YEREVAN -- Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian has called on his supporters to stage nonstop street protests to force the ouster of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's government over its territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.

Addressing thousands who gathered for another rally in central Yerevan on June 9, Galstanian said street protests in the Armenian capital would commence on June 10 and will last for four days -- during which he urged the National Assembly to convene a special session on the government's resignation and the formation of a new government.

The outspoken head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church said that nonstop street protests were needed to "impose our will."

"I am ready for that. There is no way to retreat or deviate from it," he declared. "Now is the time. Either it is now or never. Falsehood must be eliminated from our home."

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Bagrat Galstanian: The Armenian Archbishop Taking On The Government

Galstanian stressed that the movement's demand remained the resignation of the Pashinian government, but he did not rule out discussions on "all possible options of political solutions."

Galstanian did not clarify whether he meant a no-confidence vote in Pashinian when he spoke about a special meeting of parliament on the government's resignation.

Earlier, he claimed to have enlisted the support of two opposition factions to initiate such a process.

Pashinian, whose Civil Contract party has a two-thirds majority in parliament, has rejected the opposition demand for his resignation over a recent border deal with Azerbaijan that saw Armenia hand over four abandoned villages that used to be part of Soviet Azerbaijan but have been controlled by Armenia since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the early 1990s.

Pashinian allies in parliament have also ruled out that any of them would break ranks to support the protest leader's bid to have a vote of no-confidence initiated by the opposition.

Under Armenia's constitution, at least one-third of lawmakers can initiate a no-confidence vote against the prime minister in parliament, provided they also name a candidate who will replace him or her.

Earlier, Hayastan and Pativ Unem -- opposition factions in parliament associated with the former presidents of Armenia, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian -- said they would support the bid.

They will need the support of the only nonaligned lawmaker to initiate the process, which, in order to succeed, will require a majority vote in the legislature dominated by Civil Contract.

At the same time, the no-confidence motion requires the name of a candidate for prime minister. Galstanian has said he would be that candidate.

The Armenian Constitution bars dual citizens from serving as prime minister. Galstanian, who is a dual citizen of Armenia and Canada, said he would not violate the constitution but did not explain how he was going to surmount that legal obstacle.

Earlier, his supporters did not rule out that it would have to require an amendment to the constitution.

The current anti-government movement began in the northeastern province of Tavush in April as Armenia and Azerbaijan began the demarcation process of their heavily militarized border following an agreement announced by Yerevan and Baku on April 19.

The demarcation, which was formally completed on May 15, alters the boundary in a way that affects the infrastructure of a number of Armenian border villages, which the Armenian government has pledged to fix within weeks.

Local populations have expressed fears of possible further Azerbaijani attacks after the Armenian military withdrawal from their positions held for over three decades.

But the Pashinian government insists that having a demarcated border in itself is an assurance against further conflict.

U.S. President Joe Biden on June 9 said he had reached an agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron on the use of profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine. Details weren't disclosed. The Group of Seven and EU are considering how to use profits generated by Russian assets frozen in the West to provide Ukraine with a large up-front loan now and secure Kyiv's financing for 2025. Around $281 billion in Russian central bank funds are frozen worldwide, most of it in the EU. The funds generate up to $3.8 billion annually in profit, which the EU says isn't contractually owed to Russia and therefore represents a windfall. Russia says diversion profits from frozen funds would amount to theft.

India and Pakistan cricket fans gathered in New York in their thousands on June 9 for the T20 World Cup clash between the two rival countries, bringing a flavor of the subcontinent to unfamiliar terrain for the sport. The 34,000-seat temporary Nassau County Cricket Stadium on Long Island was sold out, with fans traveling from far and wide for the game. Political tensions and security concerns mean that the two rarely meet outside of major competitions, but there was no hint of such issues among the fans, who were in a festive mood despite the rain that caused a delay to the start. Pakistan supporter Eswar Malik had flown from St. Louis for the game and said the rivalry was one that Americans now understood. "It's an old rivalry. It's like the Yankees-Red Sox...an old rivalry that goes on and on," he said.

SOFIA -- Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's center-right GERB party appears to have won Bulgaria's snap parliamentary elections, according to early exit polls in the nation's sixth such vote in the past three years, although it remains uncertain whether any party can cobble together a governing coalition.

An exit poll by Alpha Research gave GERB about 26 percent of the vote, far ahead of the second- and third-place parties in a contest on June 9 that could bring the populist leader -- who has been accused of corruption by the opposition -- back to power.

The exit poll showed several other groups trailing GERB, including the party's erstwhile partner in the outgoing coalition government, the reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition (PP-DB), which had 15.7 percent.

Also trailing are the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) -- which has traditionally represented the Turkish and Muslim population in the country but is now led for the first time by an ethnic Bulgarian, Delyan Peevski, who has been hit by sanctions for corruption by the United States and Britain -- and the pro-Russian Revival party (Vazrazhdane).

The former communist Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the populist There Is Such a People are also far behind GERB.

Other exit polls commissioned by national broadcasters gave similar results.

If the projections are confirmed, GERB would get 73 seats in the 240-seat parliament. PP-DB would get 44, Revival 41, and DPS 40, according to the exit poll.

Borisov earlier on June 9 expressed doubts that any party or coalition will be able to form a new government based on early indications of voting.

"From the morning voting, I do not see how a government can be formed after these elections," Borisov said after casting his ballot on June 9 in Bankya, a small town outside of Sofia.

He added that it did not appear likely that his GERB party would be in line for enough parliamentary seats to do it with any one potential partner and neither would the opposition with its allies.

