The German Chancellor has accused Russia of standing in the way of Eastern European countries wanting to be close to the EU. In an interview with Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Angela Merkel threatened “consequences” for what she called Moscow’s “violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.” In Merkel’s view, Russia is “creating problems” for Moldova, Georgia […]
Russia’s Bogdanov concluded his Lebanon visit after meeting Hezbollah chief
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov concluded his visit to Lebanon on Sunday after meeting with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at an undisclosed location as part of his four-day trip to the region, which focused on finding a peaceful solution to the Syrian civil war. Bogdanov, who arrived arrived in Beirut on Thursday met with several Lebanese leaders, […]
Russia’s Brain Drain Is Astounding
By: ELENA HOLODNY Russia is experiencing another major brain drain. Although emigration trended downward from 1997 to 2011, there was a sudden spike in people leaving the country around the third term of President Vladimir Putin, according to Rosstat, Russia’s federal state statistics service. In 2012, almost 123,000 people left, and in 2013, more than […]
Putin’s elevation of Crimea to Russia’s Holy Land status baffles historians
President Vladimir Putin’s elevation of Crimea to the status of Russia’s Holy Land has prompted puzzlement and scorn from historians and commentators. Crimea for Russians is “like the Temple Mount in Jerusalem” for Muslims and Jews, Putin said, and would be regarded this way “from now on and forever.” Vladimir the Great was baptized in […]
20 killed in Russia’s Chechnya attack hours before Putin’s speech
Gunmen attacked a police post and stormed a building on Thursday in Grozny, capital of Russia’s southern province of Chechnya, killing 10 policemen in clashes in which 10 of the attackers were also killed. The bloodiest fighting in Chechnya for months erupted a few hours before President Vladimir Putin said in a speech in Moscow […]
Crumbling oil, Ruble makes Putin more dangerous: Expert
Russian President Vladimir Putin is being pushed “further into a corner” by falling oil prices, leaving him little option but to continue his aggression toward Ukraine and confrontation with the West, Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer told CNBC on Tuesday. Putin has “gone all-in on an anti-U.S., must-keep-Ukraine nationalist engagement,” Bremmer said on “Squawk Box.” […]
Saudis won’t give up oil market share, says prince
Saudi Arabia’s influential royal Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud has said the kingdom would only consider cutting oil production if Iran, Russia and the US agreed to match those cuts because it wants to protect its market share. Speaking in London, the Prince who is a senior Saudi royal and the former head of the country’s […]
Russia to abandon South Stream pipeline project , says Putin
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia would stop construction of the South Stream gas pipeline, shelving a strategically important project that Moscow was counting on to cement its influence in south-eastern Europe. Speaking after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his Turkish counterpart, in Ankara, Mr Putin said Russia would abandon the project […]
Oil at $40 Possible as Market Transforms Caracas to Iran
Oil’s decline is proving to be the worst since the collapse of the financial system in 2008 and threatening to have the same global impact of falling prices three decades ago that led to the Mexican debt crisis and the end of the Soviet Union. Russia, the world’s largest producer, can no longer rely on […]
Russia calls for end to sanctions, EU says no and imposes fresh measures
Russia urged the European Union on Saturday to lift sanctions against Moscow and promised to waive its food embargo, but a top EU official rejected such a move as the bloc imposed fresh measures on Ukrainian rebels. The European Union and the United States imposed economic sanctions on Russia in late July, targeting the Russian […]