(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Danske Bank – August 13, 2014) We analyse the economic and financial impact of the Ukrainian crisis with a special focus on our footprint Nordic markets. We view the situation in Ukraine as far from de-escalating as fighting continues in Donetsk and Lugansk, which we expect to weigh on market sentiments near term. However, […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 13, 2014) Fewer Russians are concerned about inflation than they were a month ago, a new poll published Tuesday showed, even as analysts warned recession was inevitable and that a ban on many foreign food items would push up prices for consumers. The state-run Russian Public Opinion Research Center found that between June and […]
» Read more
(RIA Novosti – August 11, 2014) Russia is not planning at present to stop western airlines from flying across Siberia, Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov has said. “Do not worry, there is no decision being taken on this just yet,” he replied when asked by journalists, RIA Novosti news agency reported on 11 August. The newspaper Vedomosti reported last week that […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, August 7, 2014) Moscow’s upmarket food shoppers are reacting variously with patriotic approval and gloomy resignation at the prospect of going without some of their favorite foreign foods for a year. The Russian government on August 7 approved a lengthy shopping list of foods and produce that cannot be imported from countries that have imposed […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, August 11, 2014) The notion that the West has a strategy for Ukraine is “a myth of Kremlin propaganda,” Vladimir Pastukhov says. “What is happening in Ukraine is the result not so much of the application of a mistaken strategy by the West as much as it is the sad consequence of […]
» Read more
SOCHI, August 11 (RIA Novosti) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has a wide range of possible responses to Western sanctions under the rules of the World Trade Organization that can be used by any member. “There is a whole range of measures and defined tools within the WTO which, of course, each WTO member state has the right […]
» Read more
WASHINGTON, August 7 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – Russia’s food embargo is a smart move on Moscow’s part that is set to show the United States and its allies that Russia is not going to give in to Western pressure, an American economist and co-director of a US-based research center told RIA Novosti Thursday. “It is smart of Moscow to […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Aug 8 (Interfax) – Russia’s response to the anti-Russian measures taken by the West was forced and further unwinding of the “sanctions spiral” is absurd and dangerous, Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said. “As to the measures taken by Russia on the countries that initiated or support anti-Russia sanctions, they are a response aimed at protecting our citizens […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) – The countries from which Russia has just banned food imports supply over 10% Russia’s pork, fish and fruit, Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov told a briefing. Russia consumes 2.345 million tonnes of beef, but the embargoed suppliers, the EU, United States, Australia, Norway and Canada supply 59,000 tonnes of this. The figures for pork are 3.415 […]
» Read more
MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that Russia is considering a potential ban on European and U.S. air carriers using trans-Siberian routes as a possible retaliatory step against Western sanctions targeting Russia’s low-cost airline Dobrolet. “The government of the Russian Federation is considering a number of retaliatory steps. But it does not mean that […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Allison Quinn – August 7, 2014) Anti-Western sentiments in Russia have hit a fever pitch amid the ongoing conflict in neighboring Ukraine, a survey conducted by independent pollster the Levada Center revealed Wednesday. A mere 18 percent of respondents harbor favorable attitudes toward the U.S., a significant decrease from January’s 43 percent. The number of […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – August 7, 2014) The grounding this week of Russia’s low-cost airline, Dobrolyot, by European Union sanctions has exposed the vulnerability of Russia’s airline industry, which relies on aircraft leased from abroad that can be withdrawn at the push of a pen in Brussels or Washington. Russian airlines lease 90 percent of their […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow hopes that economic pragmatism will guide political decisions taken by the West, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday after announcing a sweeping ban on food imports from countries that sanctioned Russia. “I sincerely hope that the economic pragmatism of our Western partners will prevail over ridiculous political ideas and they would start […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines Press Digest – rbth.ru – Sofia Savina, special to RBTH – August 5, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media, featuring news of possible restrictions on the use of Russian airspace by European airlines in response to sanctions, U.S. concern over large exercises by Russia’s air force on the Ukrainian border, and […]
» Read more
(RIA Novosti – Moscow, August 4, 2014) Moscow believes that Western countries will continue to exert pressure on Russia by means of sanctions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. “I think, there is a real threat which one should not underestimate: that the itch of sanctions won’t end with this [i.e. the current sanctions]. They will scratch it […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – August 4, 2014) The impact of the EU’s latest and harshest sanctions on Russia will be felt most keenly in the country’s economic sectors that are largely dependent on state-of-the-art Western technology, ranging from the extraction of hydrocarbons to civil aircraft production, analysts said. The European Union late last week officially approved […]
