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US intelligence suspects Russia of supporting the Taliban
Anonymous sources within US intelligence services suggest that Russia provides weapons and military training to the Taliban in Afghanistan. The West also suspects that Moscow’s support of the Taliban is guided by the Russia’s desire to undermine the pro-American government in Kabul, as reported by Rosbalt.
According to information obtained by the Associated Press from US intelligence sources, evidence was found that Moscow supplied weapons to the Taliban in 2015, during the Islamic group’s …
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Russian paratroopers to hold large-scale exercise near Latvian and Estonian borders
Russian airborne troops will hold a large-scale exercise in the Pskov region near the Estonian and Latvian borders, as reported by Radio Svoboda. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the exercises will be held from the 15th to the 20th of February, and will involve 2,500 paratroopers and 300 pieces of military hardware.
The announcement comes after last week’s surprise inspection of Russia’s Southern Military District and subsequent training exercises in southern Russia and the Crimea, …
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European Parliament ready to vote in favor of visa-free regime for Ukraine
The European Parliament is prepared to vote in favor of the abolition of visas for citizens of Ukraine, the President of the EP, Martin Schulz, said after a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Munich, according to Glavnoye.
"We are now waiting for a legislative proposal from the European Commission on the abolition of visas for citizens of Ukraine, which will come after the Verkhovna Rada votes in favor of the relevant laws," the President of the European Parliament said. …
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Nikolai Svanidze: The situation for Crimean Tatars is 'terrifying'
A member of the Council of the President of the Russian Federation on the issues of the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, Nikolay Svanidze, said that "the situation with the Crimean Tatars is terrifying”, as reported by Krim.Realii. He said this during the program "Minority Report" on the Ekho Moskvii radio station, which was broadcast on February 12th.
According to him, it's necessary to respond to the human rights violations in Crimea.
"We definitely must respond. In the Human …
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Swedish Defense Minister: Russia’s actions are the most serious challenge to security in Europe
Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist stated that Russia’s actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine are the most serious challenge to security in Europe.
“The illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia’s illegal interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine are the most serious challenges in the field of European security”, Hultqvist said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
The Swedish Defense Minister added that Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine is a threat to other neighboring …
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Ukraine and Georgia agree on the need to develop 'New Silk Road'
Ukraine and Georgia agreed on the need to continue to develop the New Silk Road; a rail route bypassing the Russian Federation, Ukraine’s Presidential Press Service said in a statement. It was noted that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko discussed the issue with the Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili during a meeting in Germany.
The two leaders “have discussed key issues on the bilateral agenda and agreed to activate economic cooperation, in particular, the development of the …
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NATO expects military reforms in Ukraine
The Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, stated that NATO will continue to help Ukraine reform its Armed Forces, Interfax-Ukraine reported. “We will provide economic support to Ukraine; we will try to support it in the military sector, in relation to the reform of Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Solberg stated during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
According to her, NATO hopes that Ukraine can cope with the challenges and carry out the necessary reforms in order to strengthen its …
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Threats prompt Russian opposition leader Mikhail Kasyanov to cancel meeting
Chairman of the Russian PARNAS party, Mikhail Kasyanov, cancelled a meeting with residents of Nizhny Novgorod due to threats against him and his associates, according to the party’s website.
“I don't want to encourage our supporters to have physical confrontations, and without the protection of our rights against tyranny, it is impossible, because on their side they have the state machine, money, TV and the courts,” Kasyanov stated.
The day before, several young men tried to disrupt Kasyanov’ …
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Interpol denies Russia's request to place Khodorkovsky on wanted list
Interpol has rejected Russia’s request to place Russian oppositionist and the former Head of Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, on the international wanted list. This was stated by the headquarters of Interpol in Lyon, as reported by the TASS news agency.
"After considering the request, the Interpol General Secretariat has determined that it does not meet the rules of the organization. In this case, the National Central Bureau of Interpol (NCB) in Moscow was notified that Interpol cannot cooperate …
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EU imposes new tariffs on steel imported from Russia and China
Russian exporters of cold-rolled steel products will have to pay a 26.2% fee to the European Union (EU) countries. The EU authorities imposed these anti-dumping duties for six months. For Severstal, the largest steel company in Russia, and for Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), the third largest steel company in Russia, the fee will be slightly less.
The authorities of the EU have also imposed these provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of cold-rolled steel from China for six …