Contents tagged with Europe
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Juncker: Sanctions on Russia will be lifted only after the Minsk Agreements are implemented
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the complete execution of the Minsk Agreements is the only way for sanctions to be lifted against Russia. He stated this at the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, RBC reported.
Juncker explained that Russia has violated the basic principles of international law by annexing the Crimean Peninsula and by its involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine.
"Russia's actions have shaken the principles of European …
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Polish Foreign Minister: We need to return to traditional methods to deal with Russia
The Polish Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, stated that while addressing of international challenges it is necessary to refuse to cooperate with Russia and return to traditional methods of protecting NATO member countries, TASS reports.
Waszczykowski believes that Russia’s actions raise the question of "no longer believing that it is possible to address international challenges with Russia.”
Instead, he suggested a return to “strategic, geopolitical thinking; to normal, traditional …
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NATO to discuss establishing a rotational ground force in the Baltic States
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told journalists travelling with him to the U.S-European Command in Stuttgart on May 2nd that NATO is considering the possibility of establishing a rotational ground force in the Baltic States and Poland as a deterrent to Russian aggression.
According to Ashton Carter, there is a proposal to establish four rotational ground battalions consisting of 4,000 soldiers each.
These troops will be created in addition to the U.S. Armed Brigade comprised of 4,200 …
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Swedish PM: We are not interested in Moscow's opinion regarding Sweden joining NATO
The Swedish Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, in response to comments made by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, on the possibility of Stockholm joining NATO, stated that Stockholm does not need Moscow’s opinion to make decisions.
Löfven noted that the words of the Russian Minister were "absolutely useless," emphasizing that no one seemed interested in Moscow’s opinion regarding this issue.
"In Sweden we make our own decisions regarding defense and security policy. In this regard we …
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Geoffrey Pyatt: The US is disappointed with the results of the Ukraine-EU referendum
Geoffrey Pyatt, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, expressed his country’s disappointment with the results of the consultative referendum on the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine held in the Netherlands. "Of course, we are disappointed with the result. But we respect democratic practices of the Netherlands,” Pyatt told journalists on Friday in Kiev.
According to him, the US continues to consider that the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU is "a good thing for Ukraine …
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Naftogaz breaks with Gazprom
Naftogaz of Ukraine has no plans to resume purchasing gas from PJSC Gazprom after April 1, 2016, because the price of gas offered by the Russian company for the second quarter of 2016 is higher price than what is offered to Naftogaz by European suppliers, the press service of the Ukrainian company stated.
It was reported that Gazprom has refused to extend their “winter package” agreement with Naftogaz, that defined the transition conditions for the purchase of Russian gas for Ukraine. …
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Mogherini: Montenegro's accession to NATO will promote stability in the region
The head of EU Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, at a meeting with the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, in Brussels, welcomed the country's role in international politics as a reliable partner of the European Union, according to a statement by the European External Action Service on the results of the negotiations.
As noted in the document, Mogherini "expressed the EU’s appreciation for the full compliance of the country with all the positions of the EU's foreign policy and …
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Bank that gave loan to French National Front went bankrupt in Russia
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has established an interim administration for the first Czech-Russian bank, which is known for providing loans to the National Front political party (France), headed by Marine Le Pen. “The interim administration will quickly prepare proposals regarding the future activities of the bank,” as reported on the bank’s website.
Russian media had previously reported on problems at the bank. In particular, on the 13th of March, the daily newspaper Vedomosti …
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Serbia refuses to support sanctions against Russia
Serbia does not intend to join the list of countries imposing sanctions against Russia, the Permanent Representative of Serbia to the UN stated. This comment was made in response to the EU's call to all states to consider the possibility of imposing sanctions against Moscow on the second anniversary of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.
The First Counselor of the Permanent Mission, Ana Ilic, noted that the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of …
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BP-Azerbaijan committed to transporting gas to Europe
The BP-Azerbaijan Company remains committed to its plan to transport gas, which will be extracted during the second phase of the development of the Azerbaijan Shah Deniz gas condensate field, to Turkey in 2018 and to Europe in 2020, as said by the Regional President for BP-Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Gordon Birrell. According to him, the Shah Deniz-2 project is at two-thirds compliance at this time.
"The Shah Deniz gas condensate field remains stable and reliable. Last year nearly 10 …