In an interview with espresso.tv, Russian historian and opposition leader Andrei Piontkovsky said that Ukraine should invite not only the heads of Germany and France to take part in the negotiations to find a solution to the war in the Donbass region, but also representatives of other Western countries.

"Merkel and Hollande have already acquired some kind of Stockholm syndrome in relations with Russia and the Donetsk bandits… The Minsk Agreement is their child. They, as a father and a mother …

The spokesman of Ukrtransgaz Company, Maxim Belyavsky wrote on his Facebook page that Ukraine increased its daily volume of gas imports through Slovakia and Hungaryby 24% to 36%. This marks an increase of about 3 million cubic meters.

“On the 16th of January, Ukraine imported 36.3 million cubic meters from Europe. Of that amount, 34.9 million cubic meters were imported through the Slovak gas corridor,” Belyavsky wrote.

The spokesman of Ukrtransgaz Company noted that the previous day, 29.3 …

According to Russian State Duma Deputy Dmitry Gudkov, the Kremlin's support for the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, could lead to a sharp drop in the government’s ratings. It would also send the message that to kill, intimidate or terrorize anyone and anywhere is allowed.

There is no doubt that sooner or later the problem of Chechnya will show up on the national level, stated Gudkov on Facebook.  He said that there was evidence of Chechen involvement in the murders of journalist and human …

According to Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė, the Lithuanian people are better than the most European countries at understanding their Russian neighbor.

In an interview with ICTV, Grybauskaitė stated that most European countries have a certain quality of remoteness in their relationships with the Russian Federation.  "The people of Lithuania in their own skin understand this relationship.  Italy and Greece are too remote.  They never had historical relations with Russia like we have.  …

Speaking at American University in Washington on January 15th, the U.S. State Department’s Coordinator for Sanctions, Daniel Fried, stated that the U.S. Government believes that sanctions are an instrument of international policy. According to Fried, economic influences have a greater effect than the use of military force in today’s political climate.

In recent history, there are examples of both successful and unsuccessful sanctions. For the latter, Fried cites the blockade of Cuba, which, …