• Dutch Prime Minister to Promote EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

    The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is on the agenda of the EU Dutch Presidency, said the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

    "We need this agreement. On the one hand, the agreement regulates the free trade zone. But at the same time, this agreement also addresses the stability at the borders of the European Union,” Rutte said while answering questions after the presentation of the Netherlands presidential program to the EU. …

  • Reports Allege That Chechen People Are Forced To Display Support for Kadyrov

    There have been reports from the Russian Republic of Chechnya that government officials, teachers and students throughout the territory are being compelled to show support for the Chairman of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.

    The Russian online edition Znak reported that the employees of the Ministry of National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information of Chechnya and its subordinate offices there were ordered to attend a flash mob on Thursday and rally in Grozny, the Chechen …

  • Protesters Surround Parliament Building in Moldova

    In Moldova, supporters of the opposition parties gathered in protest at the Parliament building in Chisinau on January 20th after lawmakers voted to approve a new government headed by a new pro-European Prime Minister, Pavel Filip. According to some reports, protesters also attempted to break into the Parliament building.

    On Wednesday, the Moldovan Parliament approved a new pro-European government, ending a political crisis that lasted months. 57 out of 101 deputies voted for a government …

  • Russian Duma Speaker Calls on EU to Impose Sanctions against Ukraine

    The Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin, invited the leading European countries to punish Kiev for their failure to comply with the Minsk Agreements, as reported by the Russian media on Tuesday, January 19th.

    At the opening of the spring session of the State Duma, Naryshkin stated that "the position of France and Germany, presiding over the OSCE this year, will become completely constructive and objective.  The advocates of extending anti-Russian sanctions will realize that …

  • More Than 400 German Companies Closed Their Doors in Russia In 2015

    According to the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce report released on January 20th, the number of German companies, together with their branches and representative offices, was reduced by 7% in Russia last year.

    According to the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, six thousand companies with German capital were registered in Russia in 2014. However, in 2015, their number dropped to 5583, more than 400 fewer than the previous year.

    Meanwhile, the number of legal entities with …

  • Ash Carter: Russia Makes Strategic Mistakes in Syria

    The United States Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter expressed the view that Russia is pursuing the wrong course in Syria. After meeting with the US’s key allies in Paris on January20th, Carter stated that Russians make strategic mistakes as well as tactical ones. “That’s why we don’t have a basis for greater cooperation with Moscow,” Carter noted.

    The Defense Secretary promised to destroy powerful centers of Islamic State. He likened it to a cancer that will be defeated by destroying its two …

  • NATO Seeks To Reopen Dialogue with Russia

    In the coming weeks, NATO hopes to resume dialogue with Russia, which was frozen because of the conflict in eastern Ukraine since July 2014. Diplomats in Brussels stated on January 20th that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization expects negotiations at the ambassadorial level within the NATO-Russia Council to take place sometime between the end of February and the beginning of March, if Moscow is amenable.

    One of the diplomats said that NATO wished to put a discussion on the conflict in …

  • Ukraine Prepares to Campaign for Association Agreement Vote in the Netherlands

    Ukraine has developed an information campaign to convince the citizens of the Netherlands to support the ratification of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU during a referendum scheduled for April of this year.

    Dmitry Kuleba, the Ambassador at Large for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, provided some details of the plan at a briefing in UCMC (Ukrainian Crisis Media Center).

    Commenting on Ukraine's preparations for the campaign, he stated it was aimed at gaining a …

  • Ukraine Announces Plan to Construct Rail Line to Gulf States

    Ukraine started negotiations with several Gulf countries to launch a new freight traffic route as announced by the Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Vladimir Yemelyan, reports Specter Novosti.

    "We are now in the middle of negotiations with the Gulf countries concerning the coordination of railway communication to this area. In particular, on January 12th, the leaders of the railway companies were studying this route and at first glance believe it has great promise. I think it will be another …

  • New Monument Could Remove the Kremlin from UNESCO List

    The Commission of UNESCO experts may consider removing the Kremlin from the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Der Tagesspiegel reported on January 19th that such a decision was prompted by the plans of Russian authorities to construct a 24-meter monument to Grand Duke Vladimirat on Borovitskaya Square near Kremlin. The Grand Duke was a historical figure who chose Orthodox Christianity as the state religion of Kievan Rus.

    According to UNESCO experts, the monument, rising high above the …