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Stoltenberg called on Russia to allow NATO observers to the Zapad 2017 exercise
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that more servicemen will be involved in the upcoming joint Russian and Belarusian exercise Zapad 2017 (West-2017) than was officially announced, and as a result, called for the admission of observers from the alliance to the exercise, Interfax reports.
"I can say that it's too early to say anything right now, because we still have to see, because the exercises have not taken place yet. However, based on the history of the previous exercises, …
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Polish Defense Minister: Germany asked Poland for information about Russian influence in German politics and media
Germany has asked Poland to provide information about Russia’s influence on politics and the media in the Federal Republic of Germany, said the Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz on a broadcast on TV Republika.
“At some point, Germany asked me to provide the German authorities with an in-depth analysis of the agents of influence, ways that the Russians have to influence the political scene and media in Germany,” said Macierewicz.
He noted that he did not doubt that the Germans had …
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Russian FSB arrests head of company which made Siemens turbines for Crimea
Officers of the Russian FSB have arrested the director general of Power Machines plant, Roman Filippov on suspicion of disclosing state secrets.
Information on the arrest came out against the backdrop of the scandal surrounding the shipment of Siemens turbines to Crimea, which is currently under EU sanctions. The SGT5-2000E turbines are produced by the St. Petersburg based company Siemens Gas Turbines Technologies (SGTT), a joint enterprise of Siemens and Power Machines JSC, created in 2011 (65 …
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Russia postponed the commissioning of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika because of sanctions and loss of access to Ukrainian turbines
Last May, Russian President Vladimir Putin was forced to push back the deadline for the delivery of the main nuclear-powered icebreaker LK-60YA Arktika from 2017 to 2019, reported Kommersant newspaper.
Putin demanded to take personnel, organizational and managerial decisions because of the failure of the state contract. The Accounts Chamber, the Prosecutor General's Office and the Federal Security Service are expected to conduct a project audit.
The key problem of the Arktika was the turbines. …
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Media: Putin presented Valaam Monastery with a yacht worth $4 million
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented Valaam Monastery with the yacht “Pallada”, reported Kommersant FM radio in a broadcast about the President’s visit to the monastery.
"As it turned out later, this is a gift from Vladimir Putin to the Valaam Monastery," the report says.
However, the Russian President’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov denied the reports of the donated yacht, TASS reported. Peskov noted that Putin "has long been keeping problems of the monastery [on Valaam Island] under …