Japan promises Ukraine $1.85 billion if Kiev successfully implements reforms
The Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe, said during a joint press statement with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, that Japan promises to provide support to Ukraine in the amount of $1.85 billion if Kiev shows pregress in implementing reforms, Ukrainian News reported.
“For our part, I have the following intention: We will keep our promises on provision of financial support to Ukraine in the amount of $1.85 billion for the implementation of reforms. The Prime Minister added that they …
OSCE has not decided on police mission in the Donbas
According to Radio Svoboda, the special representative for the organization in the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of conflict in Donbas, Martin Sajdik, stated that as a result of the meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk, the parties discussed the proposal of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to provide the police mission during the coming election in Donbas.“Security issues during the elections were not discussed. But unfortunately, the secretariat and the German Government …
Dzhemilev: The de-occupation of Crimea must be discussed during negotiations on Ukraine
The leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, believes that the issue of the de-occupation of Crimea cannot be of less importance then other topics during the international negotiations on the situation in Ukraine. The politician said this at a press conference in Kyiv on April 6, Krym.Realii reported.
"The Minsk Agreements don't say a word about the aggressor withdrawing completely from the occupied territories. So the de-occupation of Crimea is omitted from these agreements. From our …
Latvian official: The Baltic States are susceptible to Russian foreign policy 'adventures'
The former head of Latvian counterintelligence and adviser to the president of the republic, Janis Kazocins, believes that Russia will hardly risk a direct military invasion into the Baltic States as stated in his article titled, "Has the Russian Venture into Syria made Latvia Safer?", BaltNews reported.
However, in his opinion, right now there comes an extremely dangerous period when Moscow can "decide on their next venture."
"There are two opinions regarding Russia’s current opportunities …
World Bank cuts Russia's economic forecast
The World Bank predicts that the Russian economy will shrink 1.9%, a poorer estimate than the December forecast which estimated a dip of only 0.7%.
The worsening of the forecast is due to a revaluation of oil prices for 2016. In the previous forecast the bank assumed that the average oil price would be 49 dollars per barrel. According to the bank’s new estimates, the average oil price this year will be about 37 dollars per barrel.
The new WB forecast also anticipates 1.1% growth in the …