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European Commission: construction of Nord Stream 2 pipeline is hard to stop
US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline is not a reason to stop the project, stated European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Günther Oettinger on December 28. He said that any attempts to prevent the construction will encounter serious opposition as the construction is already underway.
Trump criticized Berlin for supporting the $11 billion gas pipeline. In July, he accused Germany of being Moscow's “hostage” because of the …
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Poroshenko signs law expanding Ukraine’s zone of control in Black Sea
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed the law “On Ukraine’s surrounding zone,” which doubles the country’s zone of control in the Black Sea, the presidential press service reported.
The law harmonizes Ukraine’s maritime legislation with that of other states on the Black Sea and other signatories of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982. It is intended to prevent smuggling operations and illegal visitation of the closed ports in the temporarily occupied territories of …
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Kremlin creates committee to oversee integration of Russia and Belarus
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree to establish a working group on the integration of Russia and Belarus, RIA Novosti reports.
Medvedev also announced that Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin would chair the group.
“Oreshkin will be the head of the group. It will include representatives of all the agencies, not only the government one but also from the State Duma, the Federation Council, and the Chamber of Accounts,” said Medvedev on Friday, December 28th. …
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Russian ambassador to the US: there are no regular contacts between Lavrov and Pompeo
During a press briefing, speaking about the relationship between Moscow and Washington, the Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov stated that there are no regular contacts between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
“Regular contact between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is not working out, admitted the diplomat. Our proposal for the resumption of the practice of joint meetings between the …
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Ukraine to receive patrol boats from the US in 2019
On Friday, December 28th, the commander of the Naval Armed Forces of Ukraine, Igor Voronchenko, stated that Ukraine would receive Island-class patrol boats from the US in 2019.
“In July, they [the ships] should be in Ukraine. The crews are preparing. The steps for equipping these ships and joint training at the base in Baltimore [in the US] have been decided. The final procedures for fast delivery of these ships to Ukraine have also been finalized,” said the Navy Admiral.
Earlier, the …