Swedish Defense Committee: Russia Is a Potential Enemy

Allan Widman, the Chairman of Sweden’s Parliamentary Defense Committee, suggested that Russia may become a potential enemy that Sweden needs to watch out for. The events in Ukraine, the weak economy and the sharp plunge in oil prices may spawn unwanted conflict at Sweden’s doorstep.

"My assessment is the following: Sweden has been at peace for over 200 years but now the situation is serious enough that we have to be ready for a spillover of violent conflicts from our neighboring countries,” …


White House Backs Treasury's Assessment That Putin Is 'Corrupt'

Adam J. Szubin, Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, made statements about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s corruption—statements that accurately reflected Washington’s position. Reuters cited White House Official Spokesman Josh Earnest as stating that during an official White House briefing on Thursday, January 28th.

"The US Treasury official’s assessment reflects the opinion of the administration best of all," said Earnest. At the same time he found it difficult …


PACE criticizes Russia and Azerbaijan for oppression of human rights advocates

A journalist for European Pravda reported from Strasbourg that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted two resolutions in response to the negative feedback received regarding the state of democracy in the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and to a lesser extent, a number of other countries.

These resolutions were based on systematic harassments of non-governmental organizations as well as the restriction of the rights of human rights advocates.  The …


Canadian Foreign Minister: Lavrov's Words on the Ukrainian Diaspora Are Inadmissible

Canada’s Foreign Minister Stéphane Dion said that the statements about Ukrainian Diaspora made by the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, were inadmissible. Liga.net reported that Dion was quoted by Boris Wrzesnewskyj, a member of Canadian Parliament.

In particular, Dion noted that Canada is outraged by the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory, and emphasized Ukraine's important role in Canada’s history. “We absolutely disagree with this invasion and with Russian government …


Crimean Tatar Leader Meets with Russian Opposition Delegate in Strasbourg

Mikhail Kasyanov, the leader of the Russian Opposition “People’s Freedom Party”, took part in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), dedicated to the memory of Boris Nemtsov. At the session, Kasyanov assured Ukrainian Commissioner for the Affairs of Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Dzhemilev, that Crimea will eventually be released and returned to Ukraine.

According to Kasyanov, the economic and political situation in Russia is worsening. The people`s approval of …