Russian Minister of Energy Skeptical About Continued Crimean Reliance on Ukrainian Power Supply

According to the Russian Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak, he had no clear understanding concerning the continuation of work with Ukrainian electrical power system. Authorities of the Russian Federation do not anticipate the renewal of power supplies from Ukraine to Crimea.

“The peninsula counts on its own strength,” Novak said in Simferopol. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Energy denied the …

In the next two weeks the Council of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union (Coreper) will begin its work preparing proposals for the heads of EU Member States on the extension of economic sanctions against Russia. RIA Novosti reports that sources close to EU leadership believe that during the summit in December, members will decide on the renewal of these measures, presumably for another six months. 

According to one source, the draft document on economic sanctions …

The Ukrainian President, Petro Poroshenko and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, discussed the prospects of an expansion of the special cooperation between the two countries at the meeting that was held in Paris. Poroshenko told Trudeau about the current situation in Donbas and emphasized the importance of a unified view concerning the issue on the maintenance of sanctions against Russia until full restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine is achieved, the presidential …

A military plane from the Russian aviation group in Syria flew one mile into the airspace, which is under Israeli control and then left it, stated the Jewish State Minister of Defense, Moshe Ya'alon. According to Ya’alon, the plane flew into Israeli airspace for almost one mile as the result of a mistake. “We established communication with the Russian pilot, and he immediately changed his course for Syria,” stated Ya'alon.

The Minister reminded us that last year, Israel shot down Syrian Su-24, …

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, stated that the USA was aware of the route of the Russian bomber, which was shot down by Turkey on Tuesday. He stated they should have warned Turkey as its ally in the coalition.

“The American side, which heads the coalition in which Turkey is also included, knew the path our planes would take and the time of the flight, and it was during this time that the plane was shot down. Why did we share this information with the Americans?” asked Putin at a …

The Russian Presidential spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russia has suspended military cooperation with Turkey with regards to further military actions along Turkey- Syria borders. He added that the Russian operation in Syria has continued without restrictions and he is unaware of any agreements regarding the cessation of flights along the Syrian-Turkish border.

“We assume that Russian forces continue the operation in support of military offensives against terrorist organizations …

Over fourty civilians killed in a Russian bombing raid on a busy maketplace in the Syrian town of Ariha in the north-west Idlib province.The strikes came on a busy Sunday afternoon and were reported by the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The Observatory believes cluster bombs were used in the raid launched in support of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad. In addition to the market, several other areas of the town were hit.

The town of Ariha is not a stronghold of ISIS and has been …

Ukraine made a statement about its readiness to ensure food security for Turkey in case of export restrictions from the Russian side. Kiev intends to increase export of grain, corn and oil to the Turkish market. The Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Alexander Pavlenko, posted on his Facebook page, November 29, a statement which explains that Ukraine is ready to provide food for Turkey.

According to Pavlenko, if traditional partners of Turkey suspend grain export, Ukraine is …