Contents tagged with Russia
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Russia plans to send observers to presidential elections in Ukraine
Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Grushko stated in an interview with TASS that Russia will send its observers to the presidential elections in Ukraine on March 31 as part of the OSCE mission.
“Yes, we plan to send our observers and take part in the mission in accordance with all OSCE criteria,” he said. Grushko explained that Ukraine has no right to refuse to register observers. “Ukraine is a member of the OSCE. So, we act from the fact that Kyiv’s obligations, taken by …
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Chechnya’s gas debts baffle Kremlin
Russia’s senior leaders are still unsure how to respond publicly to the incident in Chechnya where the Grozny District Court ruled to write off the population’s gas debts to the amount of 9 billion rubles, provoking a wave of similar proposals in at least seven other regions, reports finanz.ru.
This is a “very complex matter” and the Kremlin “has not taken a stance”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a press conference on Monday.
“In this case, the commodity has been supplied to …
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Ukraine to reduce its claim against Russia's Gazprom if new transit contract is signed
Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company Naftogaz will reduce the amount of the new claim against Gazprom from $12 billion to $2 billion if Russian gas monopolist signs a new transit contract, stated Naftogaz CEO Yuriy Vitrenko in Brussels, Ukrinform reports.
"Indeed, the sum of new claims is about 12 billion dollars. Part of these claims is because we do not expect gas transit through Ukrainian territory after 2019... The chances of winning are very high. We have already proven that when we …
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PACE deprives Ukraine of seats in the committee responsible for sanctions against Russia
The Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or PACE amended the rules for the formation of committees, effectively removing Ukraine from the committee responsible for lifting sanctions imposed by PACE against Russia, reported the correspondent of the Ukrainian news agency Evropeiska Pravda from Strasbourg.
According to the new rules, there can be no more than two representatives of each Member State in the regulating committee and the committee on the election of judges …
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Kremlin prepares to block Twitter and Facebook
Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal executive body responsible for media and telecommunication censorship, has begun an administrative procedure against Facebook and Twitter, which do not abide by Russia’s law on personal data.
The social networks, which are legally obligated to store users’ personal data in Russia, have not proposed any specific plans or deadlines to localize this information, Roskomnadzor director Alexander Zharov told Interfax.
According to him, the companies have one month, …
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Media: Japanese Prime Minister will push for a peace treaty with Russia in exchange for only two Kuril Islands
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering the possibility of concluding a peace treaty with Russia if Moscow gives only two of the four disputed Kuril Islands to Japan, reported the Japanese news agency Kyodo with reference to government sources.
According to the sources of the news agency, the prime minister of Japan is ready to focus on the transfer of Habomai and Shikotan, the smaller islands of the Kuril Ridge. As noted by the sources, he understands that if Tokyo continues to …
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Gazprom offers Ukraine to extend gas contracts after 2019 without further consultations
The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, after the completion of negotiations between Ukraine, the EU, and Russia in Brussels, stated that the Russian company Gazprom is ready to extend gas contracts after 2019 without even conducting expert consultations.
“Mr. Miller [ the Head of Gazprom] emphasized three times that they are ready to continue existing contracts. These contracts are probably a source of joy for them. At the same time, he said that these contracts could be …
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EU imposes sanctions against the head of Russian military intelligence due to use of chemical weapons
On January 21st, the EU Council’s press service reported that the EU imposed sanctions against four Russians, five Syrians and one Syrian company as part of the new sanctions package for the use of chemical weapons.
The restrictive measures concern two officials of the GRU (The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces), as well as the head and deputy head of the GRU responsible for the storage, transportation, and use in Salisbury (United Kingdom) of a poisonous nerve …
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Kyiv: Ships that caught fire in Kerch Strait were used for illegal gas shipments to Syria
The gas tankers Maestro and Venice, which caught fire near the Kerch Strait, have been involved in illegal gas shipments to Syria since 2016, Ukraine’s Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories reported, citing information from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
“According to the US Treasury Department’s OFAC, the ships Venice and Maestro have been involved in illegal gas shipments to Syria since 2016,” the statement reads.
According to international monitoring systems, the …
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The Kremlin accuses Japan for complicating the Kuril Islands negotiations
Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov commented on the statement made by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe on before the talks with Vladimir Putin. According to RIA Novosti news agency, it is the speech in which the Prime Minister spoke about the fate of the residents of the Kuril Islands after their transition to Japanese jurisdiction. “They have complicated the negotiation process, that's for sure,” stated Ushakov on Russia TV.
A few days ago, the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry drew …