• Putin's aide Surkov to represent Russia at the Normandy Four meeting

    Vladislav Surkov, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin will represent Russia at the meeting of advisers on international affairs of the Normandy Four leaders, according Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, Interfax reports. “Surkov should represent us,” Peskov said.

    Earlier, Russia and Germany agreed to resolve the Kerch Crisis through the Normandy format, a diplomatic group of the representatives of four countries: Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and France.

  • China refuses to invest in Russian economy

    Russia’s attempt to shift its economic policy towards the East following the annexation of Crimea and the start of western sanctions has hit a dead end, reports finanz.ru.

    Despite numerous appeals by Russia’s leaders, Chinese companies refuse to invest in Russian real ecomony, and are following the example set by western businesses, and withdrawing their money.

    Between January and June, the total volume of direct foreign investments from China into Russia dropped by 24%, the Central Bank of …

  • Out of precaution Russia cancels sale of Bal missile systems to Azerbaijan

    The newspaper Kommersant reported that Russia will not sell the Bal-E coastal missile system to Azerbaijan because of the risks it could pose to the Russian ships in the Caspian Sea.

    Russia and Azerbaijan initiated a contract for a small batch of coastal missile systems and several dozen 3M24 missiles (the export version of the Kh-35E), but the contact has never been signed.

    The publication, referring to its own sources, explains that the reason for the failure of the agreement is due to the …

  • Russian general: withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany was a 'state treachery'

    The decision of the leadership of the USSR to end the arms race with the USA and withdraw Soviet troops from Germany was a state treachery and must receive an official assessment, said the chairman of the defense committee, the former commander of the Russian Airborne Forces Vladimir Shamanov at the plenary meeting of the State Duma on Friday.

    Shamanov said that Mikhail Gorbachev, together with Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze and Alexander Yakovlev, Politburo member of the Central …

  • Philippines cancels purchase of Russian helicopters because of US sanctions

    The Philippines decided to buy 16 UH-60 Black Hawk multipurpose helicopters from the American Sikorsky Aircraft Corp for $240 million and refused cheaper Russian helicopters due to the US sanctions imposed on Russian military exports, Reuters reported, referring to the statement by the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Philippines, Delfin Lorenzana.

    The minister said that the contract for the purchase of 16 American Black Hawk helicopters will be signed early next year, despite the fact …