Contents tagged with Russia

  • EU Commissioner of Energy doubts the necessity of Nord Stream II

    The European Union doubts the economical necessity of Gazprom’s Nord Stream II project, as stated by the European Commissioner for Energy, Maroš Šefčovič, during the Ukrainian Energy Forum, as reported by a European Pravda correspondent.

    “It is a private project which provides for the expansion of Russian gas transit through the Baltic Sea. However, why does the European Union need the additional gas transit capacity if the current gas transportation system is only running at 50% capacity? …

  • Russian representative to the EU hopes that sanctions will be lifted this summer

    A scenario where sanctions against Russia will be ‘eternal’ is contrary to the basic economic interests of the countries of the European Union, said Russia's Permanent Representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov.

    Russia's permanent representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, expressed hope that sanctions against the Russian Federation will be lifted in the summer 2016.

    "I think at some point, the sanctions will be simply lifted, hopefully in the summer.  To expect a solution that would allow …

  • Pavlo Klimkin: Russia carries out large-scale human rights violations against Crimean Tatars

    According to Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, Russia is violating the rights of the Crimean Tatars.

    This was stated by Klimkin during his speech on Tuesday, March 1st at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, as reported by Evropeiskaya Pravda.

    According to him, Russia, as an occupying power, carries out large-scale human rights violations on the Peninsula, especially in regards to the indigenous population- the Crimean Tatars.

    “They carry out a …

  • General Breedlove recommends providing Ukraine with weapons

    Speaking at a hearing of the US Senate’s Armed Services Committee, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, General Philip Breedlove, said that he had recently recommended that the US provide Ukraine with lethal weapons.

    On Tuesday, March 1st, Breedlove stated that Europe is facing a "resurgent, aggressive Russia" that is seeking to reestablish a leading role on the world stage.

    "Russia has chosen to be an adversary and poses a long-term existential threat to the United States and to our …

  • Russia to build five military complexes along border with Ukraine; one in Crimea

    In 2016 and 2017, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to replace 330 military bases and warehouses with 24 transshipment and logistics complexes.  One of these complexes will be located in Crimea, and five will be situated near the border with Ukraine.

    The Russian newspaper, Kommersant, published a map showing the planned complexes.

    The Ministry of Defense has said that these plans will reduce the spending of the military department by almost half, which would be 14.8 billion rubles.  They …

  • UK Representative to the UN: Sanctions will not be lifted until Russia withdraws its weapons and troops from eastern Ukraine

    Today, at a UN Security Council session, the British Ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, stated that sanctions against Russia would remain in effect until Moscow removes their weapons and personnel from the Donbas and influences local militias to cease hostilities.

    “Now we need a sustained ceasefire in The Donbas,” he said. According to him, the Russian Federation should “show political will” in order to restore Ukraine’s sovereignty and fulfill its international obligations, UNIAN reported.

    “Russia …

  • Bertelsmann Foundation: Russia is becoming increasingly autocratic

    Political and social conflicts are increasing around the world and as conflict escalates, the influence of religion on politics is growing and authoritarian tendencies are intensifying.  This is evidenced by the publication of the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) for 2014-2016 on Monday, February, 29th. The BTI is a survey of political and economic developments in 129 developing and transitional countries.

    Russia is currently at 81st place in the BTI ranking, dropping four positions …

  • Meeting planned between Foreign Ministers of Iran, Russia, and Azerbaijan

    The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it is planning to hold a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan.

    “Soon there will be a trilateral meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia. At this meeting will be discussed issues concerning the realization of the agreements reached at the meeting between Hassan Rouhani [President of Iran] and Ilham Aliyev [President of Azerbaijan],” APA quoted a representative of Iranian Foreign Ministry as …

  • UK representative at the UN calls on Russia to release all Ukrainian political prisoners

    At the UN Security Council session, the British Representative for the United Nations, Matthew Rycroft, reported that Great Britain called on Russia to release all Ukrainians political prisoners, including those who are in Russia and in illegally annexed Crimea, a UNIAN correspondent reported. According to him, there has since been a positive exchange of hostages between Ukraine and militants.

    “We called on Russia to release all illegally detained Ukrainians, including those who are in Russia …

  • Baltic States expect a larger NATO presence

    The Baltic States are expecting an expansion of NATO troops on their territory, as was stated by the head of the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs.

    In July, at the NATO Summit in Warsaw, the Baltic States will need a “very strong statement” from the alliance that “will stay there until as long as we’ve got such a neighbor [Russia],” he said in an interview with the Washington Post.

    According to the Minister, he “is convinced that the NATO Military Contingent staying in the …