"Either it's just us [GERB] or nobody, so there is no mathematics in this case," said Borisov, who declined to say who GERB would potentially nominate for prime minister.

As of 4 p.m., voter turnout for the parliamentary elections was 20.44 percent, election officials said, down from 27.3 percent in the April 2023 election.

Turnout for a simultaneous European Parliament vote was 20.89 percent, down from 39.8 percent the last time, although that count was taken an hour later at 5 p.m.

Preelection polls showed that GERB and its United Democratic Forces partner would receive the most votes, with 25 percent, potentially returning Borisov to power.

Regardless of the outcome, Borisov is likely to remain an influential figure and potential power broker in the country.

Borisov has led three governments over the past decade, but his support has weakened amid allegations of corruption, links to oligarchs, and attacks on media freedom.

The reformist PP-DB coalition was seen in preelection polls as getting about 15 percent, down from the 24.6 percent last time as many supporters may desert the party for its previous partnering with GERB.

PP-DB had agreed to work with its GERB rivals on a common pro-EU platform of ensuring that Bulgaria supports Ukraine's battle against the Russian invasion, but disagreements between leaders of the two parties mean a renewed coalition government appears unlikely.

Among the reasons for the breakup of the PP-DB-GERB partnership has been the PP-DB demand for reforms in the judiciary and in the security services, alleging that they have provided cover for organized crime and that they have not done enough to counter Russian influence.

SEE ALSO:

Pro-Kremlin Forces On Rise In Bulgaria Ahead Of European Elections

GERB has been supported by DPS leader Peevski, who has been hit by sanctions for corruption by the United States under the Global Magnitsky Act, a move then matched by Britain. The pro-Ukrainian former media mogul is reportedly one of the richest people in Bulgaria.

PP-DB has claimed that GERB and DPS act as one party. "Anytime we had a meeting with Borisov, Peevski was already in the room," former PP-DB Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said.

SEE ALSO:

Former Bulgarian PM Blasts Powerful Oligarch Peevski As The Country's 'Biggest Evil'

Borisov said that GERB would not partner solely with DPS to form a coalition.

GERB could turn to the MRF Turkish minority party, which also has about 15 percent in the polls.

If Borisov is unable to cobble together a government, another election -- the seventh in three years -- is likely, observers say.

"We are weary of elections, and we want some stability and some prosperity for the country," pensioner Margarita Semerdzhieva, 72, told AFP outside of a polling station in Sofia.

"I am voting for a better future," Antoaneta Hristova, 55, a marketing professional, told Reuters. "But, to be honest I think we are heading into more elections -- seven in three years. We have been the laughingstock of Europe for a long time."

A caretaker government led by Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was sworn in by parliament on April 9 after being appointed by President Rumen Radev, who also announced the snap general elections for June 9.

Following elections in April last year, Bulgaria had a joint government supported by the pro-West, reformist PP-DB and Borisov’s GERB. They had agreed on an 18-month government with a rotation of prime ministers -- first Denkov from PP-DB and, after nine months, Maria Gabriel from GERB.

Denkov stepped down on March 5 to let GERB lead the government for the following nine months, as agreed. But Gabriel failed to form a government, and on March 27 Denkov also rejected Radev's invitation to try to put together a cabinet.

On March 28, the populist There Is Such a People (ITN) party also declined to attempt to form a government, thus setting up the June 9 election.

The vote is being held alongside EU elections.

Between June 6 and June 9, voters in all 27 EU member states went to the polls to elect 720 members of the European Parliament amid concerns by many leaders of a rise in far-right support in several countries.

The elections are held every five years, and each country is allotted a certain number of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in direct proportion to its population size.

Voters elect national parties, but after the elections, the MEPs organize into political groups in the European Parliament that align with their parties' political ideologies.

Opinion polls heading into the elections for the European Parliament put the coalition of two center-right parties, GERB and the Union of Democratic Forces, in first place.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Iran's powerful Guardians Council approved the country's conservative parliament speaker and five other candidates to run in a June 28 election called after President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash last month.

The council on June 9 approved the candidacy of parliament head Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, 62, a former military commander who has been seen as a potential front-runner. In a speech last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seemed to signal his support for Qalibaf, analysts said.

The council also approved the candidacies of reformist lawmaker Masud Pezeshkian; Saeed Jalili, a former nuclear negotiator and Khamenei’s representative on the Supreme National Security Council; Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani; Amir Hossein Qazizadeh Hashemi, a conservative deputy to Raisi; and Mostafa Purmohammadi, a hard-line former interior and justice minister.

It rejected an application of former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad, a populist who carried out a harsh crackdown on dissent following his disputed reelection in 2009.

The council also rejected the proposed candidacy of Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker and nuclear negotiator.

On June 7, the government announced strict guidelines for the media during the abbreviated election campaign, barring any content deemed to discourage voter participation or to urge election boycotts. The regulations also criminalize the organizing of unsanctioned protests, strikes, or sit-ins.

The Guardians Council announcement came one day after the main coalition of reformists said it would only participate in the election if one of its proposed candidates were approved to run.

"We must have our own candidate," Azar Mansuri, leader of the Reform Front, told the Fars news agency.

Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and several other officials were killed on May 19 when the helicopter they were travelling in crashed in bad weather in a mountainous area near the country's border with Azerbaijan.

Six Pakistani security troops were killed in an explosion and exchange of gunfire with militants on June 9 at a security post near Sultan Khel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, an official said on condition of anonymity. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The government and the military have been carrying out operations in the area as part of a pledge to eradicate terrorism. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal, click here.

