Contents tagged with USA

  • Kremlin takes over sanctioned Russian-Venezuelan bank

    The Russian government has decided to take over VTB Bank’s shares in Evrofinance Mosnarbank, which has come under sanctions for servicing payments by the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela.

    VTB’s share in the bank of 25% plus one share, which is held through VTB’s foreign offices and ITC Consultants, will most likely be transferred to the Federal Agency for State Property Management at no cost, VTB head Andrey Kostin announced on Thursday.

    “The decision has been made, and it has been approved …

  • Russian Foreign Ministry: Western sanctions against Russia are ‘hypocritical'

    On Saturday, Moscow condemned the “hypocrisy” of new Western sanctions imposed against a number of Russian officials because of their involvement in the seizure of Ukrainian vessels in the Kerch Strait last year. The Kremlin warned that Russia will respond to the Western states’ actions.

    On Friday, the United States, Canada and the European Union introduced new sanctions against more than a dozen Russian officials and companies in response to the ongoing Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine.

    “ …

  • Russian oil conglomerate Rosneft threatens to sue Washington after US accuses it of buying Venezuelan oil

    Rosneft has responded to the accusations voiced by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the Russian company is buying oil from Venezuela in contravention of the sanctions. The response was published on the official Rosneft website.

    “Rosneft is assessing the consequences of the statements made by US officials, and if damage is identified, it will seek to protect its rights in accordance with the standards of international law,” the document states.

    The Russian oil company emphasizes that it …

  • Erdogan: Turkey will receive the first shipment of Russian S-400 missile systems in summer

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in an interview with Channel Haberturk that Russia will start supplying S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to Turkey in July this year.  

    He noted that he has already told US President Donald Trump about the completion of the deal and that he is not going to cancel it. “We have made the purchase. Stepping back is out of the question. Russia will start supplies of the surface-to-air missile systems in July this year. I told Trump about this,” …

  • Washington: Turkey and Russia’s S-400 missile systems deal is a national security concern

    Turkey’s agreement to purchase Russian S-400 missile systems is a national security problem for NATO countries. The Alliance cannot use F-35 fighters in combination with these Russian missile systems, a high-level representative of the US leadership stated on Thursday, March 14.

    The official that talked anonymously with a group of journalists specified that Ankara's purchase of the S-400 cannot be equated to Turkey's withdrawal from NATO. However, he noted that the deal between Ankara and …

  • US deploys strategic bombers to Europe

    The United States deployed another B-52H Stratofortress, strategic bomber capable of carrying nuclear cruise missiles and aerial bombs, to the RAF Fairford base in the UK, reported Interfax Ukraine with a reference to the air traffic control services.

    Earlier, three bombers had already landed at the Fairford airbase. According to reports, the number of the strategic bombers at the base may be increased to 6-8.

    There hasn’t been such a massive transfer of US Air Force strategic bombers to …

  • Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska sues the US Treasury Department and Secretary Steven Mnuchin

    Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska intends to make US authorities cancel the personal sanctions against him through the courts. The businessman intends to sue the US Treasury Department and Secretary Steven Mnuchin for damages equal to $7.5 billion in estimated losses.

    Deripaska’s lawsuit appeared in the US judicial database and was referred to the Court of the District of Columbia. Deripaska stated that he was included in the US sanctions as a result of the political struggle over Russia's …

  • Russia promises ‘a practical response’ to new U.S. and Canadian sanctions

    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation responded to the new sanctions against Russia, imposed by the US and Canada because of Moscow’s actions against Ukraine, promising a “practical response”, which “will certainly ensue”.

    "At the same time for everyone except, perhaps, the authors of such decisions, it is obvious that the sanctions, no matter how many, do not lead to the desired results for the United States and Canada. By believing in their own infallibility, they …

  • Pentagon: US should have the right to inflict the first nuclear blow

    During a meeting in the U.S. Senate, which was broadcasted on the website of the Senate Committee on Armed Forces, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee, Joseph Dunford, was asked to clarify his opinion about Washington’s right to attack first with a nuclear strike.

    “It seems to me that our current policy (which allows such a right in the field of defense) complicates the adversary’s decision-making process. I would not recommend making a decision that will make this process …

  • The US to provide Ukraine with two additional Island-class patrol boats

    During a hearing in the United States House of Representatives ,The Commander-in-Chief of the United NATO forces in Europe Curtis Scaparrotti stated that the United States intends to send two more Island-class boats to Ukraine.

    “We have worked and will continue to work on the naval sector with their [Ukrainian] Navy. We have a good relationship with them, and now there is an increase in funding that we request from Congress for the transfer of marine funds to Kiev, primarily two ships, island …