Briefly

TURKIYE

Russia, Ukraine hold 3rd round of talks

Russian negotiators flew to Turkiye to hold peace talks with Ukraine on Wednesday, the Kremlin said, before what will be the first direct discussions between the two sides in more than seven weeks. "No one expects an easy road. It will be a very difficult conversation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "The projects (of the two sides) are diametrically opposed." A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters that a Ukrainian delegation had arrived in Ankara. A Turkish Foreign Ministry official said the meeting was scheduled to begin at around 7 pm in Istanbul. Previous negotiations in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers. However, those meetings lasted less than three hours in total and made no breakthrough toward a ceasefire or a settlement to end the conflict. On Wednesday, Russia said its forces had captured the settlement of Varachyne in Ukraine's Sumy region.

EUROPE

Apple set to stave off daily fines from EU

Apple's changes to its App Store rules and fees will likely secure the green light from European Union antitrust regulators, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter — a move that would stave off potentially hefty daily fines for the company. Last month, Apple said developers will pay a 20 percent processing fee for purchases made via the App Store, while those directing users outside the App Store for payment will pay a fee between 5 percent and 15 percent. The changes followed a 500 million euro ($586 million) fine imposed by the EU antitrust enforcer in April, which found that Apple's restrictions blocked developers from steering users to cheaper alternatives, violating the bloc's Digital Markets Act. Apple was given 60 days to scrap the restraints and comply with the act, which aims to rein in major tech companies and give rivals more room to compete. The European Commission is expected to approve the changes in the coming weeks, though the timing could still change, the sources said.

Agencies Via Xinhua