The Russian military has "failed" to carry out its offensive in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video message on social media late on June 8.

After speaking with military commanders earlier in the day, Zelenskiy said on X, formerly Twitter, that Ukrainian forces were "restraining" Russia's advance in the area and "destroying the Russian units that enter our land and terrorize the Kharkiv region."

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

He added that this was "a very important result."

The White House on June 9 did not directly confirm Zelenskiy's remarks, but national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS TV that Russia's advance on Kharkiv had been resisted for now.

"One thing I will point out is that the momentum of that operation in Kharkiv has stalled out," Sullivan said.

"Now, Kharkiv is still under threat, but the Russians have not been able to make material progress on the ground in recent days in that area," he added.

Russian forces began an offensive in the Kharkiv region along the Russian-Ukrainian border on May 10, in an action that analysts have described as a bid to establish a "buffer zone" to protect Russian territory.

Fighting has been particularly intense around the town of Vovchansk, which the Ukrainian military said on June 8 remained "largely" under Ukrainian control.

On May 17, Ukraine's military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, said Russia had expanded the breadth of the offensive to a line of nearly 70 kilometers in an effort to force Ukraine to deploy forces from its reserves.

WATCH: RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir reports from the front line in the defense of Kharkiv.

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Exclusive: Frontline Ukrainian Troops Holding Back Russian Assaults In The Kharkiv Region

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Ukraine's HUR military intelligence service reported on June 9 that a drone attack the previous day on an airfield in Russia's Astrakhan region had damaged an advanced Su-57 multipurpose fighter. The Su-57 is Russia's most modern fighter and is capable of striking with Kh-59 and Kh-69 cruise missiles.

"The damage to the Su-57 is the first such case in history," the HUR statement said, noting that the Akhtubinsk airfield is located nearly 600 kilometers from the front line in Ukraine.

The Russian military reported that 27 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted over the occupied region of Crimea and over Russia's North Ossetia, Krasnodar, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov, and Tula regions.

It was the first time Ukrainian strikes were reported in North Ossetia.

Hungarians go to the polls on June 9 for European Parliament and municipal elections in a test of the strength of authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his right-wing populist Fidesz party’s nearly 15-year grip on power in the face of one of the strongest challenges in many years.

Peter Magyar, a 43-year-old lawyer and once an ally of Orban, has gained an increasing number of supporters since earlier this year with accusations of corruption and mismanagement by the Orban government.

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Reporter's Notebook: On The Campaign Trail With Peter Magyar, The New Star Of Hungary's Opposition

A rally on June 8, organized by the 43-year-old Magyar -- who is the founder of the new Respect And Freedom (Tisza) party -- told tens of thousands of supporters that “if you want it…Hungary will be the country of justice, honor, and laws."

"Hungary won’t be the wedge, but the link, between East and West," he added.

Orban’s Fidesz party is not affiliated with groups in the European Parliament, but it hopes to benefit in the election from a rise in far-right sentiment across the continent. The number of far-right lawmakers in the European Parliament is expected to grow after the vote.

Magyar’s party has presented itself as a more centrist alternative to Orban’s brand of illiberal populism and is likely to gain several seats in the EU legislature.

Orban has angered many leaders in the European Union for his authoritarian policies, his opposition to aiding Ukraine, and his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

SEE ALSO:

Hungary's EU, Local Polls Are A Test For Orban's 'Sovereignty' Clampdown

Orban, however, has claimed that casting ballots for his opposition would draw Hungary directly into the war in neighboring Ukraine and precipitate a global armed conflict.

Support for Fidesz in the latest polls ranges from 44 to 48 percent. The center-right Tisza party has 23 to 29 percent -- but many observers say Fidesz's victory is not assured given the strong showing for a movement that only came into being a few months ago.

Gabor Toka, a research professor at Central European University and author of the Vox Populi election guide, told RFE/RL that surveys may not be totally accurate and that pollsters "ask people who respond in one way but may not vote accordingly later."

"There are many people who decide at the last minute who they will vote for.

"When the political situation really changes from week to week, it is of great importance exactly when the snapshot -- i.e. the survey -- was taken," he said.

The election will also be a test for the controversial Sovereignty Protection Office (SZH), established in February and which has waded into the campaign to publicly denigrate individuals and groups and criminalize candidates over accusations of foreign funding and influence.

"This agency is all set up to prevent nasty surprises for Orban in the upcoming elections," Kim Lane Scheppele, a Princeton professor and expert on authoritarian regimes and Hungarian politics and law, told RFE/RL.

Orban said victory in the elections "is needed" and predicted that Fidesz would receive "reinforcements" from every European country and be able to form a pro-peace European coalition in Brussels.

He also commented on the U.S. presidential election, saying that Americans in November will have "a chance to elect a pro-peace president," referring to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Orban, who has repeatedly said Ukraine cannot win, said the war "has no solution on the battlefield" and reiterated his call for negotiations to end the full-scale invasion Russia launched in 2022.

Magyar, a longtime political insider in the Fidesz party, has served in the Foreign Ministry and in Hungary's permanent representation to the EU. Until 2023, he was married to Judit Varga, a prominent Fidesz member and the former justice minister.

He gained attention in February when his ex-wife became embroiled in a case in which a man was pardoned after being found guilty of being an accomplice in a case involving child sexual assault.

The scandal claimed the political careers of the president, Katalin Novak, and Varga, who announced that she was retiring from political life.

Magyar in early May told supporters that changes were coming to the country that current leaders will be unable to prevent.

