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Chechnya’s gas debts baffle Kremlin
Russia’s senior leaders are still unsure how to respond publicly to the incident in Chechnya where the Grozny District Court ruled to write off the population’s gas debts to the amount of 9 billion rubles, provoking a wave of similar proposals in at least seven other regions, reports finanz.ru.
This is a “very complex matter” and the Kremlin “has not taken a stance”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a press conference on Monday.
“In this case, the commodity has been supplied to …
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Ukraine to reduce its claim against Russia's Gazprom if new transit contract is signed
Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz will reduce the amount of the new claim against Gazprom from $12 billion to $2 billion if Russian gas monopolist signs a new transit contract, stated Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.
"Indeed, the sum of new claims is about 12 billion dollars. Part of these claims is because we do not expect gas transit through Ukrainian territory after 2019... The chances of winning are very high. We have already proven that when we …
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PACE deprives Ukraine of seats in the committee responsible for sanctions against Russia
The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or PACE amended the rules for the formation of committees, effectively removing Ukraine from the committee responsible for lifting sanctions imposed by PACE against Russia, reported the correspondent of the Ukrainian news agency Evropeiska Pravda from Strasbourg.
According to the new rules, there can be no more than two representatives of each Member State in the regulating committee and the committee on the election of judges …
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Kremlin prepares to block Twitter and Facebook
Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal executive body responsible for media and telecommunication censorship, has begun an administrative procedure against Facebook and Twitter, which do not abide by Russia’s law on personal data.
The social networks, which are legally obligated to store users’ personal data in Russia, have not proposed any specific plans or deadlines to localize this information, Roskomnadzor director Alexander Zharov told Interfax.
According to him, the companies have one month, …
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Media: Japanese Prime Minister will push for a peace treaty with Russia in exchange for only two Kuril Islands
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering the possibility of concluding a peace treaty with Russia if Moscow gives only two of the four disputed Kuril Islands to Japan, reported the Japanese news agency Kyodo with reference to government sources.
According to the sources of the news agency, the prime minister of Japan is ready to focus on the transfer of Habomai and Shikotan, the smaller islands of the Kuril Ridge. As noted by the sources, he understands that if Tokyo continues to …