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Russia buys US government bonds at 7 year record rate
In 2017, Russia drastically increased its investment in US government bonds. The US Treasury Department reported that over the year the Central Bank, which oversees Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves, bought $16.1 billion worth of US securities. At the start of January, Russia held $102.2 billion in the treasuries, equivalent to 23% of the total gold and foreign currency reserves, Finanz.ru reports.
30% of all the Russian Central Bank’s foreign currency ($345.5 billion excluding gold …
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World Bank discusses budget support program with leaders of Ukraine
The World Bank is discussing a budget support program with the leaders of Ukraine which provides guarantees in the amount of $800 million, as stated by Cyril Muller, Vice President of the World Bank, in an interview with ZN.UA.
“This assistance will, in fact, partially fund the costs associated with repayment of Ukraine’s debts. The program provides for the provision of 800 million dollars to the government of Ukraine. Also, we are now discussing a number of projects in the energy sector, and …
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Elections for leader of separatist LPR to be held in fall 2018
Elections for the “head of the LPR” will be held in the fall of 2018, said the head of self-proclaimed separatist republic Leonid Pasechnik.
“I announce, with a great sense of responsibility, that I intend to participate in the autumn elections as a candidate for the leader of the Luhansk People’s Republic in order to fully fulfill the tasks set before us,” Russian news agency TASS quoted Pasenchik as saying.
According to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Luhansk, its leader is …
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Finland says it is ready to send peacekeepers to the Donbas
If an agreement is reached concerning a peacekeeping operation in Ukraine under the aegis of the UN, Finland should take part in it, as stated by the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, at the Munich Security Conference, Yle reports.
"This is one of the most serious problems in Europe, that is why if there is even a small opportunity to resolve the crisis, Finland should take part in the settlement of this crisis," he stated at a meeting with Finnish journalists in Munich. At the same tine …
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President of Belarus Lukashenko: Minsk will remain a negotiation platform for Donbas
Minsk will remain a platform for negotiations on finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Donbas, President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko said on Sunday, Belta agency reports.
“This subject was blown out of proportion in the mass media almost to the extent of a scandal. I know this platform will remain. Do you think anybody will go to Asia to resolve European problems?” Lukashenko asked.
The President also said this was a shared opinion in Germany. “We are not taking part in the …
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Ukrainian President to be questioned in Yanukovych’s case
The Obolonsky Court of Kyiv will question the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, as a witness in the state treason case against the fugitive former President, Viktor Yanukovych, on February 21st, as reported by prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko to UNN news outlet.
Kravchenko said that, "The questioning is planned for February 21st."
Kravchenko added that on the same day, the questioning of Volodymyr Yelchenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, is also scheduled.
Previously, Poroshenko stated …
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Erdogan tells Putin that Assad will face consequences if Syrian troops deployed to Afrin
The Syrian government will “face consequences" if it concludes an agreement with Kurdish militia in Afrin, where Turkey is conducting military operation Olive branch,Turkey's President Recep Erdogan told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation, Turkish NTV channel reports.
During the talks, Putin and Erdogan discussed the problems in Afrin and in Idlib province. "If the Syrian regime goes down this path [agreement with the Kurds], there will be consequences," Erdogan …
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Russia says 'Rasmussen plan’ on settlement in the Donbas must be agreed upon with separatist DPR and LPR
The plan for a settlement of the situation in the Donbas, prepared at the request of former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, will not work without the agreement with the authorities of the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR, says Aleksey Pushkov, Chair of the Russian State Duma's Committee for International Affairs. The document implies sending 20,000 soldiers from the UN contingent to eastern Ukraine.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, …
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Member of Russian Night Wolves biker club affiliated with Putin denied entry into Ukraine and banned for three years
On Saturday, February 17, Ukrainian border guards refused entry to a Russian biker nicknamed “Vodyanoy" of the Night Wolves Russian motorcycle club, the Ukrainian State Border Service reports.
On Saturday, Vodyanoy arrived on a flight to Boryspil airport where law enforcement officers established that he was a member of the notorious motorcycle gang that had strong connections to Russian President Vladimir Putin. During the border control process, he was informed of the three-year ban on …
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Moldovan prime minister calls on Russia to withdraw its troops from Transnistria
Pavel Filip, Moldovan Prime Minister, during his speech at the Munich Security Conference, said that if Russia "sincerely wants to help resolve the Transnistria conflict, it must withdraw its armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the Republic of Moldova."
According to him, after that the countries could have "balanced, friendly relations."
Earlier, the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Andrian Candu said that in Transnistria, Russia is an "occupying force." Moldova, he said, …