"Change can be stopped for a few days, a few weeks, but no one in history has ever stopped it and neither can they," Magyar said on May 4.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Hungarian Service, AP, and Reuters

The parents of a dual Russian-Israeli citizen who had been taken hostage at the start of the Gaza war and who was rescued in an operation by Israeli forces on June 8 flew to Israel on June 9 to be reunited with their son.

Andrei Kozlov, 27, was one of four hostages rescued in the operation in the town of Nuseirat after being held for 246 days by Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

The Jerusalem Post reported on June 9 that Kozlov's parents were expected to arrive in Israel later in the day and were being accompanied by an official of the Israeli consulate in St. Petersburg.

Hamas officials have said that at least 210 Palestinian civilians were killed and more than 400 injured during the operation, which was a daylight combined air and ground assault.

All four of the hostages were taken from a music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in the early hours of Hamas's mass incursion into Israel. About 1,200 Israelis were killed in the initial attack.

Of the nearly 250 people taken hostage in the attack, about 120 remain in captivity, while 43 have been pronounced dead.

Also rescued in the operation were Noa Agramani, Almog Meir, and Shlomi Ziv.

The Jerusalem Post also reported that Meir's elderly father, who was in poor health and lived alone, was found dead in his home by officials who came to tell him of his son's rescue.

Meanwhile, Britain announced on June 9 that two merchant vessels had been damaged by missiles in the Gulf of Aden. No injuries were reported.

Iranian-backed Huthi fighters, who control most of Yemen, have been attacking ships in the area since the beginning of the Gaza war, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians.

The United States announced on June 9 that it had resumed delivery of humanitarian aid via a temporary pier installed on the Gaza coast.

The pier had been damaged by stormy seas and was reinstalled on June 7 following repairs. More than 2 million tons of aid were delivered via the pier in May.

With reporting by TASS, AP, and dpa

French police are holding three young Moldovans suspected of being behind graffiti in Paris that show coffins with the slogan "French soldiers in Ukraine," prosecutors said on June 8. "Investigations are continuing. The possibility of foreign interference has not been ruled out at this stage," the Paris Prosecutor's Office told AFP. Eight coffin inscriptions and three others with words written in Cyrillic were discovered on building facades in Paris, said a police source. Three Moldovans were arrested in the same area on the night of June 7-8 "carrying spray paint and stencils that could match," added the same source, who asked not to be named. They are now being questioned in police custody.

For the sixth time in three years, Bulgarians will vote on June 9 in parliamentary elections as the poverty- and corruption-stricken Balkan country seeks to end the long stretch of political instability and, perhaps, close the door on hopes for major reforms.

The vote could return populist former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov to power. Polls show that his GERB party and its United Democratic Forces partner will receive the most votes with 25 percent.

Borisov has led three governments over the past decade, but his support has weakened amid allegations of corruption, links to oligarchs, and attacks on media freedom.

GERB's erstwhile partner in the outgoing coalition government, the reformist We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition (PP-DB), is seen as getting about 15 percent, down from the 24.6 percent last time, as many supporters may desert the party because of its previous partnering with GERB.

PP-DB had agreed to work with its GERB rivals on a common pro-EU platform of ensuring that Bulgaria supports Ukraine's battle against the Russian invasion, but disagreements between leaders of the two parties mean a renewed coalition government appears unlikely.

Among the reasons for the breakup of the PP-DB-GERB partnership has been the PP-DB demand for reforms in the judiciary and in the security services, alleging that they have provided cover for organized crime and that they have not done enough to counter Russian influence.

GERB generally says it supports reforms but has not initiated specific changes in the judiciary or among security agencies.

GERB has been supported by Delyan Peevski -- leader of the Movement For Rights And Freedoms (DPS) -- who has been hit by sanctions for corruption by the United States under the global Magnitsky Act. The pro-Ukrainian former media mogul is reportedly one of the richest people in Bulgaria.

PP-DB has claimed that GERB and DPS act as one party. "Anytime we had a meeting with Borisov, Peevski was already in the room," former PP-DB Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said.

GERB could turn to the MRF Turkish minority party, which also has about 15 percent in the polls.

The pro-Russian Revival party (Vazrazhdane) also has support.

SEE ALSO:

Pro-Kremlin Forces On Rise In Bulgaria Ahead Of European Elections

If Borisov is unable to cobble together a government, another election -- the seventh in three years -- is likely, observers say.

A Bulgarian caretaker government led by Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was sworn in by parliament on April 9 after being appointed by President Rumen Radev, who also announced the snap general elections for June 9.

Following elections in April last year, Bulgaria had a joint government supported by the pro-Western, reformist PP-DB and Borisov's GERB. They had agreed on an 18-month government with a rotation of prime ministers -- first Denkov from PP-DB and, after nine months, Maria Gabriel from GERB.

Denkov stepped down on March 5 to let GERB lead the government for the following nine months, as agreed. But Gabriel failed to form a government, and on March 27 Denkov also rejected Radev's invitation to try to put together a cabinet.

On March 28, the populist There Is Such a People (ITN) party also declined to attempt to form a government, thus setting up the June 9 election.

The vote is being held alongside EU elections.

Between June 6 and June 9, voters in all 27 EU member states are going to the polls to elect 720 members of the European Parliament.

The elections are held every five years, and each country is allotted a certain number of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in direct proportion to its population size.

Voters elect national parties, but after the elections, the MEPs organize into political groups in the European Parliament that align with their parties' political ideologies.

