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Russians losing faith in ruble
The proportion of Russian citizens who expect the exchange rate of the Russian national currency to drop has grown by 70% since spring 2018 and reached a record since the start of the study (2013).
44% of respondents expect the ruble to weaken in the next 12 months, the results of the Central Bank of Russia’s July survey indicate.
This is 17 percentage points more than in March, and higher than the previous record from August and September 2014 (41%). Thus the Russian currency market’s April …
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Lithuania: NATO’s Air Force accompanied Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea once last week
NATO destroyers accompanied Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea last week, according to a statement made on Monday by the Ministry of Defense of Lithuania circulated in a weekly review of the country’s airspace.
According to the report, on duty aircraft from the Portuguese and Spanish Air Force stationed at Zokniai airbase in Lithiania, escorted Russian An-26 aircraft on July 26. “The plane flew over the Baltic Sea from the Kaliningrad region,” the department informed.
According to …
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Czech deputies visit annexed Crimea despite Ukraine’s ban
The Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic protested the visit of the European Parliament Member Jaromir Kohlicek and Senator Jaroslav Doubrava to the Crimean territory annexed by Russia.
"We are talking about yet another reoccurring violation of the Ukrainian legislation by the mentioned politicians, who, despite repeated warnings, continue to ignore not only Ukrainian laws but also the international law," said the embassy’s statement.
The statement notes that most of the Czech politicians, …
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Russia: Only Syrian troops will be stationed on the border with Israel
The border with Israel will be controlled exclusively by the Syrian army, says the Russian ambassador to Tel-Aviv Anatoly Viktorov.
The diplomat discussed agreements reached prior to the movement of Syrian government troops into the southwest of the country. He claimed that both sides agreed that “on the other side of the border there will only be Syrian armed forces.”
Additionally, he emphasized that Russia’s priority is “maintaining the security of the State of Israel,” adding that “no non- …
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Lavrov: Russia sees no reason for Normandy Format meeting
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on July 30 that he does not see the conditions for holding another Normandy Format (Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia) session at the highest level because “the leaders’ previous agreements have not been fulfilled”.
“Until such a purely specific agreement of Normandy Four state officials on three specific settlements is carried out, holding another summit will not be very good for the Normandy Format’s reputation. Not to mention that in the …
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Germany hands over to Russia the 'cocaine case' suspect
Germany handed over to Russia Andres Kovalchuk, a businessman who has been charged with organizing cocaine smuggling from Argentina through diplomatic channels, reported Vladimir Zherebenkov, his lawyer.
The laywer said that Kovalchuk is in Matrosskaya Tishina detention center and refuses to answer investigators' questions.
Zherebenkov did not specify the exact time his client was extradited.
Nevertheless, Kovalchuk's lawyers in Germany appealed against the authorities' decision to extradite …
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Russia: Iran’s presence in Syria is completely legitimate
Russia cannot force Iranian armed forces to leave Syrian territory, because their presence there is legitimate and fully conforms to international law, said the Russian ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov.
Israel has consistently accused Iranian authorities of intending to create a hostile foothold on their borders and demands the withdrawal of Iranian troops from Syrian territory.
“Iran’s presence in Syria is completely legitimate according to the principles of the UN Charter. We can speak …
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Erdogan: Turkey does not plan to abandon Iranian gas because of US position
Turkey does not intend to refuse gas supplies from Iran even if Washington iponses sanctions against Tehran, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as reported by CNN Turk television channel.
“I used to say to [ex-US President Barack] Obama:” sorry, but we are buying gas from Iran.” Where else can I buy it, if not from Iran? My citizens will freeze in the winter and then what will I do? I passed on the same message to [the President, Donald] Trump,” the president noted.
Erdogan confirmed …
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Yanukovych files lawsuit against Ukraine's Prosecutor General Lutsenko
Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych filed a claim with the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv against the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Yuriy Lutsenko "to protect honor, dignity and business reputation and to counter false information", as stated on the court’s website.
According to the resolution, the court has accepted Yanukovych's claim, which was filed on June 23, for consideration. However, the resolution does not specify what "false information" Yanukovych asks to refute. …
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Croatian president invites Putin to Zagreb
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović told Russian news outlet Kommersant in an interview that she has invited her Russian colleague Vladimir Putin to come to Zagreb on a state visit.
“I invited him to come when I was in Sochi last year (on an official visit in October 2017), and repeated the invitation in Moscow. This would be the first state visit of a Russian president to Zagreb, and I think that now is the time for it. We are looking forward to receiving Vladimir Putin,” the Croatian …