Kiev informs Russia that it is prohibited from carrying out elections on Ukrainian territory
Ukraine has prohibited Russia from holding State Duma elections on its territory, as reported by the press secretary of the President, Svyatoslav Tsegolko. "The President instructed the Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform Moscow that they would not be allowed to hold elections in Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter.
Russian elections will be held on the 18th of September. The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that polling stations are planned in the …
French Defense Minister: France will help Georgia develop an air defense system
France will help Georgia implement an air defense system, as stated by French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian during his visit to Tbilisi, Deutsche Welle reported.
Le Drian said that France will “soon make a proposal for action so that Georgia is able to develop effective means of [ensuring] its air defense, which is central to its sovereignty.”
The Minister added that in the near future, a French officer will arrive in Georgia who will oversee the implementation of new air defense …
Russian and Chinese navies to hold joint naval exercises in the South China Sea
Russia and China will hold joint naval drills in the South China Sea off the coast of China’s Guangdon province, Reuters reported, citing the Chinese Navy.
The exercises will begin and Monday and will last eight days.
The two navies will carry out defense and rescue operations, as well as exercises focusing on seizing islands.
The exercises come after the arbitration court in The Hague ruled that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea.
Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, …
Western NIS Enterprise Fund intends to invest at least $5 million in Ukrainian IT projects
The Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), which was created with U.S. government funds, intends to invest at least $5 million into commercial start-ups in the IT-sector of Ukraine. It was announced by Yaroslava Z. Johnson, WNISEF President and CEO. "We received permission to establish a new fund for startups in the IT-sector," she told reporters.
Yaroslava Johnson specified that WNISEF, since its inception in 1994, has already completed most of the investments. However, due to unfavorable …
260 foreign merchant vessels have entered Crimean ports since the peninsula's annexation
From 18 March 2014 to 15 August 2016, 260 merchant vessels flying the flags of 32 countries entered ports of the occupied Crimea - Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Yalta, Feodosia, and Kerch – violating bans and sanctions, as demonstrated by the monitoring of information portal BSNews, which uses AIS (automatic identification system) vessel tracking systems.
Vessels which provide passenger and cargo services in and out of ports on the Crimean peninsula and also special vessels taking part in the …