Contents tagged with Putin

  • Lukashenko suspects that Kremlin is trying to incorporate Belarus into Russia

    At a press conference with reporters in Minsk, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that it is important for him to maintain independence from other countries, BelTA reported.

    Lukashenko noted that there are no absolutely independent states in the world. Russia itself, according to Lukashenko, is rather sovereign than independent.

    “If they want to divide us into regions and incorporate into Russia, as the LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky suggested, it will never happen. And if the …

  • Putin promises to get things straight with Cirque du Soleil in Moscow

    Vladimir Putin has promised to investigate the opening of a new venue of the Canadian circus, Cirque du Soleil, in the Skolkovo Center in Moscow.

    While speaking at a council session, Edgard Zapashny, director of the Great Moscow Circus, drew the president’s attention to the fact that a stationary venue of the Cirque du Soleil is to be opened in the Skolkovo Center in 2019. The artist considers this “unacceptable” because he fears it will negatively affect the Russian circus and Russian sport. …

  • The USA calls on Hungary to support Ukraine

    The United States urged Hungary to restore relations with Ukraine and not to try to block cooperation between Kyiv and NATO, stating “if Ukraine fails, Hungary will be at the front line of Russian aggression,” the Voice of America reported.

    US Ambassador in Budapest David Kornstein told the Parliament Committee that Hungary can do more for “establishing priority alliances” while Russia again poses a threat to Ukraine and Europe. “Now more than ever, Russia is testing the West,” Kornstein noted …

  • Putin expresses sympathy for Russian agent Butina detained in the US

    At a meeting of the Human Rights Council in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the case of the Russian woman Maria Butina arrested in the USA. According to Putin, Russian special services do not know anything about her.

    “But this girl Butina, how unfortunate, she is in prison, she faces 15 years. For what?” stated the Russian President.

    He added that after he heard about Butina’s arrest, he asked Russian special services leaders about her. “Who is she? Nobody knows anything …

  • Putin's ID found in German intelligence archives

    Russian President Vladimir Putin’s identity card has been found in the archives of the Ministry of State Security of the GDR (Stasi), reports the Bild newspaper.

    According to the newspaper, Putin was the Stasi employee until the end of the GDR’s existence. The certificate was discovered in the archives “personnel and qualification” department in Dresden. It was issued on December 31, 1985, and was extended quarterly until the end of 1989. The newspaper notes that this document has Putin's …

  • Putin to appoint a new chief of military intelligence

    Russian President Vladimir Putin will appoint a new Chief of Military Intelligence instead of the recently deceased Igor Korobov.

    According to several Russian media outlets, the successor will become Vice-Admiral Igor Kostyukov, who after the death of Korobov, served as the head of the main intelligence directorate of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

    As reported by the newspaper Kommersant, Kostyukov was born on February 21, 1961, in the Amur region of Russia. He received a naval …

  • Merkel urges Putin to release detained Ukrainian sailors

    The press secretary of the federal government Steffen Seibert stated that the German Chancellor Angela Merkel conducted a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    According to the message, the two sides discussed the situation in the Kerch Strait. During the conversation, Merkel urged the Russian president to release the detained  Ukrainian sailors and to ensure the passage of ships through the Kerch Strait. The parties also discussed gas transit from Russia through …

  • Putin's aide Surkov to represent Russia at the Normandy Four meeting

    Vladislav Surkov, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin will represent Russia at the meeting of advisers on international affairs of the Normandy Four leaders, according Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, Interfax reports. “Surkov should represent us,” Peskov said.

    Earlier, Russia and Germany agreed to resolve the Kerch Crisis through the Normandy format, a diplomatic group of the representatives of four countries: Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and France.

  • China refuses to invest in Russian economy

    Russia’s attempt to shift its economic policy towards the East following the annexation of Crimea and the start of western sanctions has hit a dead end, reports finanz.ru.

    Despite numerous appeals by Russia’s leaders, Chinese companies refuse to invest in Russian real ecomony, and are following the example set by western businesses, and withdrawing their money.

    Between January and June, the total volume of direct foreign investments from China into Russia dropped by 24%, the Central Bank of …

  • President of Belarus apologizes to Putin for the 'stormy' dispute over gas prices

    President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko commented on the public discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the gas prices which took place on Thursday, December 6, at the summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in St. Petersburg. Speaking on the Russia TV channel, the President of Belarus admitted that he had to apologize to Putin.

    "I spoke in a bad tone, so I had to apologize to the host of today's meeting. The discussion was very heated. You'd better not listen to it," …