Opinion polls heading into the elections for the European Parliament put the coalition of two center-right parties, GERB and the Union of Democratic Forces, in first place.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service and AFP

BELGRADE -- The leaders of Serbia and the Serb-led entity within Bosnia-Herzegovina called for the unity of ethnic Serbs throughout the region during a rally in Belgrade on June 8, an action certain to anger Western leaders who have condemned any suggestions by entity officials to separate from Bosnia.

The so-called All-Serbian Assembly was organized under the slogan "One People, One Assembly -- Serbia and Srpska" and produced what it called the Declaration On The Protection Of National And Political Rights And The Common Future Of The Serbian People.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated the language of the declaration was carefully chosen and that it focuses on Kosovo, takes into account the Dayton agreement that settled the Yugoslav war of the mid-1990s, and didn't mention separation from Bosnia.

"I won't intrude on [the international community's] decisions," he said. "I only ask that you think a million times about how much we all need peace."

He added, though, that Serbia "will never abandon Republika Srpska," the Bosnian Serb entity.

"My only plea to you is to attempt to resolve all problems peacefully and in dialogue with all other peoples [in Bosnia] in accordance with the Dayton agreement," Vucic said.

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Belgrade Rally Calls For Unity With Bosnian Serbs

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Milorad Dodik, leader of the Republika Srpska, said the declaration was a document that supports the interests of the Serbian nation.

Dodik stated that Republika Srpska was committed to the Dayton accords but that it is possible the entity will soon have to seek Serbia's support to resolve its status.

"It is impossible to live with those who so treacherously and maliciously, falsely, and secretly tried to impose genocide as a permanent feature of this nation, which it is not," Dodik told the audience at Republic Square.

He added that any action will be done "peacefully."

SEE ALSO:

Bosnian Serbs' Move Toward Secession 'Dangerous, Irresponsible,' U.S. Envoy Warns

Dodik, who is friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been placed under sanctions by the United States and Britain over his efforts to undermine the Dayton peace accords, which led to the formation of a Bosnian state consisting of two entities -- a Bosniak-Croat federation and Republika Srpska -- tied together by a weak central government.

The action comes amid high tensions after the United Nations on May 23 approved a resolution to commemorate the 1995 Srebrenica genocide in Bosnia annually, over strong opposition from Serbs.

The resolution designates July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica, thus establishing an annual day of commemoration for the massacre of more than 8,000 local Bosnian Muslim men and boys almost 30 years ago.

The UN resolution had sparked protests and a lobbying campaign by Serbia's president and the Bosnian Serb leadership to block the adoption of the resolution, which was sponsored by Germany and Rwanda with 32 co-sponsors, including the United States, France, Britain, and Italy.

Dodik stated that "we are not a genocidal people, and this resolution does not concern us in terms of implementing it."

Dodik's Belgrade visit came after he met with Putin in St. Petersburg.

The main coalition of reformists in Iran on June 8 said it would only participate in this month's presidential election if at least one of its candidates is approved to run, according to the reformist newspaper Etemad. "The Guardians Council cannot nominate a candidate for the reformist movement," the Fars news agency quoted Azar Mansuri, leader of the Reform Front, as saying. "We must have our own candidates." The June 28 presidential election seeks to replace ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a May 19 helicopter crash. The 80 hopefuls who submitted their candidacies will learn on June 13 whether they are approved by the Guardians Council, an unelected body dominated by conservatives that vets candidates for public office.

Iran’s Supreme Court has overturned a death sentence handed to Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, arrested over his alleged involvement in the 2019 antiestablishment protests.

Babak Paknia, Vafaei Sani’s lawyer, said on June 8 that the Supreme Court had struck down his client’s death sentence “for a second time.” He did not say when the first death sentence had been overturned.

Paknia said the case would now go to a lower court.

Vafaei Sani was arrested in 2020 and convicted of “corruption on Earth” for allegedly “intentionally damaging” government buildings during the protests. “Corruption on Earth” is the most serious charge under Iran’s Islamic penal code and is punishable by death.

Last July, dozens of human rights activists appealed to Volker Turk, the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, to intervene and help stop Vafaei Sani’s execution.

The unrest in November 2019 was sparked by a sudden rise in fuel prices but quickly turned into nationwide protests against the Islamic republic.

The authorities clamped down on the protests and imposed a weeklong total shutdown of the Internet. According to Amnesty International, at least 321 people were killed by Iranian security forces during the protests.

Last month, Amnesty said Iran had carried out at least 853 executions in 2023 -- a 48 percent rise from the previous year.

Agnes Callamard, the rights group’s chief, said the spike in recorded executions worldwide was “primarily down to Iran,” where she said the ruling establishment sought "to instill fear in the population and tighten their grip on power."

“The Iranian authorities showed complete disregard for human life and ramped up executions for drug-related offenses, further highlighting the discriminatory impact of the death penalty on Iran's most marginalized and impoverished communities," she said.

Ukraine and Russia exchanged drone attacks overnight into June 8, with both sides shooting down the majority of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Ukrainian air defenses shot down nine out of 13 Russian drones in the early hours of June 8, Air Force commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk said in a statement.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses had intercepted 27 Ukrainian drones, including over North Ossetia, marking the first drone attack on the region since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ukraine’s Air Force chief said air defenses downed nine Iranian-made Shahed-type UAVs over the central Poltava region, the southeastern Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions, and the Kharkiv region in the northeast.

An X-59 Russian missile launched from the Kursk region was also shot down, Oleschuk said.

