• Polish apples and Turkish oranges: the Kremlin's response to Ankara

     

    The Kremlin has not yet decided what measures will be taken to punish Turkey for the downed Su-24.  For now, the Russian government had decided to strike Turkey financially.  Turkish imports were banned and a one-sided visa regime for Turkish citizens entering Russia was introduced.  In Turkey, the visa-free regime for Russian citizens was never cancelled.Putin, and more precisely the Russian government, is trying to kill two birds with one stone. In situations in which the Russian budget …

  • The Kremlin reacts to arrest of Russian citizens in Kyiv

    The Kremlin learned about the arrest of Russians from the media.

    Earlier, as a result of a special operation in Kyiv, one Russian citizen was killed and two others were arrested according to Ukraine's Security Service.

    The Kremlin has no information about the detention of Russian citizens during a special operation in Kiev. This was announced by Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary for the Russian President, reports TASS (Russian News Agency). 

    “No, we don't have all the information. All we know …

  • Russia Demands Ukraine to Return to Soviet Standards

    Russia suggested that Kiev should completely refuse to work with European standards in the framework of the tripartite negotiations on the EU-Ukraine free trade zone from 2016.

    According to Moscow, it is necessary to return to the old industry standards of the Ukrainian regulatory field, which are not compatible with European standards.  In those areas old technical standards have already been adopted.

    The Russian Federation has demanded that Kiev revert to all GOST (USSR State Standards) and …

  • Khodorkovsky: Revolution in Russia Is Inevitable

    Revolution in Russia is inevitable and necessary.  Former Yukos Oil Company CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky stated it unequivocally during an interview from London that was broadcast on the "Open Russia" website.

    “Russian society needs to admit that there was an anti-constitutional coup in the country, and that Parliament has adopted illegitimate, repressive laws,” Khodorkovsky said.  “In the absence of the institution of fair elections and other mechanisms of legitimate power change, the only …

  • Italy Delays Decision on EU Sanctions against Russia

    At a meeting of European Union ambassadors the Italian diplomats requested further discussion on anti-Russian sanctions.  The exact date for discussion has not been appointed.

    As Radio Poland reports, the Italian proposal was supported by several other countries and as a result the decision about the sanctions’ extension was postponed.  According to sources in diplomatic circles, the discussion may resume on December 10 or be postponed until the EU Summit, scheduled for December 17-18.  The …

  • Group of suspected terrorists arrested in Ukraine

    As reported by Ukraine's Security Service, seven suspected terrorists were arrested during raids in Kyiv and Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv on December 9.The SBU security service said it had detained three Russian and four Ukrainian citizens after a shootout in which a special forces officer and the Ukrainian leader of the armed group were killed."Just in one place in the capital we found eight homemade explosive devices, four kilograms of TNT, automatic weapons, about forty hand grenades …

  • Kremlin threatens Ukraine with court over $3 billion debt

    After the International Monetary Fund's change in intercountry money lending policies (in hopes of assisting Ukraine), Russia is left no choice but to begin a $3 billion retrieval process from Kiev. As reported by TASS, Anton Siluanov, Russia's Minister of Finance, has stated that the Russian Federation will exercise any means necessary to protect its rights as a creditor. 

    According to Siluanov, the IMF's decision in lifting the ban on lending to the countries with defaulting sovereign debt, …

  • Russian human rights advocates demand investigation into the deaths of 159 military servicemen

    The chairperson of the standing Commission on Civil-Military relations of the Presidential Human Rights Council, Sergei Krivenko, intends to address the Investigative Committee and the Military Prosecutor  General and request an investigation into the 159 Russian servicemen who died between 1 January 2014 and 30 July 2015. According to Ukrainian daily ,Glavnoe ,that this number was the result of an own investigation by one of Russian human rights activist.

    This number is substantially lower …

  • Kravchuk: Budapest memorandum has to be revisited

    In a live broadcast on the First National TV Channel of Ukraine, former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kravchuk, stated that the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances, signed in 1994, is still pertinent.

    “The memorandum hasn’t been lost at all. We can raise the issue of compliance with the conditions of the memorandum, signed in 1994, at an international conference,” Kravchuk said. The politician is sure that Russia, as one of the signatories of the memorandum, will refuse to take part such …

  • Ukraine has implemented 97% of EU’s visa-free requirements

    Belgian newspaper EUobserver reported that Ukraine has implemented 97% of the EU’s requirements for the establishment of a visa-free regime. EUobserver listed key reforms introduced by Ukraine that helped move the country towards visa-free access to the EU, including the creation of  agencies and offices such as the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the National Agency on the Prevention of Corruption, and the Anti-Corruption Bureau. Similarly, the adoption of two laws regarding the …