• Putin rejects possibility of extraditing individuals accused of interfering in elections to the US

    Commenting on accusations by the United States against thirteen Russian citizens of interference in the US elections in 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would never "extradite" its citizens to the United States. He spoke about this during an interview with NBC News. The television channel published yet another excerpt from this conversation on March 4.

    "Never, never. Russia does not extradite its citizens to anyone, just like the United States," the President said in …

  • Head of Ukraine's Naftogaz believes termination of Gazprom’s contract was Kremlin’s decision

    Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev expressed the opinion that Gazprom’s decision to terminate its contracts with the Ukrainian company originated in the Kremlin.

    “The decision to refuse to perform the contract was not made by Gazprom. I believe that it was made in the Kremlin,” Kobolyev said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

    According to Kobolyev, Russia reduced the pressure on the gas pipeline for transit to Europe by 20%. The pressure deficiency forced Ukraine to use electric power to …

  • Erdogan: No disagreements between Turkey and Russia on Afrin

    Turkey and Russia have no disagreements concerning the military operation “Olive Branch” that Turkey is carrying out in the Syrian region of Afrin, as stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a press conference while flying back from a tour of Africa, the TRT Haber TV channel reported.

    “We do not have disagreements with Russia concerning Afrin. We will continue to establish observation points in Idlib. Eight such points have already been established. In the future we are planning to …

  • Russia expresses doubt about Volker’s ability to 'contribute to resolving the crisis in the Donbas’ after his statements that LPR and DPR should be disbanded

    U.S. Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker’s call to disband the LPR and the DPR “calls into question” his ability to contribute to the resolution of the crisis in the Donbas, said the chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachev, reported RIA Novosti.

    “Volker's words, of course, do not fit into any framework of the existing Minsk agreements and, in my opinion, quite seriously call into question his readiness and ability to make a real contribution to …

  • Ukraine and Russia are ready for a dialogue with the European Commission on the gas transit issue

    Ukraine and Russia have prepared for close, consistent communication regarding gas transit issues, RIA Novosti reports, quoting a representative of the European Commission. "Ukraine and Russia have confirmed their readiness to remain in close contact with the European Commission," the source said.

    According to him, the Vice President of the European Commission for Energy Union, Maroš Šefčovič was informed of Gazprom's intention to terminate contracts with Naftogaz. He also added that all …