Medvedev Warns of a 'Permanent War'

The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, warned against any ground operations in Syria because, according to him, it could lead to the beginning of a new global war. The head of the Russian Government made this statement in his interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt on the eve of the Munich Security Conference.

“As a rule, all ground operations lead to permanent warfare. Look what is going on in Afghanistan and a number of other countries. I didn’t even mention poor Libya,” …


Ukraine to Receive $50 Million Loan from Turkey

The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a loan agreement from Turkey worth $50 million.  The approval comes ahead of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Kiev on Monday. This was announced by the Minister of Finance, Natalia Jaresko, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"The draft resolution will authorize the Minister of Finance to implement the government’s external borrowing in 2016 by attracting loans worth no more than $50 million with a maturity not later than five years and at a …


Russian Deputy PM Rogozin denied entry into Montenegro

The Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs has banned the entry of Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, into the country.  Rogozin is on the "black list" and therefore subject to sanctions due to his position on the Ukrainian crisis.  This was reported by Glavnoe and Radio Svoboda in the Balkans.

Montenegrins have not forgotten Rogozin’s words that they will “regret” their decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).  The authorities are now trying to prevent a new …


New Mandate in Ukraine Requires all Phone Conversations between Civil Servants and Politicians to be Recorded

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced a mandate to record all telephone conversations and meetings between Category 1 and 2 civil servants with politicians and business representatives, as announced by the Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a government meeting.

"Recording of phone conversations as well as the personal meetings between political representatives or Deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, business entities or their representatives, is now required for all Category 1 and 2 …


Biden urges ruling coalition to restore unity of Ukraine

US Vice President Joe Biden has called on the ruling coalition in Ukraine to quickly restore unity in the country so the government can move forward with reforms.  These reforms are in accordance with Ukraine’s obligations under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.  Biden stated this during a telephone conversation with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko.

Biden and Poroshenko talked about the importance of achieving progress in security issues and political aspects of the …