• Peskov: Putin has no plans to meet with Poroshenko

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Interfax reported.

    “The President [Putin] has said that in the interest of implementing the Minsk agreements, if necessary, he would be ready for such contact [with Poroshenko]. And again, for this the necessary conditions must arise, and the necessary homework must be done,” Peskov stated.

    The Kremlin’s spokesman recalled that Putin had said …

  • Syrian opposition group would reject joint deal between Russia and US if it deviated from its own plan

    Syria’s main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, has said that it would reject any coordinated strategy by Russia and the US to bring peace to Syria if it were to deviate from the group’s proposed plan, Reuters reported, citing the committee’s general coordinator, Riyad Hijab.

    The Saudi and Western-backed High Negotiations Committee’s proposed plan includes a six-month transition period during which a new administration would be created made up of opposition figures, civil …

  • Russia's Black Sea Fleet participates in Caucasus 2016 exercises

    The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on September 6 that warships from the Russian Black Sea Fleet were brought to the test ranges for the Caucasus 2016 drills. Frigates, small-size missile ships and missile boats were involved in the strategic command-staff drills, Krym.Realii reported.

    “The knowledge and practical skills of the commanders of navigation combat units, as well as navigation and maneuvering skills of battle watch officers during fulfillment of dispersal tasks in marine areas …

  • Germany views a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine as an unlikely scenario

    Germany believes a full-scale Russian offensive against Ukraine to be unlikely but it doesn’t exclude such a scenario, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, stated in an interview with Apostrophe.

    “Berlin doesn’t exclude that possibility but believes this scenario to be unlikely. If, God forbid, such an invasion occurs, I’m sure that Ukraine can expect serious strengthening of sanctions against the Kremlin. In addition, the provision of defensive weapons to us would become a …

  • Stoltenberg accuses Russia of fueling the next round of the conflict in eastern Ukraine

    The intensification of separatist activity has been observed in eastern Ukraine again, Deutsche Welle reported. According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Moscow must stop providing them with political, military and financial support.

    Stoltenberg expressed extreme concern about the continuing hostilities in the Donbas and criticized the actions of the Russian government. "Recently we have seen an increase in the number of attacks, mainly from the Russian-backed separatists", he said. …