• Media: Italy intends to ask Putin for a bail out

    Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte came to Russia on an official visit on Wednesday. Conte is the head of Italy’s populist government which was formed after summer elections as a coalition between the anti-establishment “Five Star Movement” and the anti-migration party “Northern League”.

    Conte spoke to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the morning, and later met with President Vladimir Putin.

    During the talks, Conte intended to ask Putin for financial assistance, as he had been …

  • Russian insurers refuse to insure Russian space program

    Not a single Russian insurance company has bid to insure the upcoming launch of the Progress MS-10 spacecraft with a Soyuz-FG launch rocket. The spacecraft will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in November.

    This was reported by Interfax, citing documentation from the Russian state procurement website. The client was TsENKI, a subsidiary of Roscosmos, which announced its call for proposals on October 10.

    The premium on the contract would be capped at 116.5 million rubles for a …

  • Putin threatens to point nuclear missiles at Europe

    Russia will be forced to respond in kind to the US’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

    If European countries agree to have American missiles deployed in them, as was the case in the 1980s, they will “have to understand that they are putting their territory at risk of a response strike from Russia,” Putin remarked after talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in the Kremlin.

    “It isn’t our choice,” …

  • Recent Putin and Trump meeting costs Finland €1.7 million more than expected

    The expenses for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump increased from €4 million to €5.7 million, following amendments to the country's budget for 2018, according to an update posted to the Finnish government’s website.

    The expenses include the remuneration of police, border guard, defense forces and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The message did not specify what allocations each department received or whether they were increased.

    In July 2018, …

  • Swiss court allows disclosure of reasons for the refusal of Abramovich's residence permit

    The Swiss Supreme Court lifted restrictions on the disclosure of for the reasons why Russian businessman Roman Abramovich failed to obtain a residency permit in the country.

    The court rejected Abramovich's arguments that the disclosure of such information could damage his reputation.

    In September, the Swiss authorities refused to allow Abramovich to obtain a residence permit fearing that his stay in the country could pose a "threat to public safety" and cause "reputational damage". According …