Russian forces, meanwhile, said they shot down Ukrainian drones over Krasnodar, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Rostov, Tula, and North Ossetia. Drones were also intercepted over the Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula, the ministry said.

North Ossetia’s governor, Sergei Menyailo, said a military airfield in Mozdok was the target.

No casualties were reported by the Russian authorities, but the downing of the drones caused some damage in several regions, including North Ossetia and Belgorod.

The AFP news agency and the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper quoted a military intelligence source in Kyiv as saying the "drone attack on the airfield in North Ossetia is a special operation of the GUR," referring to Ukraine's military intelligence service.

A day earlier, Vladimir Saldo, the head of Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, claimed 22 people were killed and 15 were injured in the town of Sadove in shelling by Ukrainian forces.

On June 8, Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed governor in Ukraine’s partially occupied Luhansk region, that two more bodies had been pulled from the rubble following Ukrainian missile attacks on the regional capital on June 7, bringing the death toll in the region to five.

Ukraine has not commented on either attack.

On the diplomatic front, French President Emmanuel Macron and U.S. President Joe Biden, meeting in Paris on June 8, repeated their support for Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion.

Russian President Vladimir "Putin is not going to stop at Ukraine.... All of Europe will be threatened. We are not going to let that happen," Biden told reporters, speaking alongside Macron. "The United States is standing strong with Ukraine. We will not -- I say it again -- walk away."

With reporting by AP

U.S. President Joe Biden, in Paris on June 8 to meet with French leader Emmanuel Macron, restated his “strong” support for Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion and warned that the Kremlin will not stop at Ukraine should it succeed with its aggression there.

Russian President Vladimir "Putin is not going to stop at Ukraine.... All of Europe will be threatened. We are not going to let that happen," Biden said, standing alongside Macron. "The United States is standing strong with Ukraine. We will not -- I say it again -- walk away."

Macron on June 8 hosted Biden in a state visit meant to highlight their strong partnership on global security issues.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Macron told Biden in front of reporters: "I thank you, Mr. President, for being the president of the world's No. 1 power but doing it with the loyalty of a partner who likes and respects the Europeans."

Biden was received in Paris with pomp, and the two presidents laid wreaths at a monument honoring unknown fallen soldiers. They also met with World War II veterans.

The welcome ceremony kicked off at Paris’s landmark Arc de Triomphe. The presidents and first ladies then headed toward Elysee Palace in a parade procession, where they will have a working lunch.

Biden has been in France since June 5 and, along with Macron, attended the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6 in Normandy, before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy the following day.

In his D-Day address on June 7, Biden sought to rally for the defense of democracy at home and abroad.

“As we gather here today, it’s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery that day June 6, 1944,” Biden said. “It’s to listen to the echo of their voices. To hear them. Because they are summoning us. They’re asking us what will we do. They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs. They’re asking us to stay true to what America stands for.”

In Biden’s meeting with Zelenskiy -- their first since he signed legislation authorizing $61 billion in military aid for Ukraine -- the U.S. president announced a new $225 million package of ammunition shipments, including rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, and air-defense missiles.

Meanwhile, Macron told a joint news conference with Zelenskiy on June 7 that he was finalizing what he described as the “largest possible coalition” of military instructors for Ukraine.

Macron said Ukrainian pilots would start receiving training in the summer to use French-made Mirage 2000 fighter jets, which Paris has vowed to transfer to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s top commander said last week that he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to soon access Ukrainian training centers. Russia responded by saying they would be a “legitimate target” for Russian armed forces.

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Kyiv has been pushing Europe to increase military support in recent weeks after Russia began gaining ground on the battlefield, particularly in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region.

However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a conference call on June 7 that because of a recent infusion of U.S. aid, the Ukrainians have been able to “thwart Russian advances,” particularly around Kharkiv.

Putin said earlier on June 7 in St. Petersburg that Russia is “ready for talks” with conditions, including taking into account the “realities of today” -- an apparent reference to Russia's illegal annexation of four regions in southeastern Ukraine and Crimea.

The Kremlin leader claimed, however, that Europe is “defenseless” due to a lack of an early warning system.

He said Russia has “many more” tactical nuclear weapons than there are on the European continent, “even if the United States brings theirs over.”

With reporting by AFP and the BBC

A dual U.S.-Russian citizen pleaded guilty in a Virginia court on June 7 to conspiracy to export firearm parts, components, and ammunition to Russia without the required authorization. Dimitry Timashev, 58, coordinated with an associate in Russia to send weapon parts from the United States to Russia starting in July 2020, the U.S. Justice Department said. In exchange, the associate paid tuition for Timashev’s daughter and rent for an apartment in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the department said. Timashev pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act. He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. To read the full news release from the U.S. Justice Department, click here.

French President Emmanuel Macron says he wants to finalize the creation of a coalition of military instructors for Ukraine and begin Kyiv's EU accession talks by the end of the month.

Speaking on June 7 at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Macron said several of France’s partners had already agreed to take part in the coalition of instructors.

"We will use the days to come to finalize the largest possible coalition to implement Ukraine's demand," Macron said.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

Ukraine’s top commander said last week he had signed paperwork allowing French military instructors to soon access Ukrainian training centers. Russia responded by saying they would be a “legitimate target” for Russian armed forces.

Kyiv has been pushing Europe to increase military support in recent weeks after Russia began gaining ground on the battlefield, particularly in Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region.

However, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a conference call on June 7 that because of a recent infusion of U.S. aid, the Ukrainians have been able to “thwart Russian advances,” particularly around Kharkiv.

