Contents tagged with France

  • France to send soldiers and tanks to Estonia

    Next year France will send 300 servicemen, 5 Leclerc tanks and 13 infantry combat vehicles to Estonia, as stated on Saturday by the Minister of Defense of France, Jean Yves Le Drianto, and the Minister of Defense of Estonia, Hannes Hanso, at a meeting of the security forum in Halifax, Canada, as reported by Estonian public broadcaster, ERR.

    "A trusted, allied relationship will be developed between the countries," the French Minister said.

    "Estonian and French soldiers have been united in …

  • The EU, France and the USA call on Russia to unlock Amnesty International’s office

    The EU expects Russian authorities to urgently reconsider their decision to block a human rights organization’s access to its office. Employees of Amnesty International (AI) in Moscow have no access to their place of work, as reported on Thursday, November 3rd in the statement published on the website of the European External Action Service (EEAS).

    EU diplomats are "in contact with Amnesty International, both with the European headquarters and with staff in Moscow who claim that …

  • Roscosmos requires payment of funds frozen by France in the Yukos case

    The Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities refuses to supply Soyuz carrier rockets to the French company Arianespace because of non-payment of 300 million euros. These assets have been blocked by a French court in connection with the Yukos case, the French edition of Les Echos wrote on Friday, October 28th.

    "We do not get money from Arianespace for our work. No money, no product. We cannot work for free," Les Echos stated, quoting the press service of Roscosmos. The said amount was …

  • Klimkin: Elections in the Donbas are a 'distant prospect'

    Holding elections in the Donbas is a distanct prospect, as stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, to the Verkhovna Rada during an hour of questions to the government on Friday, October 21.

    "As of today, we are very far from being able to move to the question of organizing elections since it is necessary to achieve all the required security needs. And the accomplishment of these conditions will be assessed both by us and the OSCE, in particular, by the Office for …

  • Russia opens Orthodox Spiritual and Cultural Center in Paris valued at EUR 170 million

    The Spiritual and Cultural Center of the Russian Orthodox Church was opened in the heart of Paris on October 19, Radio Svoboda reported. The complex is located near the Eiffel Tower. It includes the Holy Trinity Cathedral with five gilded domes, parochial center, school, cultural center, bookstore, exhibition hall and café.

    According to Radio Svoboda, the Spiritual and Cultural Center of the Russian Orthodox Church, funded by the Kremlin, cost about EUR 170 million. The Spiritual and Cultural …

  • Poroshenko: Russia supported creation of armed OSCE mission in the Donbas

    It was decided during the Berlin meeting of the Normandy Four, which consisted of the leaders of Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia, that the so-called armed OSCE police mission will be deployed to the Donbas. The mission will ensure that the region will be prepared for the local elections that will be held there. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said this at a press conference on the 20th of October after the meeting.

    “We also agreed that no one will interfere with the work of the OSCE. …

  • Putin, Merkel, and Hollande to discuss Syria after Normandy format meeting

    After today’s Normandy format meeting between the leaders of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine to discuss the situation in the Donbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President François Hollande will discuss the war in Syria, RIA Novosti reported.

    According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “Today the president [Putin] will travel to Berlin on a working meeting… of the Normandy format, which will include Putin, Hollande, Merkel, and Poroshenko… …

  • Hollande questions whether a meeting with Putin would be useful

    In an interview on French television, the president of France, François Hollande, stated that he asks himself a question whether it is necessary to meet with Putin in person on October 19, because he questions its usefulness.

    “I’ve asked myself, ‘would it be useful? Is it necessary or it will be a pressure? Can we guarantee that we will change what he [Putin] is doing with the Syrian regime, namely, supporting Syrian air forces that are bombing civilians in Aleppo?’” Hollande stated in an …

  • Poroshenko and Putin could meet in the coming weeks

    France and Germany hope to gather together the Normandy Four, the President of the French Republic, François Hollande reported. Hollande stated at the General Assembly of the United Nations that France and Germany are working on holding Normandy format negotiations in the coming weeks.

    “We, together with the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel have taken the initiative to arrange a meeting with the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine in the coming weeks in order to bring the Minsk Agreements …

  • Kyiv is skeptical about statements made by French and German Foreign Ministers about the Donbas

    Attempts made by the German and French foreign ministers to revive the Minsk Agreements in Moscow and the Donbas have caused a sharp reaction from Ukrainian politicians and experts. The foreign ministers discussed this issue during their visit to Kiev. Ukraine does not believe that Europe has the ability to ensure a ceasefire in the Donbas. They also do not agree with the ministers’ proposal on the procedure for the fulfillment of the Minsk Agreements, Deutsche Welle reported.

    Set against a …