Contents tagged with France

  • Media: France intends to openly oppose Nord Stream 2 pipeline

    France suddenly decided to join the countries that oppose the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, Gazprom's third effort to bypass Ukraine with the gas pipeline in the past six years.

    Suddeutsche Zeitung reports, citing sources in the French Government, representatives of Paris intend to vote for the amendments to the EU Gas Directive that would deprive Gazprom of control over the pipeline and could inhibit the planned maximum supply of 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year.

    The second Nord …

  • Ukraine negotiates purchase of 22 patrol ships from France

    The head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine or SBGS, Petro Tsyhykal announced in an interview with 5 Channel TV that Ukraine has begun negotiations with France on the purchase of 22 patrol ships for the SBGS. 

    “We are working on possible options for strengthening our naval units in the Sea of Azov. We have already repaired several of our ships and boats, including the [Ukrainian Command Ship] Donbas. Last year, UMC-1000 motorboats with improved running characteristics were put into …

  • France gives Kyiv grant for Ukraine’s first energy storage facility

    France has provided Ukraine with a €560,000 grant in order to build the country’s first energy storage facility, Ukraine’s national energy company, Ukrenergo, announced.

    The project will be realized by Ukrenergo in partnership with the French Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE) and a subsidiary of RTE International.

    Over the next six months, RTE International will work on the first stage of the project, the feasibility study and other technical preparation for the future operations. In …

  • French ambassador: number of Russians requesting visas has grown by 40%

    During the reception of the diplomatic mission in Moscow , French ambassador to Russia Sylvie Bermann stated that demand among Russian tourists for visas to France according to last year’s results increased by 40%, RBC reports.

    “The number of visa requests increased by more than 40% in 2018,” she said.

    According to her, the requests continue to grow. She noted that the French government is ready to accept all tourists from Russia, who plan on visiting France.

    Also, Bermann stressed that …

  • France provides Ukraine with a $64 million loan to upgrade water supply system in Mariupol

    On Tuesday, Ukraine signed a contract with France for a line of credit to complete the project of providing water in Mariupol. 

    The loan in the amount of 64 million euros is allocated for 30 years with a 10-year grace period. The Ukrainian government’s press service indicated that the rate would be 0.08% per annum. 

    The water that is supplied to apartments in Mariupol comes from the Northern Donetsk river, which crosses the line of demarcation several times. Due to the conflict in the Donetsk …

  • Lavrov: Putin agreed to allow representatives of Germany and France to monitor the Kerch Strait

    Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s request to send German and French observers to the Kerch Strait, stated Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

    "Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the President to allow German specialists to come to the region of the Kerch Strait over a month ago and to see how the navigation is done, taking into account that safety regulations should be observed... and President Putin agreed immediately,” …

  • France plans to continue military presence in Syria and Iraq in 2019

    Speaking at a military base near Toulouse on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that French troops will continue to take part in the activities of the international coalition in Syria and Iraq despite the announced withdrawal of the US troops.

    The president addressed his speech being broadcast by his press service to military, “The retreat from Syria announced by our American friends cannot make us deviate from our strategic objective: eradicating Daesh, freeing all territories …

  • Medical humanitarian aid from France arrives in Donbas

    The United Force operation press service reported that humanitarian medical supplies worth over UAH 2.1 million or approximately $77,777, sent from France, will be received by military and civilian medical institutions in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

    “On January 3rd, 2019, according to planned activities, humanitarian cargo for medical purposes in the amount of more than 2.1 million UAH arrived from France. After distributing the orthoses, medical furniture and equipment, medical clothes …

  • France extradites former Russian regional finance minister

    France has extradited Alexey Kuznetsov, former finance minister of Russia’s Moscow Oblast, to Russia. In Russia, the former official faces charges of fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering. Moscow has been pushing for his extradition since 2013, the BBC Russian service reports.

    The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday that the extradition had taken place.

    “Today, accompanied by personnel from the Federal Penitentiary Service and the Russian bureau of Interpol, …

  • Macron and Putin discuss Kerch Strait incident

    French President Emmanuel Macron and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Kerch crisis in a phone call, the official Kremlin website reports. 

    Putin told the press service that he and Macron had continued the “exchange of opinions” on the topic, but did not provide any further details on the discussion. 

    The two presidents also considered the problems of the Syrian situation in detail. 

    According to a communique from the Élysée Palace, Macron …