US Secretary of State discusses the issue of Sentsov’s imprisonment with Lavrov

The United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a telephone conversation with the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, during which the two sides discussed the situation with the Ukrainian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov, reported the press service of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Mike Pompeo discussed the issue of Oleg Sentsov’s imprisonment who is accused of involvement in terrorist activities. He was given the relevant explanations,” reads the message.

The …


Kremlin announces new negotiations between Surkov and US special envoy Volker on the Donbas

The new meeting on the Donbas between Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine and Vladislav Surkov, the aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin is being prepared, stated the Russian President’s Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov.

He said that the forthcoming meeting will be held “to synchronize their watches” because there were no advance plans for resolving the situation in the Donbas. The details and time of the meeting remain unknown.

Last week, Volker and Surkov failed to …


Deutsche Bank threatens to break ties with Russia

On June 27, the London division of Deutsche Bank sent a letter to the Russian government, threatening to cut business ties unless it is provided with up-to-date information about clients, Vedomosti reports.

The letter says that Deutsche Bank is analyzing the services rendered to the Russian government and the Know Your Customer (KYC) documents in its possession. KYC is the process of identifying and collecting information on a client in order to prevent money laundering and the financing of …


Media: American Actor Steven Seagal becomes a Russian entrepreneur

American actor Steven Seagal has registered as an individual entrepreneur in Russia, reported RIA Novosti, citing Seagal’s representative, Anar Reiband.

According to Reiband, Seagal did this to legalize his activities in Russia because he lives and works there most of the time. Seagal has reportedly made a relevant application to the Federal Tax Service of Elektrostal City in the Moscow region where he now lives.

The actor’s representative noted that Seagal has already starred in several …


Russia's largest bank loses $1 billion in Turkey

Sberbank is cutting back on its business outside of Russia, which has been causing it tremendous losses due to US and EU sanctions, reports finanz.ru.

By the end of the year, the largest Russian government bank will have disposed of its subsidiary in Turkey. Denizbank will be sold to Emirates NBD Bank, one of the largest banks in the UAE. A binding agreement has already been signed, Sberbank reported in an IFRS report on Thursday.

The deal is priced at 14.6 billion lira, equivalent to $2.35 …