Europe

ST. PETERSBURG, May 5. /TASS/: The State Hermitage Museum is satisfied with the condition of its exhibits from the collection of Russian art patrons Mikhail and Ivan Morozov, returned to Russia after an exhibition in France. They arrived in St. Petersburg on Thursday, and specialists from the Hermitage and the Russian Museum are currently working with them, the official representatives of these museums told TASS.

MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/: Russia is seeking to maintain good and constructive relations with all countries, primarily with its neighbors, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Larvov said in an article published by Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Thursday.

PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - France's Socialist Party and the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) agreed in principle on Wednesday to run together in June parliamentary elections and try to deprive newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron of a majority.

If confirmed, the coalition pact, which the Greens and Communists approved earlier this week, will be the first time the French left has united in 20 years - but under the helm of the eurosceptic, leftist LFI this time around.

STOCKHOLM, May 4 (Reuters) - Sweden has received assurances from the United States that it would receive support during the period a potential application to join NATO is processed by the 30 nations in the alliance, Foreign Minister Ann Linde said in Washington on Wednesday.

Sweden and neighbour Finland stayed out of NATO during the Cold War, but Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of Ukraine have led the countries to rethink their security policies, with NATO membership looking increasingly likely.

May 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in a phone call on Thursday that Russia was still ready to provide safe passage for civilians from the besieged Azovstal steel works in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, the Kremlin said.

It said Putin told Bennett in a "thorough exchange of views on the situation in Ukraine" that Kyiv should order Ukrainian fighters holed up in the vast Azovstal plant to put down their weapons.

KYIV, May 5 (Reuters) - The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine urged residents on Thursday to avoid public gatherings this weekend, or leave the city if they can, for fear of Russian missile strikes.

His announcement followed warnings by Ukrainian officials that Russia might step up its offensive in Ukraine before May 9, when Moscow commemorates the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv said in a video posted online that he had cancelled all official events in Ivano-Frankivsk on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

May 5 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Thursday that the United States, Britain and other NATO countries were "constantly" feeding intelligence to Ukraine but this would not stop Russia from achieving its military objectives there.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a New York Times report that the United States had provided intelligence that helped Ukrainian forces kill a dozen Russian generals.

GENEVA/BRUSSELS, May 5 (Reuters) - World Health Organization states will consider a resolution against Russia next week after its invasion of Ukraine, including the possible closure of a major regional office in Moscow, a document obtained by Reuters showed on Thursday.

The resolution, to be considered on Tuesday, stopped short of harsher sanctions such as suspending Russia from the U.N. global health agency's board as well as a temporary freeze of its voting rights, three diplomatic and political sources said.

BUDAPEST, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Hungary's government cannot responsibly support the European Commission's new package of sanctions against Russia in its current form as it would "destroy" the country's security of energy supply, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.

The European Union (EU) will phase out Russian crude oil imports within six months and refined products by the end of the year, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday, announcing the sixth package of sanctions against Russia.

BUCHAREST, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Germany's dependency on Russian energy resources has been significantly reduced, German President Frank Walter Steinmeier said on Wednesday during a visit to Bucharest.

Germany's dependency on Russian oil is currently 15 percent, Steinmeier told a joint press conference with his Romanian counterpart Klaus Iohannis.

The Romanian president said that his country supports the European Commission's proposed ban on Russian oil, which would be implemented through a phase-out period of six months.