway remains open,' said a source. The four European, who included David Lammy fresh from his talks yesterday in the Whitehouse, made clear their 'long standing concerns about Iran's expansion of its nuclear programme, which has no credible civilian purpose and is in violation of almost all JCPoA provisions [the provisions of the last nuclear monitoring deal].'The Europeans said they wanted discussions to continue in the hope of finding g a negotiated solution but there was 'no agreement where or in what format'.The main standoff was the the Iranians said they could not seriously negotiate while Israel continued its offensive whereas the Europeans said a ceasefire could only happen if the Iranians come to the table for will brief US secretary of state Marco Rubio Ave special envoy Steve Witkoff about all this over the weekend.