Contents tagged with EU
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Lukashenko orders reduction of Belarusian diplomats in EU countries
Self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko instructed the government to review the work of Belarusian embassies and the number of diplomats in Europe. In his opinion, one ambassador with an assistant in a two-room apartment will be sufficient, given the state of relations between Belarus and the EU.
"We need to take a very serious look at our diplomatic missions in Europe. Listen, well, why should we keep a bunch of diplomats there, if we do not trade with them at all. And …
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EU extends sanctions against Russia
The European Union extended the economic sectoral sanctions against Russia for six months.
" The Council decision follows the latest assessment of the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements - initially foreseen to happen by 31 December 2015 - at the European Council of 24-25 June 2021. On that occasion EU leaders called on Russia to fully assume its responsibility in ensuring the full implementation of the Minsk agreements as the key condition for any substantial change in the EU’s …
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U.S. and EU completely block Russia from the latest technology buying channels
Western countries are stepping up enforcement of sanctions against Russia, cutting Moscow off from the last, illegal channel for buying technology for its military industry.
Following Germany, where alexander S., who is suspected of selling sanctioned equipment to Russian special services, was detained in May, a similar attempt to export restricted technology to Russia was revealed by the US authorities.
The US Department of Commerce announced the inclusion in the "blacklist" of three Russian …
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EU leaders reject Merkel’s proposal to hold summit with Putin
EU leaders have rejected the initiative of France and Germany to hold the first summit since 2014 with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The proposal, voiced by Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron and supported by Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, has provoked resistance from 10 EU countries, some of which threatened to veto the draft resolution, Bloomberg reported citing diplomats.
After late-night talks, Merkel herself stated that the idea had failed. It was not possible to agree on direct …
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European Parliaments calls for disconnecting Belarus from SWIFT
The European Parliament calls for Belarus to be disconnected from the SWIFT payment system, as well as to ban the country's national team from participating in the Tokyo Olympic, reported the Belarusian news outlet Nasha Niva.
The European Parliament calls on the Council of the European Union to expand sanctions against Belarus as soon as possible. The sanctions list should include all those responsible for the forced landing of the Ryanair passenger plane and the arrest of opposition …
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EU extends sanctions against Crimea
The EU Permanent Representatives Committee (COREPER) extended for a year without any discussions restrictive measures against Crimea as part of the EU's strategy to reject Crimea's annexation by Russia, adopted in 2014, TASS reports, citing a diplomatic source in Brussels.
"COREPER has decided to extend for 12 months restrictive measures against Crimea and Sevastopol," TASS’ source said. The decision will be formally approved by the EU Council next week and will then come into force. …
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Moscow to open Russia's airspace for flights bypassing Belarus
Russian authorities decided not to continue the air war with the EU after European airlines began to fly around Belarus in response to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk.
On Thursday evening, Russian Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviation, convened for an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with European flights requesting permission to enter the Russian airspace.
A Vienna-Moscow Austrian Airlines flight and a Paris-Moscow Air France flight were denied entry into the …
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EU prepares to block import of Russian gas through Belarus
The European Union is preparing to tighten the currency stranglehold around Alexander Lukashenko’s neck, whose regime is already losing a key source of export earnings after NAFTAN refinery was put on the U.S. "blacklist".
The European sanctions against Belarus in response to the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk may include measures against the transit of Russian gas through Belarus, said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell.
The sanctions may be imposed on …
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Moscow refuses to allow European flights bypassing Belarus to enter Russia’s airspace
The Russian authorities seem to have come up with a response to air blockade of Belarus, which was introduced by the European Union after Lukashenko’s special operation to force the landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk.
On Wednesday, Air France, Europe's third-largest airline by passenger traffic, was forced to reschedule an evening Paris-Moscow flight because it did not get a permission to enter Russian airspace.
The airline planned to fly around Belarus and requested permission to enter …
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EU expands sanctions against Belarus
EU countries have decided to expand economic sanctions against Belarus, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a two-day summit in Brussels.
The forced landing of a Ryanair flight to detain the founder and former chief executive of the opposition Telegram channel Nexta, Roman Protasevich, which the official Minsk initially attributed to Alexander Lukashenko's personal order and then tried to blame the alleged bomb threat from the Palestinian Hamas movement, is an "unacceptable violation of …