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Abkhazia will not hold a referendum on joining Russia
Unlike South Ossetia, Abkhazia will not hold a referendum on joining the Russian Federation. The Prime Minister of the breakaway Republic, Artur Mikvabia, said this in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Commenting on the referendum in South Ossetia, Mikvabia said that "Abkhazia is another story."
"The motives of Tskhinvali are clear. The Ossetians are a divided people, some are now living in Russia, others in South Ossetia. That is why there is a desire to reunite. We have a different situation. …
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Merkel: Sanctions against Russia will not end by themselves
German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that sanctions imposed against Russia “will not end by themselves.”
According to Reuters, she stated that implementing the Minsk Agreements is the key to lifting the sanctions.
The EU imposed economic sanctions against Russia in July 2014 due to the crisis in Ukraine. In response, Russia banned the import of a number of products from the EU. The European Union tied these sanctions to the Minsk Agreements. According to the EU, the terms of the Minsk …
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The US will continue buying Russian rocket engines
The US senate has approved the purchase of 18 Russian RD-180 rocket engines through 2022.
On Friday, June 10 the US Senate reached an agreement to continue purchase of the Russian RD-180 rocket engines. According to the Russian Sputnik News Agency, Senator Richard Shelby said “We have worked it out”, referring to a debate over the language in the 2017 defense spending bill about the purchase of the Russian rockets engines.
"The deal is 2022 and 18 rockets, similar to the House [defense bill]," …
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More than 15 tons of fruit from Europe were destroyed in Crimea
More than 15 tons of fruit from Poland and Spain were destroyed in Russian-annexed Crimea according to the Crimean Office of Rosselkhoznadzor.
"The apples of Polish origin with a total weight of 15 tons and 156 kilograms of Spanish oranges were detected by state inspectors of Rosselkhoznadzor during a joint raid conducted with the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Crimea and services on Land and Phytosanitary Supervision for the Republic of Crimea,” declared the …
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Germany's Economic Minister looks forward to Russia's return to the G8
Germany’s Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel, hopes to restore an atmosphere of trust and open dialogue with Moscow. According to Deutsche Welle, he said this during an interview with the Russlandkontrovers website.
According to Gabriel, Russia is still the main partner of Germany.
“The strength of German-Russian relations lies in overcoming critical situations and, even in a difficult period, continuing to cooperate,” he added.
Gabriel also …