“The Russians really have kind of stalled out up there, basically," Kirby said. “Their advance on Kharkiv is all but over because they ran into the first line of defenses of the Ukrainian armed forces and basically stopped, if not pulled back some units.”

In his joint news conference with Zelenskiy, Macron also addressed EU accession talks, saying France “continues to support Ukraine in all areas, including on the European level by seeking to have the effective launch of membership negotiations by the end of the month.”

He added that France also wants an "irreversible path" to NATO membership for Ukraine.

Macron also said that France is on the side of peace but said it would not come through surrender.

“We are for peace, according to international law, which allows the people who are attacked to defend themselves," he said in response to questions about possible concessions by Russia and whether it is time to start negotiations with Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier on June 7 in St. Petersburg that Russia is “ready for talks” with conditions, including taking into account the “realities of today” -- an apparent reference to Russia's illegal annexation of four regions in southeastern Ukraine and Crimea.

Putin also again claimed that Ukraine’s leaders “have lost their legitimacy,” referring to the postponement of Ukrainian elections.

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President Joe Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for the monthslong delay in approving military aid as Zelenskiy continues to press Western leaders for more assistance during his visit to France.

“It seems like we are dealing with the usurpation of power," Putin said, speaking to business leaders at an economic forum.

Putin has previously questioned whether Zelenskiy has the legitimacy to negotiate on Ukraine's behalf because his five-year term in office was supposed to end on May 20.

An election was to have taken place on March 31 but was postponed because the country is still under martial law. Under the Ukrainian Constitution, Zelenskiy must continue to perform his duties until a new head of state is elected.

Zelenskiy responded to Putin during the joint news conference, saying his legitimacy is recognized and determined by the Ukrainian people, adding that Putin's legitimacy “is recognized only by comrade Putin."

Imprisoned Kazakh activist Aigerim Tileuzhanova has suffered a minor stroke, her lawyer said on June 7. Ainara Aidarkhanova said her client needs medical assistance in a regular clinic after suffering the "mini stroke," which is medically known as a transient ischemic attack. Tileuzhanova is currently being treated in a correctional facility. Earlier this year, Tileuzhanova held a hunger strike protesting her incarceration. Tileuzhanova was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2023 on a charge of "organizing mass unrest at Almaty airport" during unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022 that turned deadly. She pleaded not guilty. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kazakh Service, click here.

A court in Moscow has sent French citizen Laurent Vinatier to pretrial detention until at least August 5 on a charge of violating Russia's "foreign agent" law.

The Zamoskvorechye district court announced its decision on June 7, a day after the 48-year-old expert on Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia, who works for a Geneva-based conflict mediation organization, was detained by Investigative Committee officers in a restaurant in the Russian capital.

The Investigative Committee said then that a French citizen was detained on suspicion of gathering information about the military and failing to register as a foreign agent.

The committee released a video showing a man with a blurred face being approached by masked officers in a Moscow restaurant and led to a police vehicle.

According to the Investigative Committee, the man had allegedly "collected data related to military and military-technical activities of the Russian Federation."

French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in a televised interview late on June 6 that Vinatier was detained in Russia, stressing that he had never worked for French government structures.

The French Embassy has yet to comment on the arrest.

The arrest of Vinatier came as Macron hosted ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy during World War II.

Earlier on June 6, French media reports said a 26-year-old native of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region with dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship was detained in France after a handmade explosive device detonated in his hotel room.

The man sustained burns and is currently being treated in a hospital. He is suspected of planning a terrorist attack in France that would have targeted military aid that Paris has been sending to Ukraine.

Relations between Russia and France have sunk to their the lowest point in history over Moscow’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, TASS, Interfax, and Le Journal du Dimanche

The Supreme Court of Russia on June 7 banned what it called the Anti-Russia Separatist Movement, a group that does not appear to exist. The move was made at the Justice Ministry's request and comes about seven months after the Supreme Court banned another nonexistent group -- the International Public LGBT Movement. Also last year, the Prosecutor-General's Office designated two movements registered abroad as undesirable organizations -- the League of Free Nations and the Forum of Post-Russia's Free Peoples, which advocate self-determination for ethnic republics within the Russian Federation. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, recommended opening accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, saying they are sufficiently prepared for the formal opening of the process, which would eventually lead to their becoming members of the European Union.

The commission told EU ambassadors that both Kyiv and Chisinau have fully fulfilled the outstanding reform steps needed to start official talks.

"We consider that all the steps have been met by the two countries," a commission spokeswoman told reporters on June 7.

"Now the decision is in the hands of the member states."

In Ukraine's case, the reform steps included the fight against corruption, de-oligarchization, and the protection of national minorities, officials told RFE/RL.

Moldova meanwhile has fulfilled criteria on judicial reform, de-oligarchization, and the fight against corruption, the officials added.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed the commission's move.

"Thank you for the positive assessment of our European integration progress. The announced conclusion of the EC states that Ukraine continues systematic efforts to join the EU and has completed all additional reform steps," Shmyhal said.

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Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine

He added that Kyiv is now waiting for the next step from its European partners -- the actual start of membership negotiations this month.

"The Ukrainian people are choosing every day the right to be part of the European family in the war against the Russian aggressor," he added.

Brussels appears to be encouraging the two countries to continue on their path to Europe ahead of a transition period in the bloc, which will acquire a new European Parliament in voting this weekend.

