Contents tagged with Pompeo

  • US to withdraw from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia in early February

    On February 2, after a six-month period, the United States will eventually withdraw from the Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF) Treaty, DW reported.

    In early December, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave Russia 60 days to return to the implementation of the INF Treaty. This period expires on February 2.

    US Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison clarified that a six-month period will begin on February 2, during which the United States will remain a party to …

  • Kremlin: Russia showing 'goodwill' by discussing Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with US

    Russia is demonstrating “goodwill” by going to the negotiating table with the US on the missile issue, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov ahead of the consultations with the US in Geneva, TASS reports. 

    The deputy foreign minister stated that Russia is “by no means more interested than the US” in furthering the dialog. “Under conditions in which they have tried and continue to issue all kinds of ultimatums, preconditions and demands, we are demonstrating significant goodwill. …

  • Germany calls on Russia to take a prohibited cruise missile out of service

    To maintain the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), Moscow should take out of service the cruise missile that violates agreements with the USA, stated German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Welt reports. 

    "Moscow has the key to maintaining the INF Treaty. If Russia wants to maintain the treaty, it should disarm so that it could be checked,” Maas said and added that "Russia violated the treaty by developing and putting a prohibited cruise missile [9M729 missile] into service." 

    Maas …

  • Russia sees no reason for prisoner swap for detained US citizen Paul Whelan

    Russia does not see any reason to exchange the US citizen Paul Whelan, who is facing charges of espionage in Russia, for Russians arrested in other countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Interfax in a comment.

    “It should be pointed out that the situation with Paul Whelan, a citizen of the US and a number of other countries, is developing in strict accordance with the requirements of our legislation, and also in accordance with our obligations of a bilateral nature, …

  • Russian ambassador to the US: there are no regular contacts between Lavrov and Pompeo

    During a press briefing, speaking about the relationship between Moscow and Washington, the Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov stated that there are no regular contacts between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

    “Regular contact between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is not working out, admitted the diplomat. Our proposal for the resumption of the practice of joint meetings between the …

  • Kremlin: Russia will target US missiles in Europe

    During the Big Game program on Channel One, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke about the possible consequences of the withdrawal of the United States from the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles (INF).

    “The thing is that the withdrawal from the INF Treaty may potentially entail the deployment of short-and medium-range missiles in Europe, as was during the Cold War. The deployment of those missiles there and the possibility of them being aimed at Russia …

  • NATO gives Russia one last chance to implement Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty

    The Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg stated in an interview with Postimees that the Alliance is giving Russia one last chance to start implementing the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty or INF.

    “We have given Russia one last opportunity to start to implement the treaty… within 60 days. If they do not do this, the USA will withdraw from the treaty, as they clearly stated,” the Secretary General said. He noted that if that happens, …

  • Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers fly over Caribbean Sea with Venezuelan F-16 fighter jets

    The two Russian Tu-160 strategic bombers which arrived in Venezuela earlier this week have made a roughly 10-hour flight over the Caribbean Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday evening.

    The Defense Ministry’s report notes that the Tu-160 missile carriers were accompanied at certain stages of the route by Su-30 fighters as well as F-16s from the Venezuelan Air Force. During the flights, pilots from both countries practiced cooperating in the air.

    The Russian military …

  • The US considers imposing sanctions on Russia for violations of religious freedoms

    During a telephone briefing with journalists, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback confirmed that the US government may impose sanctions on Russia because of violations religious freedom. "They [ the Russian authorities] really… intensified their oppression," said Brownback while speaking of Russian authorities and religious freedoms, as quoted by TASS.

    The briefing was held after US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo’s recent decision to assign …

  • Berlin: fate of Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty depends exclusively on Russia

    “The Intermediate-Range and Short-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is of great importance for ensuring security in Europe, and the German government welcomes the fact that the United States once again gives a chance to preserve it," stated the deputy head of the Press and Information Office of Germany, Ulrike Demmer, at the press conference on the December 5.

    Berlin also believes that the continuation of the Treaty now depends solely on Russia. The spokeswomen of the German Ministry of …