Russian, Iranian, and Turkish delegations arrive in Astana for Syria peace talks
The delegations of Iran, Russia, and Turkey have arrived in the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, for Syrian peace talks which are scheduled to begin on January 23rd, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s spokesman, Anuar Zhainakov, told TASS.
"By now, the delegations of Russia, Turkey and Iran have arrived," Zhainakov said.
The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, as well as members of the Syrian opposition’s delegation have also arrived.
The Syrian government delegation is expected to …
International Biathlon Union opens doping investigation into Russian biathletes
The International Biathlon Union (IBU) has started a formal investigation into the Russian Biathlon Union in connection with the new allegations concerning mass doping usage in Russian sports, which are provided in the second part of a report written by the World Anti-Doping Agency’s expert Richard McLaren, Deutsche Welle reported.
The appropriate decree was issued on Saturday, January 21st, following the IBU Executive Board meeting in Rasen-Antholz in the north of Italy.
During the meeting, …
US JASSM air-to-surface cruise missiles arrive in Poland
The first units of US high-precision air-to-surface JASSM Extended Range cruise missiles arrived at the Tactical Air Base Krzesiny in Poland, as reported by Radio Poland.
"The Ministry of National Defense of the country signed an agreement for the purchase of modern American JASSM and JASSM-ER missiles, which can perform maneuvers at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers and hit targets on the ground. F-16 fighters, located at bases in Poznań and Łask, not far away from Łódź, will be armed with …
Switzerland will give Ukraine a tranche of $100 million in the coming weeks
The first loan tranche from Switzerland will be provided to Ukraine in the near future, as reported on the Swiss government’s website.
"The first loan tranche of $100 million will be directed to the National Bank of Ukraine in the coming weeks," the statement says.
After consultations with the Swiss National Bank, the Swiss Federal Council decided in February 2015 that the country would participate "in the international coordination of financial support to Ukraine," the report says.
In the …
Russia has started to form a new military division near the border with Ukraine
The Russian Federation has violated the provisions of the Vienna Document-2011 on confidence and security building measures by starting to form a new motorized rifle division near the border with Ukraine, without informing the OSCE, according to the press service of the General Staff of Ukraine.
On January 16th-19th, Ukraine, together with Canada and Denmark, conducted an inspection in the Rostov region of the Russian Federation to ensure that Russia complies with the commitments to openness …