Contents tagged with Putin

  • Georgian Foreign Ministry calls Putin's visit to Abkhazia a 'cynical act'

    Georgia’s Foreign Ministry has called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s to Abkhazia "a continuation of the deliberate policy" by Moscow against Tbilisi.

    "This cynical action on the ninth anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war leads to the legitimization of violent changes in the borders of a sovereign state through military aggression, ethnic cleansing and occupation," the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

    The Ministry believes that Putin's visit to the Republic, bypassing the …

  • NATO criticizes Putin’s official visit to Abkhazia

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to unrecognized Abkhazia, Reuters reports quoting the representative of the alliance.

    “The visit of President Putin to the Georgian region of Abkhazia on the ninth anniversary of the armed conflict undermines the efforts of the international community to reach a peaceful and agreeable solution to the conflict,” the report said.

    The NATO spokesman said that Putin’s visit should have been …

  • Georgia accuses Russia of trying to 'legitimize regions that were forcibly taken away’

    While commenting on the reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to visit Sukhumi on August 8, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili stated that Tbilisi would construct a meaningful response to the illegal actions of Russia, reported the Voice of America. August 8 is the day of the ninth anniversary of the Russian-Georgian war, after which Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.

    "These statements, which we heard in connection with the visit …

  • Georgia calls Putin’s intention to visit Abkhazia ‘an attempt of its annexation’

    The State Minister for Reconciliation and Civil Equality of Georgia, Ketevan Tsihelashvili, stated that the Russian President’s visit, scheduled for August 8th, to Abkhazia is "an occupation and an attempt at actual annexation", as reported by Georgia Online.

    "There are provocative actions and this visit should likely be considered as one at this point. This fits into the overall picture and is an ongoing provocation. This is an attempt at an actual annexation on Russia’s part, so our task is …

  • Putin signs law on debt repayment by Crimeans to Ukrainian banks

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on the repayment of debts by residents of the annexed Crimea to Ukrainian banks.

    The corresponding document was published on the president's website on Monday, reported RIA Novosti.

    In particular, it gives the borrower the right to apply to the Deposit Protection Fund (DPF) established by the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), with confirmation of freedom from cooperation with persons entitled to demand payment of the debt. At the same time, the …

  • Putin: Russia-US relations will not change anytime soon

    For the longest time, Russia had hoped for positive changes in relations with the US, before introducing new measures against Washington, stated Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vesti.Ru reports.

    "We waited for quite some time that maybe something will change for the better, had such hope that the situation will somehow change. However, judging by everything, if it changes, it will not be soon," the Russian leader said.

    Putin noted that he considered it necessary to show that Russia "will no …

  • Putin: 755 American diplomats must leave Russia

    Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the staff of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia will be reduced by 755 people.

    The personnel of the American diplomatic mission in Russia will be reduced by 755 people. Thereafter, the number will be the same as the Russian diplomatic mission in America – 455 people. Putin said this in an interview, the text of which was published on the website Vesti.ru.

    “As for other possible measures, or whether there are many or few, the diplomatic …

  • Putin signs law on visitor's tax for the Crimea

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that would impose a fee for the use of resort infrastructure in three regions of Russia and the annexed Crimea.

    The corresponding document is published on the Russian Federation's portal for legal information.

    It says that an "experiment on the development of resort infrastructure" will be carried out in these regions through December 31, 2022.

    Payers of the fee will be physical persons who have reached the age of majority and who are living …

  • Putin pardoned two women convicted for sending text messages about Russian tanks moving to Georgia

    Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned Annik Kesyan and Marina Dzhandzhgava, the two women convicted of high treason as a result of text messages they sent, as reported by Meduza news web site.

    Annik Kesyan was accused of sending two text messages in 2008 to a friend in Georgia saying that she saw that the military equipment was being transported by rail.

    Then, the recipient of the message asked the woman if the tanks were being transported. In response, the woman wrote, "Yes, they are …

  • Media: Putin had with him a ‘nuclear suitcase' during his official visit to Finland

    A journalist from the Finnish publication Ilta-Sanomat (IS), who attended a meeting between Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Punkaharju, saw the so-called "nuclear suitcase" in the hands of the Russian President 's aide-de-camp.

    The journalist's estimation is based on the external similarity of the suitcase to the black briefcase that an officer in naval uniform had with him.

    "As a rule, the operator of the 'Cheget' device is an officer with a rank not …