Contents tagged with Russia

  • Kremlin announces new negotiations between Surkov and US special envoy Volker on the Donbas

    The new meeting on the Donbas between Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Vladislav Surkov, the aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin is being prepared, stated the Russian President’s Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov.

    He said that the forthcoming meeting will be held “to synchronize their watches” because there were no advance plans for resolving the situation in the Donbas. The details and time of the meeting remain unknown.

    Last week, Volker and Surkov failed to …

  • Deutsche Bank threatens to break ties with Russia

    On June 27, the London division of Deutsche Bank sent a letter to the Russian government, threatening to cut business ties unless it is provided with up-to-date information about clients, Vedomosti reports.

    The letter says that Deutsche Bank is analyzing the services rendered to the Russian government and the Know Your Customer (KYC) documents in its possession. KYC is the process of identifying and collecting information on a client in order to prevent money laundering and the financing of …

  • Media: American Actor Steven Seagal becomes a Russian entrepreneur

    American actor Steven Seagal has registered as an individual entrepreneur in Russia, reported RIA Novosti, citing Seagal’s representative, Anar Reiband.

    According to Reiband, Seagal did this to legalize his activities in Russia because he lives and works there most of the time. Seagal has reportedly made a relevant application to the Federal Tax Service of Elektrostal City in the Moscow region where he now lives.

    The actor’s representative noted that Seagal has already starred in several …

  • Russia's largest bank loses $1 billion in Turkey

    Sberbank is cutting back on its business outside of Russia, which has been causing it tremendous losses due to US and EU sanctions, reports finanz.ru.

    By the end of the year, the largest Russian government bank will have disposed of its subsidiary in Turkey. Denizbank will be sold to Emirates NBD Bank, one of the largest banks in the UAE. A binding agreement has already been signed, Sberbank reported in an IFRS report on Thursday.

    The deal is priced at 14.6 billion lira, equivalent to $2.35 …

  • Ukraine marks 1000 days without Russian gas

    Thursday, August 23, marks 1000 days since Ukraine imported the last batch of Russian gas, reports Ukrtransgaz, Ukrainian operator of the gas transit system.

    In late November 2015, Ukraine refused to purchase natural gas from Gazprom, as the Ukrainian gas company, Naftogaz considered this price too inflated. Import of gas is now carried out via western border.

    The rejection of Russian gas allowed Ukraine to begin reforming the gas market and reforming the corporate governance of Naftogaz. For …

  • European Court of Human Rights orders Russia to report on the health of 4 Ukrainian political prisoners

    The government of the Russian Federation must inform the European Court of Human Rights on the health of the Ukrainian political prisoners Stanislav Klykh, Vladimir Balukh, Emir-Husein Kuku and Sergei Litvinov, as well as on the medical care provided to them, Pavel Petrenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Justice announced.

    “The ECHR responded very quickly to the request of the Ukrainian government concerning the health of Ukrainian political prisoners. The decision of the ECHR is as follows: the …

  • Threat of new US sanctions sends Russian government bank shares tumbling

    Russian government bank shares continue to plummet on the Moscow Exchange due to the threat of new US sanctions, which at first seemed unlikely, but are becoming more real every day.

    After US Senator Chris Van Hollen said that the bipartisan sanctions bill will target the Russian banking sector, Sberbank and VTB Bank’s share prices began to drop at an accelerating rate.

    At the end of trading on Thursday, Sberbank’s shares had lost 4.84%, closing at a price of 178.71 rubles, a low since August …

  • Merkel demands withdrawal of Russian troops from Georgia

    Germany continues to support the territorial integrity of Georgia and demands to withdraw Russian troops from the country, announced  Angela Merkel at a press conference in Tbilisi, reports News-Georgia.

    “I am glad that I am in Georgia today. The last time I visited here was ten years ago. The Ceasefire Agreement was signed then. We still insistently demand Russia withdraw its troops, and of course, after ten years we support the territorial integrity of Georgia,” Merkel said.

    She also added …

  • Trump congratulates Ukraine on Independence Day

    President of the United States Donald Trump sent congratulations on the occasion of the Independence Day of Ukraine to President Petro Poroshenko, said the press service of the head of the Ukrainian state on Thursday.

    "On behalf of the American nation, I want to congratulate you and the people of Ukraine on the 27th anniversary of your independence to be celebrated on August 24," stated the message.

    "The United States Government will continue to work with Ukraine and support efforts in …

  • Kravchuk: Upcoming elections could be Ukraine’s last

    The upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections could be Ukraine’s last, if the people make a mistake again and “vote for buckwheat”, said Ukraine’s first president Leonid Kravchuk, as reported by Glavcom news outlet.

    In the former president’s opinion, Ukrainians still have not determined who they should vote for, since they do not know how to.

    “They are unable to choose… It wasn’t by chance that the UK reached the conclusion that you will never be registered as a candidate for …