Contents tagged with Sanctions

  • Kiev calls on France to refrain from easing sanctions on Russia

    The call of the French Senate to gradually ease the sanctions against the Russian Federation may indicate that its senators have not understood the depth of Russia’s violation of international law. This information was mentioned in the comment of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the resolution of the French Parliament on June 8th.

    “We understand that this document is declarative and non-binding. At the same time, we should note that respect for sovereignty and territorial …

  • French Senate proposes lifting sanctions on Russia

    The French Senate appealed to the government of France to gradually lift economic sanctions against Russia, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported. The decision was made at the evening session after a 4-hour discussion where 302 senators voted in favor while 16 voted against.

    While the decision has no binding power over the government of France, it is nevertheless a political position that puts forward the recommendations of the Parliament. Evropeyskaya Pravda noted that the final wording of the …

  • Mogherini: The EU doesn’t recognize the annexation of Crimea

    Speaking at the meeting of the UN Security Council that took place on the 6th of June, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, broached the topic of the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. The UN press service reported Mogherini as saying that the cessation of the Ukrainian conflict is one of the main priorities of the European Union.

    “The European Union will continue to advocate for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and won’t …

  • Nuland: Sanctions against Russia are a powerful tool

    US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said that economic sanctions continue to be a powerful tool against Russia. According to her, these measures have disrupted Russia’s attempts to take more territory in eastern Ukraine, Radio Svoboda reported.

    "We have deterred further land grabs in Ukraine, and that was a real risk when we first started with sanctions - that they would try to run all the way to Kiev and Kharkov," Nuland said.

    "I will tell you …

  • McCain concerned that US sanctions against Russia are 'selective'

    The senator is concerned that the United States buys rocket engines from Russian Energomash.

    US Republican Senator John McCain thinks that the Obama administration selectively enforces sanctions imposed against Russia for the invasion of Crimea.

    In a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, McCain writes about the special relations of the Obama administration with NPO Energomash, a Russian rocket manufacturer from whom the USA buys RD-180 rocket engines.

    "I write to express my concern …

  • Merkel's advisor: It's too early to lift sanctions on Russia

    The discussion surrounding the cancellation of EU sanctions against Russia is premature, as stated by the German Chancellor's foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, Deutsche Welle reports. "If the current situation stays the same, I see no reason for sanctions not to be extended for another six months," Heusgen said.

    He indicated that the removal of restrictive measures on Russia is connected to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. At the same time, according to Heusgen, the Minsk …

  • Merkel sees no reason to ease sanctions against Russia

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel sees no reason to ease the sanctions against Russia.

    According to Reuters, this was stated by the German Deputy Government Spokesperson, Christiane Wirtz.

    On Tuesday, the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that some European Union (EU) countries are skeptical about extending sanctions against Russia. He also said that it was not clear whether or not the EU would extend them.

    “I can only say that the Chancellor is in constant communication …

  • Parliament of German city could vote to lift sanctions on Russia

    The Left Faction of the Parliament of the German city of Quakenbrück (Lower Saxony) has submitted a request to recognize the Crimea as part of Russia and abolish the anti-Russian sanctions as reported by the Chairman of the Left Parliamentary Faction, Andreas Maurer, during his visit to the Russian-occupied Crimea, RIA Novosti reports.

    "We can ask the same questions that were raised in Italy. I thought I should to turn to my colleagues in eastern Germany, as they have the most votes in …

  • Ukraine offers joint production of rocket engines with US to replace Russian models

    Ukraine has proposed a joint development and production of a rocket engine designed to replace Russian models that are currently used for the launch of U.S. military satellites, Radio Svoboda reported.

    On the 31st of May, the Head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine, Luybomyr Sabadosh stated that he proposed a plan to replace Russian RD-180 rocket engines during his visit to the U.S.A. Congress decided to stop using RD-180 engines until 2019.

    “This is a challenging task but we can handle it,” …

  • Ukrainian Ambassador calls on Germany to condemn visit of German politician to Crimea

    Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, has urged the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs to condemn the visit of German politician, Andreas Maurer, to Crimea.

    Melnyk wrote this on Twitter.

    “I urge the German Foreign Ministry to strongly condemn the illegal visit of Andreas Maurer, a member of the Left Party, to Crimea. They should also condemn other illegal visits,” Melnyk wrote.

    Since last week, the Russian media and Russian-controlled Crimean officials have been reporting on the …