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Russia Spend €1 Billion per Year on State Salaries and Pensions in DPR and LPR
An investigation conducted by the German magazine, Bild revealed that Russia spends about 1 billion Euros on the salaries and welfare of citizens of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. According to Bild, this amount corresponds to 0.6% of the annual expenses of the Russian budget.
Moscow spends nearly 79 million Euros every month on salaries of state employees and pensions in so-called DPR and LPR, Bild wrote. About 2.4 billion Rubles (approximately 30 million Euros) …
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Daniel Fried: Russia is now Taking Sanctions Seriously
Speaking at American University in Washington on January 15th, the U.S. State Department’s Coordinator for Sanctions, Daniel Fried, stated that the U.S. Government believes that sanctions are an instrument of international policy. According to Fried, economic influences have a greater effect than the use of military force in today’s political climate.
In recent history, there are examples of both successful and unsuccessful sanctions. For the latter, Fried cites the blockade of Cuba, which, …
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David Cameron to Discuss Litvinenko Murder with National Security Council
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, will hold a meeting next week with the National Security Council in advance of the publishing of a report regarding the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko. The document is expected to reveal the involvement of the Kremlin in the death of the former officer of the Russian FSB (Federal Security Bureau), the Sunday Times reported on the 17th of January.
The Prime Minister and the National Security Council will discuss the results of the …
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Porsche Sales in Russia Increase by 12 Percent
Porsche’s sales in Russia have increased by 12 percent in 2015. The Stuttgart carmaker is one of the few that are still able to make a profit in Russia since the Russian market collapsed.
German carmaker Porsche, despite the crisis in the Russian market, has significantly expanded its business in the Russian Federation. In 2015 Porsche sold almost 5,300 cars, about 12 percent more than in 2014, said the company's head, Thomas Stärtzel, in an interview with DPA in Moscow on Sunday, January 17th. …
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Ukraine Increases Gas Imports from Europe By 24 Percent
The spokesman of Ukrtransgaz Company, Maxim Belyavsky wrote on his Facebook page that Ukraine increased its daily volume of gas imports through Slovakia and Hungaryby 24% to 36%. This marks an increase of about 3 million cubic meters.
“On the 16th of January, Ukraine imported 36.3 million cubic meters from Europe. Of that amount, 34.9 million cubic meters were imported through the Slovak gas corridor,” Belyavsky wrote.
The spokesman of Ukrtransgaz Company noted that the previous day, 29.3 …