Contents tagged with USA

  • Moscow does not plan to discuss sanctions during John Kerry's visit

    According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, Russia will not bring up the issue of sanctions during US Secretary of State John Kerry’s upcoming visit to Moscow. If Kerry were to initiate such a discussion, however, the Foreign Ministry would welcome it.

    “We are not bringing it up [the subject of sanctions], we did not impose the sanctions. If our American colleagues wish to, of course, we will hear them, but we discuss it neither with the Europeans …

  • Dzhemilev to ask UN to strengthen sanctions against Russia

    Ukrainian presidential envoy for Crimean Tatar Affairs, Mustafa Dzhemilev, is planning a trip to New York where he plans to make a speech at the UN Security Council. This was reported by his press service.

    In an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper Day, before the trip, Dzhemilev said that he intends to announce information about human rights violations in Crimea. He also plans to ask members of the UN to strengthen sanctions against Russia.

    "Every year, the UN Security Council holds a …

  • Kremlin rejects Obama’s call for release of Savchenko

    Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov commented on a telephone conversation between the presidents of the US and Russia, in which Barack Obama urged Vladimir Putin to release Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, as Interfax reported.

    According to Peskov, Putin rebuffed Obama’s request, saying that he was interfering in the trial.

    “The President [Obama] has been given multiple clarifications on this matter, as have other colleagues abroad on other levels of government, since we are speaking about …

  • The US urges Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine

    On the occasion of the second anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea, US State Department spokesman John Kirby issued a statement which reiterated the US's commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

    "The United States does not accept Russia's 'referendum' on March 16, 2014, and does not recognize an attempt of the annexation of Crimea, which violates the international law," a press release by the United States Foreign Service stated.

    Kirby stressed that since …

  • Bill on countering Russian propaganda presented in the US Senate

    A new bill aimed at strengthening Washington’s efforts in countering propaganda and misinformation spread by Russia, China and other countries, was presented in the US Senate. The bill, entitled Countering Information Warfare Act of 2016, was created in response to calls by the US Congress, European governments and NATO to strengthen forces to counter misinformation campaigns.

    The new US legislation, developed by the United States Senator from Ohio, Rob Portman and the United States Senator …

  • The Pentagon: Only a few Russian aircraft have left Syria

    US Colonel Steve Warren, Director of Defense Press Operations and Spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), the US military operation against the so-called Islamic State, claimed that it was hard to interpret Russian intentions towards the extremist group.

    The US-led coalition, which has been fighting against the so-called Islamic State, notes that some Russian military aircraft and troops left Syria, but their main forces there remain mostly unchanged.

    This was announced by Colonel …

  • Latvia detects Russian warships near its territorial waters

    The Latvian National Armed Forces has detected Russian warships in its economic zone.

    "In the Latvian economic zone, at a distance of 20 nautical miles from the state border, armed forces detected a Russian warship of the Steregushchiy class, a submarine technical support vessel of Kashtan class and the Kilo class submarine," this was stated in a message on the Armed Forces of Latvia’s Twitter page.

    It is worth noting that NATO counted 250 recent interceptions of Russian military aircraft in …

  • Nuland: The US will continue to provide Ukraine with military assistance and training

    The US will continue to provide Ukraine with military assistance, including training military personnel at the Yavorov training site in the Lvov region, as reported by the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland.

    She noted that Washington has already provided $226 million in support to Kiev "in the security arena." Moreover, American specialists trained 1,200 soldiers from the Armed Forces and 750 military personnel of the National Guard of Ukraine.

    In …

  • Obama urges Putin to release Nadiya Savchenko

    During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 14th, US President Barack Obama urged the Russian leader to release Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, Interfax reported.

    The news agency quoted the press secretary of the US Embassy in Moscow, Will Stevens.

    "President Obama also urged President Putin to release detained pilot and parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko in accordance with the Minsk commitment to release all unlawfully detained persons," Stevens said. …

  • US State Department calls on Russia to implement Minsk Agreements and release Nadiya Savchenko

    According to Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Washington demands that Russia fulfill the requirements of the Minsk Agreements. The Assistant Secretary also called on Moscow to release Nadiya Savchenko.

    The US administration intends to uphold sanctions against Russia that were imposed due to the annexation of Crimea, stated Nuland on Tuesday, March 15th. "We will continue to cooperate with Ukraine on the …