Eurotopics.net

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, as well as irregular migration. Both leaders stressed the close and friendly ties between their countries. Ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit today, commentators reflect on just how friendly relations between Berlin and Ankara are and can be.

According to President Maia Sandu, the Republic of Moldova is considering a "two-step" accession to the EU - initially without the separatist region of Transnistria, which is under Russian influence. The new Franco-German report on enlarging and reforming the EU likewise discusses the possibility of excluding disputed territories from the accession process. Proposals for partial accession to Nato are also circulating. Commentators weigh up the options.

In St. Petersburg, artist and pacifist Aleksandra "Sasha" Skochilenko has been sentenced to seven years in prison for "knowingly spreading false information about the Russian military" and its deployment in Ukraine. She has already been in custody for one and a half years. Her "offence" consisted of replacing five price tags in a supermarket with pieces of paper bearing anti-war messages.

The UK's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that London's plan to deport refugees to Rwanda without an asylum procedure are unlawful. There were grounds to believe that asylum seekers would be deported from there to their home countries without due process, the court concluded. In a bid to push through the plan despite the ruling, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to introduce "emergency legislation" classifying Rwanda as a safe third country. Divided reactions in the media.