Contents tagged with Russia

  • Russian imports of passenger cars fell by half in 2015

    Imports of trucks from foreign countries has decreased by 65.9% to 20,100 units while truck imports from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries have decreased by 9.3% to 2,400 units.

    Imports of passenger cars to Russia from non-CIS countries has decreased in 2015 by 49.9% to 336,400 units.  These imports from CIS countries have decreased by 58.6% to 13,500 units.  This data was published on the website of the Federal Customs Service (FCS) of Russia on the 5th of February. …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence Releases Data on Russian Military Losses in the Donbas Region

    According to Ukrainian intelligence, hundreds of Russian soldiers were killed in eastern Ukraine after the Minsk Agreements were signed. 

    According to the representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Vadim Skibitskiy, from January to September of 2015, 627 soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were killed in eastern Ukraine. In addition, 2,155 soldiers were injured.

    Skibitskiy stated in an interview, " …

  • Russian Finance Ministry Seeks Foreign Loans

    Russia has sent 25 requests to foreign banks for Eurobonds in 2016, as stated in documents the Ministry of Finance of Russia published on its website on February 5th.

    Requests, in particular, are directed to Barclays, BNP Paribas, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of China, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, J. P. Morgan, Deutsche Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Crédit Agricole, Credit Suisse, Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg, Morgan Stanley, Mizuho Financial, Nomura, Citigroup, Societe …

  • Erdoğan: Moscow and Damascus are responsible for the deaths of 400,000 Syrians

    According to the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Russia and the Syrian leadership are responsible for the deaths of 400 000 people in Syria.

    Erdoğan stated that the responsibility for these deaths lies with Moscow and Damascus.  “Russia should be held responsible for the people it killed inside the Syrian border.  Due to Moscow’s cooperation with the regime in Damascus, the death toll has reached 400 000 people,” Erdoğan said this at a conference held in Senegal on the 5th of …

  • French MFA: Russia's support for Assad regime is 'torpedoing' peace talks

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs of France, Loran Fabius, has stated that Russian and Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad is detrimental to the Syrian peace process.

    “This is completely torpedoing peace talks in Geneva,” Fabius stated.  He said this upon his arrival to an informal meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the EU.

    “It requires a political decision.  Political discussions cannot be conducted when one of the parties destroys another.  Both parties have to return …

  • Ukrainian Intelligence Learns of Putin Adviser's Plan to Visit Separatist-Held Regions

    The Deputy Director of the Ministry of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Vadim Skibitskiy, indicated that the Russian Presidential Advisor, Vladislav Surkov, plans to visit the occupied Donbas region, as reported by Ukrainian TV channels.

    Skibitskiy also said that official candidates from the Russian Federation for local government positions of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have not been elected.  However, the representatives of the …

  • Erdoğan: Allegations of Turkish invasion of Syria are 'ridiculous'

    According to the Al Arabiya news channel, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has referred to allegations of a Syrian invasion by Turkey as "ridiculous".  This is in response to claims made by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

    “I think that the allegations made by Russia are ridiculous.  Rather, it is Russia who has invaded Syria,” Erdoğan stated.

    A representative of the Turkish government had already denied the statements made by Russia and stated that such …

  • Peskov: Putin has no plans to meet with Erdoğan

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to visit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to Interfax.

    Erdoğan told reporters last week that he wished to meet with the Russian President in order to discuss the increased tensions between the two countries, and in particular the issue of airspace violations.  Erdoğan's comments came after the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the Russian Air Force of violating its airspace over …

  • Poland opens fresh probe into plane crash that killed President Kaczynski in 2010

    Poland has resumed the investigation of the Tu-154 plane crash that occurred near Smolensk in April of 2010 that killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski.  This was announced on the 4th of February by the Minister of Defense of Poland, Antoni Macierewicz.  The commission that will execute the investigation will consist of 12 people, and will include engineers and technical experts, some of whom are from abroad.  “I am sure that the work will bring us closer to the truth,” Macierewicz said. …

  • Kiev insists on Russia's immediate release of Crimean political prisoner Afanasiev

    Ukraine is deeply concerned about the continued torture of Gennadiy Afanasiev, an Ukrainian prisoner who is being illegally detained in Russia.  This alleged torture is conducted at the hands of the employees of the Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation.  A report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine also mentioned Afanasiev’s inhumane treatment and the continuous violation of his rights.

    “We demand that the Russian Federation respect the rights of the illegal prisoner and …