The 27-nation bloc will also have a new commission, and will be led from next month for the rest of 2024 by Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban is on friendly terms with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has systematically opposed or undermined the EU's moves to sanction Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine and Moldova submitted their candidacies shortly after the start of the invasion and obtained candidate status in June 2022, gaining the conditional green-light for the start of negotiations in December.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak

BISHKEK -- Eleven former and current reporters for the Temirov Live investigative group in Kyrgyzstan have gone on trial in Bishkek on a charge of "calling for mass riots," which the journalists and rights groups have rejected as politically motivated.

Judge Kylychbek Istamkulov of the Lenin district court started the trial behind closed doors on June 7.

Four of the journalists on trial -- Makhabat Tajibek-kyzy, Azamat Ishenbekov, Aktilek Kaparov, and Aike Beishekeeva -- have been held in pretrial detention since January 16.

The other seven journalists were transferred to house arrest amid an outcry by domestic and international human rights groups over the case. The arrests were made after police searched the journalists’ homes and offices.

In April, the Kyrgyz Ombudsman's Institute said guards physically attacked Tajibek-kyzy and two of her cellmates in detention center No.1 in Bishkek.

Prosecutors said at the time that they had launched a preliminary investigation into Tajibek-kyzy's complaint.

Tajibek-kyzy is the wife of prominent investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, the founder of Temirov Live who was deported to Moscow in November 2022 after a court ruled that he illegally obtained Kyrgyz citizenship.

Temirov, who held Kyrgyz and Russian passports, rejected the accusation and insisted that the probe against him was launched after he published the results of an investigation suggesting corruption among top Kyrgyz officials.

Kyrgyz-based and international human rights groups have urged the former Soviet republic’s government to immediately release Temirov Live’s journalists and drop all charges against them.

Kyrgyzstan's free press and civil society have traditionally been the most vibrant in Central Asia, but that has changed amid a deepening government crackdown.

In early April, President Sadyr Japarov signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as "foreign representatives," which critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on "foreign agents" that Moscow uses to muzzle free press and NGOs.

Uzbek authorities labeled a Karakalpak group as extremist and banned it in February, the Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said citing Moscow-based human rights defender Vitaly Ponomaryov.

According to a statement from Ponomaryov, the Alga Qaraqalpaqstan (Forward Karakalpakstan) group was banned on February 22.

The group is an unregistered political party with thousands of members that promotes the independence of Karakalpakstan from Uzbekistan.

Karakalpaks are a Central Asian Turkic-speaking people. Their region used to be an autonomous area within Kazakhstan before becoming autonomous within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1930 and then part of Uzbekistan in 1936.

The fact that the group was banned became known during the trial of Karakalpak activist Parahat Musapbarov, who was sentenced to 6 years in prison in late May on a number of charges, including taking part in the activities of the banned group.

Karakalpak activists have been under pressure in Uzbekistan since mass rallies in Karakalpakstan's capital, Nukus, in July 2022. Thousands of people protested Tashkent's plans to change the constitution in a way that would have undermined the republic's right to self-determination.

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The Kazakh-Uzbek 'Tandem': Good For Central Asia, Not So Good For Karakalpak Activists

The protests were violently dispersed. Uzbek authorities said at the time that 21 people died during the protests, but the Austrian-based Freedom for Eurasia human rights group said at least 70 people were killed during the unrest.

In January last year, an Uzbek court sentenced 22 Karakalpak activists to prison terms on charges that included undermining the constitutional order for taking part in the protests.

In March 2023, another 39 Karakalpak activists accused of taking part in the protests in Nukus were convicted, with 28 of them sentenced to prison terms of between 5 and 11 years. Eleven defendants were handed parole-like sentences.

The violence forced Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoev to make a rare about-face and scrap the proposal to change the constitution.

The Iranian government has issued strict guidelines for media conduct in the run-up to Iran's presidential election, which was called after the recent death of former President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash.

According to the newly published regulations, any content deemed to be aimed at discouraging voter turnout or promoting election boycotts, as well as organizing any form of unlicensed protest gatherings, strikes, or sit-ins, is now classified as "criminal."

The rules mimic previous mandates and carry severe punishments, including the potential for as many as 74 lashes, for those found in violation.

The initiative is part of the intense effort by the Iranian government to control the political narrative and suppress dissent amid historically low election enthusiasm due to the widespread disqualifications of candidates and aggressive suppression by authorities of any opposition.

Under Clause 74 of Iran’s presidential election law, all media outlets --including print, broadcast, and online platforms -- are prohibited from publishing anything deemed to be negative content about election candidates or suggesting that any group or individual withdraw from the race.

Violations can lead to severe repercussions, including the temporary shutdown of the offender's media operations and physical punishment for its managers and possibly the authors of such articles.

The guidelines also extend to social media, where the publication of any content deemed as insulting or slanderous against the regime, or that which stirs public discord or spreads false information, is forbidden.

The law specifies that no private complainant is required for the prosecution of these offenses, suggesting a proactive approach by the state in monitoring and regulating election-related discourse.

These developments occur amid a backdrop of increasing control over media and public opinion by the Iranian authorities, who have long used broad and vaguely defined charges to crack down on political activists and civil society.

The recent guidelines also underscore the government's intent to tighten its grip on all forms of expression and ensure a controlled electoral environment, sparking concerns among international observers about the state of freedom of speech and fair electoral practices in Iran.

In recent elections, the authorities severely limited the playing field by disqualifying most moderate and reformist candidates, which may have contributed to the low voter participation seen in recent balloting.

Rights groups have complained of an intensified clampdown on public expressions of discontent since Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and several others died in the helicopter crash in a mountainous region of northwestern Iran in mid-May while returning from an official visit to Azerbaijan.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda