• US urges Russia to put an end to violence in eastern Ukraine

    Speaking at a session of the OSCE Permanent Council on March 7, Acting Deputy Chief of the US Mission to the OSCE Gregory Macris said that for five years Russia has been destabilizing Ukraine through its “manufactured conflict” in the country’s east, and breaching its obligations according to the Minsk Agreements, which constitute the roadmap to peace.

    According to Macris, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) has been observing numerous violations of the Minsk Agreements, and most of them …

  • Serbia to start construction of the Turkish Stream pipeline through its territory

    The Serbian government made a final decision to start the construction of the gas pipeline that will pass from Bulgaria to Hungary through the territory of the country, stated Minister of Mining and Energy of Serbia Aleksandar Antić, the local Kurir newspaper reported.

    The customer for the construction of the gas pipeline is Gastrans d.o.o. Novi Sad (51% and 49% of which are owned by Gazprom and Serbiagas, respectively). The pipeline will be 400 km long and will have a capacity of 13.88 …

  • Russia introduces fines for insulting authorities on the Internet

    The Russian State Duma adopted a law that introduces punishment for disrespectful Internet publications about the government and government officials.

    According to the Current Time  news outlet , individuals accused of “disseminating information expressed in an indecent manner that offends human dignity and public morality, [that shows] a clear disrespect of society, country, the official state symbols of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Russian Federation or bodies exercising …

  • Kremlin confirms that four American Mormons have been detained in Novorossiysk

    Four US citizens were detained in Novorossiysk, two of whom have already been deported from Russia by a court order, said the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova on Thursday, Interfax reports.

    According to her, the Americans were detained for violating Russian migration rules. Zakharova referred journalists to law enforcement agencies for further details.

    Russian media earlier reported that several Mormons were detained in Novorossiysk. It was reported …

  • Italian Embassy in Ukraine still investigating reports about Italian equipment in Crimea

    The Italian Embassy in Ukraine is continuing to investigate the reports of shipments of Italian-produced equipment to the Zolotaya Balka factory in Russian-annexed Crimea, said Italian Ambassador Davide La Cecilia while giving a presentation on Ukraine-Italy relations in Kyiv, Krym.Realii reports.

    “We are currently trying, through the ministry, to obtain information in order to find out what actually happened, because there are mechanisms for contravening sanctions. And when we clear up the …

  • Pompeo and the leaders of Cyprus and Greece will meet in Israel to discuss gas pipeline to Europe

    US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiadis will arrive in Israel in the near future to discuss the construction of the world's longest underwater EastMed gas pipeline from the Eastern Mediterranean to Europe, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of the Jewish state stated on Wednesday.

    “In a few days, the leaders of Cyprus and Greece will come here together with US Secretary of State Pompeo to advance the construction of a …

  • Slovak Foreign Ministry summons Russian ambassador over Crimea comments

    The Russian ambassador to Bratislava has been summoned to the Slovak Foreign Ministry and reprimanded for publicly criticizing statements by a Slovak official concerning the illegal annexation of Crimea.

    On February 26, Slovak State Defense Secretary Robert Ondrejcsak wrote that now, five years after the annexation of Crimea, “war is not taboo in Europe” and that “whether we want it or not, for the Russians we are the enemies”.

    In a social network post, the Russian embassy to Slovakia …

  • Kyiv denies Austrian pro-Russian journalist entry to Ukraine

    The Head of Ukrainian Bureau of the Austrian television channel ORF, Christian Vershutsu has been banned from entering Ukraine.  According to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU)The reason is the threat he poses to national security.

    “The head of the Ukrainian bureau of the Austrian television channel ORF, Christian Vershutsu, was banned from entering Ukraine for one year. This is reported by my sources in the Ukrainian Security Service,” the first deputy head of the Rada Committee on Freedom …

  • Turkey considers purchasing Russian S-500 missile systems

    The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey might buy the S-500 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, in addition to S-400 systems, a deal which has already been approved.

    Kanal 24 reports that Erdogan stressed that the contract for the S-400 systems is “a done deal,” and Ankara, in any case, will not refuse it. He also demanded that the US “stop trying to put pressure on Turkey through trade restrictions.” According to him, Turkey is ready to answer in kind. …

  • Military expert: Ukraine will create a 'retaliation' weapon against Russia

    Ukraine can and must create a “retaliation”, “deterrence and attack” weapon in order to “adequately respond” to Russia, Oleh Starikov, a retired colonel of the Security Service of Ukraine, said on News One TV channel.

    According to him, “retaliation” weapons are short-range missiles with a range of 500–1000 kilometers.

    “This is a weapon for deterrence and attack,” Starikov said.

    At present, Ukraine does not possess such missiles but it can create them at the Yuzhmash plant. The former colonel …