Contents tagged with Russia
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NATO concerned over Russia's actions in the Sea of Azov
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the countries members of the Alliance are alarmed by Russia’s "destabilizing" behavior in the Sea of Azov. According to Radio Liberty, Stoltenberg assured that NATO is keeping an eye on this issue.
The NATO Secretary General said that Russia's actions in the Sea of Azov follow a pattern of a behavior model that Moscow has been demonstrating for a long time.
According to Stoltenberg, this model includes Russia’s annexation of the Crimea as well …
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Ukraine: Russia sends Donbas coal to Turkey and Poland
Russia is selling Ukrainian coal, mined in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces and mixed with coal mined in Russia, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin at a briefing on the Lviv Security Forum. In this way, coal mined in the Donbas can end up in Turkey and even Poland, UNN reports.
“We have information that Russia is manipulating coal from the occupied territories [of Ukraine], which they mix with Russian coal, so that we cannot simply detect it chemically, and then it goes to Turkey,” …
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Sentsov awarded Sakharov Prize
The Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is currently being imprisoned in Russia, has been awarded the “Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought”.
Sentsov is the first Ukrainian ever to receive this award, which is presented by European Parliament for an outstanding contribution to the defense of human rights and basic freedoms. The presentation ceremony is scheduled to be held in Strasbourg on December 12.
The Ukrainian political prisoner’s candidacy was proposed by European Parliament’s …
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Putin introduces bill allowing Central bank to look for foreign accounts of Russian officials
On Wednesday, October 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a bill to the State Duma allowing General Prosecutor’s Office to work with the authorities of foreign countries to verify compliance with anti-corruption restrictions against Russian officials. The decree was published on the Russian Duma electronic database website.
Russian legislation prohibits high-ranking deputies, civil servants, officials and senators from opening and holding accounts and deposits in foreign banks, or …
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Russia promises to respond to deployment of US troops in Poland
Poland’s plans to deploy a division of the US Armed Forces on its territory will not contribute to stability and the strengthening of the regional security, and if it happens, Russia will have to respond to it, stated Sergey Shoygu, the Russian Defense Minister.
“In such conditions we will have to respond and should be ready to neutralize possible military threats in all directions,” he said during his speech in Minsk at the joint collegium of the Defense Ministry of Russia and Belarus.
The …
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Media: Chinese banks refuse to serve Russians because of sanctions risk
Russians are facing difficulties working with Chinese banks because of sanctions risks, the newspaper Kommersant reported, referring to the record of the meeting of the Sub-Commission on Cooperation in Financial Fields between Russia and China where this problem was discussed.
According to the newspaper, the meeting took place on September 27 to 28 in Shenzhen. The parties discussed “barriers that prevent making interbank payments and opening correspondent accounts.” Moscow persistently raised …
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Media: Italy intends to ask Putin for a bail out
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte came to Russia on an official visit on Wednesday. Conte is the head of Italy’s populist government which was formed after summer elections as a coalition between the anti-establishment “Five Star Movement” and the anti-migration party “Northern League”.
Conte spoke to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in the morning, and later met with President Vladimir Putin.
During the talks, Conte intended to ask Putin for financial assistance, as he had been …
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Russian insurers refuse to insure Russian space program
Not a single Russian insurance company has bid to insure the upcoming launch of the Progress MS-10 spacecraft with a Soyuz-FG launch rocket. The spacecraft will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in November.
This was reported by Interfax, citing documentation from the Russian state procurement website. The client was TsENKI, a subsidiary of Roscosmos, which announced its call for proposals on October 10.
The premium on the contract would be capped at 116.5 million rubles for a …
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Putin threatens to point nuclear missiles at Europe
Russia will be forced to respond in kind to the US’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
If European countries agree to have American missiles deployed in them, as was the case in the 1980s, they will “have to understand that they are putting their territory at risk of a response strike from Russia,” Putin remarked after talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in the Kremlin.
“It isn’t our choice,” …
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Recent Putin and Trump meeting costs Finland €1.7 million more than expected
The expenses for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump increased from €4 million to €5.7 million, following amendments to the country's budget for 2018, according to an update posted to the Finnish government’s website.
The expenses include the remuneration of police, border guard, defense forces and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The message did not specify what allocations each department received or whether they were increased.
In July 2018, …