Contents tagged with Russia

  • Ukrainian MFA: Events in the French Parliament may lead to the lifting of sanctions on Russia

    Officials in the lower house of the French Parliament have put forward a proposal to abandon pressure on Russia through economic sanctions. This may lead to sanctions being lifted altogether.

    The Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine for European Integration, Olena Zerkal, discussed the issue on Channel 5 on Wednesday. When asked about the prospect of continuing European sanctions against Russia, she responded that she thought “it will not be easy, especially given the recent events that took …

  • Ukrainian Foreign Ministry: No consensus was reached on elections in the Donbas during Berlin meeting

    At their meeting in Berlin, the Foreign Ministers of the Normandy Four were unable to reach a consensus with Russia regarding Kiev’s conditions for elections in Donbas. This was reported by Interfax-Ukraine in reference to statements made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin.

    “We have not come to an agreement. Russia has presented their own versions of the electoral legislation. I have told the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, that we are perfectly capable of …

  • Two Ukrainian prisoners being held in Russian penal colonies were transferred to Moscow

    According to Radio Svoboda, Gennady Afanasiev’s lawyer, Alexander Popkov, reported that the two illegally convicted Ukrainians, Gennady Afanasiev and Yury Soloshenko, were transferred from penal colonies where they were serving their sentences to the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow. Afanasiev was brought from Syktyvkar by plane and Soloshenko came by train from Nizhny Novgorod.

    Popkov hopes that the transfer of his defendant is connected with the extradition process that was initiated by …

  • Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Russian Ambassador over controversial remarks

    The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Russian Ambassador Alexander Veshnyakov over his remarks in the media, as announced by the Press Secretary of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Raimonds Jansons.

    According to Jansons, the Ministry is concerned by the remarks made by Veshnyakov which appeared in several media sources.

    In his interview to the newspaper Vesti Segondya, Veshnyakov stated that "in Latvia, and several other countries, one can observe a deliberate …

  • NATO warships escorted Russian frigate in British territorial waters

    British warships, while on a NATO mission, escorted a Russian frigate which was en route from the Black Sea to the Baltic and was crossing British territorial waters.

    This was reported by the British newspaper "The Telegraph"

    Over the weekend the frigate Admiral Grigorovich was tracked by British HMS Iron Duke and was further followed by HMS Sutherland as far as the Channel.

    The Dutch ship HNLMS Rotterdam and the Belgian BNS Castor also joined the British vessel.

    “The Admiral Grigorovich …

  • Germany to expand its army due to tensions with Russia

    Germany plans to increase the size of its armed forces for the first time since 1990 due to tensions with Russia. “The Bundeswehr is expected to recruit an additional 14,300 troops over the next seven years; 4,400 civilian staff will be recruited as well,” Ursula von der Leyen, the German Minister of Defense, said on Tuesday.

    According to her, the expansion of the German army is necessary, owing to the current situation of increased tensions with Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine and also …

  • US law firm to defend Ukraine in dispute with Russia over assets in Crimea

    The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs hired the U.S. law firm Covington & Burling for $3.676 million to the protect Ukraine's interests in the international arbitration dispute with Russia over the annexation of the Crimea. The company has a reputation for successfully protecting clients' interests at various levels against the Russian Federation.

    The contract with Covington & Burling was signed on May 5th. The term of the provision of legal services lasts until December 31, 2016.

    In …

  • US to unveil European missile defense system

    The US’s European missile defense system will be officially declared operational on Thursday, despite Russia’s objections, Reuters reported.

    The announcement will come almost a decade after Washington first proposed such a system.

    US and NATO officials will gather in Deveselu, Romania for the inauguration of the missile defense site, the construction of which was finished in 2015.

    Construction of a second site in Poland is slated to begin on May 13th, and is due to be completed in 2018. …

  • The EU wants Ukraine to remain a gas transit country

    The European Commission is ready to facilitate a new transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine

    As was stated by the EU Climate and Energy Commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete, the European Union believes that Ukraine needs to remain a gas transit corridor, RIA Novosti reports.

    "Despite the economic and political challenges, Ukraine continues to be a reliable gas partner and a transit country. It is in the interest of all parties, including the Central and Eastern European countries, that …

  • Crimean Tatar Mejlis calls on the EU to strengthen sanctions against Russia

    The Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Refat Chubarov, called on the European Union to strengthen sanctions against Russia, including the imposition of a temporary embargo on oil and also to disconnect Moscow from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) as he stated on the Hromadske.tv TV Channel.

    “Against the background of increased oppression against Crimean Tatars, our task is to ensure that the international …