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IMF recognizes status of Ukraine’s debt
Ukraine’s debt to Russia is set to mature on December 20th. Recently, however, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lifted the ban on lending to countries with existing overdue sovereign debt, so Ukraine’s unpaid "debt of Yanukovych" will not prevent the IMF from further cooperation with Kiev.
The Executive Committee of the IMF officially recognized the $3 billion Eurobond that Ukraine owes to Russia as sovereign debt, not commercial. Consequently, Ukraine will have to demonstrate that it is …
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US withdraw 12 fighter jets from Turkey
The U.S. deployed numerous military aircraft to Turkey a month ago. The Pentagon said that the recall of 12 of these units does not indicate a change in the American commitment to Turkey or in the fight against ISIL.
Washington announced the withdrawal of a dozen military aircraft from Turkey, in particular six F-15 Eagle Fighters and six F-15 Strike Eagle bombers. The decision to recall these units was made public less than a month after they were deployed from a base in the UK to support …
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Turkey detains Russian merchant ships
Turkish authorities cite the formal reason for the detention as the lack of completed documents, minor technical defects and violations of safety regulations.Since the beginning of the deterioration of relations between Moscow and Ankara, a total of 27 Russian merchant vessels have been detained in Turkey. These actions were in response to the detention of eight merchant ships in the Black Sea, as reported on December 16th by the Hürriyet. According to the newspaper, Turkish authorities …
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Poroshenko: More evidence that Russia violated Minsk Agreements
During his trip to Brussels, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said there is mounting evidence that Russia has violated the Minsk Agreements.
"Regarding the discussion between members of the EU about extending the sanctions against Russia, I brought even more evidence of Russia's failure to comply with the Minsk Agreements; the supply of arms, and the sending of troops to the territory of Ukrainian”, Poroshenko said.
Poroshenko is in the midst of his two day trip to the Belgian capital. …
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The Russian rouble has fallen to 1998 levels
The Central Bank set a record U.S. Dollar rate against the Ruble. The American currency has reached an historic high. On Tuesday, December 15th, the Central Bank of Russia set the Dollar exchange rate against the Ruble at around 70.82 rubles. This was the highest rate for the U.S. currency since 1998. Compared to the previous trading day, the Dollar rose more than 60 cents.
The Euro exchange rate of the Central Bank was set at 78.23 rubles. The European currency has not yet exceeded its …