» Read more
The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release August 01, 2014 Press Conference by the President [excerpt] James S. Brady Press Briefing Room THE PRESIDENT: Look, this is a common theme that folks bring up. Apparently people have forgotten that America, as the most powerful country on Earth, still does not control everything around the world. And […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – August 1, 2014) The West’s latest round of sanctions on Russia will not have much immediate impact on the county’s defense industry, but they do have the potential to strike a blow to Russia’s 23 trillion ruble ($646 billion) military modernization drive, analysts say. The European Union on Thursday formally banned the […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Charles Recknagel – July 30, 2014) The latest round of EU and U.S. sanctions over Ukraine will restrict Moscow’s access to what Russia arguably needs most: Western financing and new technology. Here are five things to know about the sanctions and their impact. How much could the sanctions hurt Russia? This batch of sanctions comes at […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Sofia Savina, special to RBTH – July 30, 2014) RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media on the latest developments in Ukraine, featuring widespread reaction to the imposition of yet another wave of sanctions against Russia by the U.S. and the EU, as well as news of Russian aviation experts’ […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Kira Egorova, RBTH – July 30, 2014) A new survey shows that the number of Russians concerned about economic restrictions imposed by the West is steadily decreasing A new poll from the Levada Center has revealed that Russians are becoming less afraid of sanctions. The most recent survey, conducted between July 18-21 after […]
» Read more
(Interfax – July 25, 2014) The sanctions introduced by the European Union against Russia will not force Moscow to change its policy on the situation in Ukraine, Russia’s permanent representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov has said, privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 25 July. “This is incorrect logic, to think that sanctions can force, in this case Russia, […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Concorde Capital – July 24, 2014) EU Energy Commissioner GYnther Oettinger opposes sanctions on Russian natural gas and oil but doesn’t rule out sanctions on energy technology and equipment, he told a July 23 press conference in Brussels, as reported by the UNIAN news agency. “I always spoke against including energy supplies of Russian […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Tim Ash, Standard Bank – July 24, 2014) What is now clear on the ground is that Ukraine is at war, and with significant casualties suffered now by both sides on a daily basis – tens of lives lost almost daily now. The conflict is also causing very significant disruption and costs to the […]
» Read more
BRUSSELS, July 23 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev received Moscow’s list of potential risks that Ukraine’s association with the European Union could present to Russia’s economy, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told journalists. “Just yesterday, we received Russia’s perception of the potential risks,” Klimkin said on Tuesday. Ukraine signed the agreement on its association with the EU on June 27. Russia […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow will have to resort to protective measures if Ukraine’s association deal with the European Union poses risks for the Russian economy, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday. «We believe that the risks remain quite serious, especially concerning technical regulations and standards of sanitary and phytosanitary control. That’s why we are conducting consultations […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow has received «clear signals» from US and European companies about their intention to continue work in Russia, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday. «We have received quite clear signals that European and American companies are set to continue work with Russian partners. Time is ripe now to use non-political formats and pay attention […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer, Irina Reznik, Ilya Arkhipov – July 21, 2014) Russia’s richest businessmen are increasingly frantic that President Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine will lead to crippling sanctions and are too scared of reprisal to say so publicly, billionaires and analysts said. If Putin doesn’t move to end the war in Ukraine in the wake of […]
» Read more
LIPETSK, July 18 (RIA Novosti) – US sanctions imposed on Russia are restraints but will not cripple the country’s economy, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday. “This is a program of limiting our country, or as is accepted to say, restraining [Russia],” Medvedev told students at a metallurgical plant in Lipetsk. “Sanctions won’t cripple our economy, everything will be […]
» Read more
(Gordon M. Hahn – gordon-hahn@sbcglobal.net – Analyst and Advisory Board Member, Geostrategic Forecasting Corporation, Chicago, Ill, geostrategicforecasting.com; Analyst, Rus Strategic Ltd., Prague, Czech Republic; Senior Researcher, Center for Terrorism and Intelligence Studies, Akribis Group, San Jose, Calif.) Since the Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March in the wake of the revolutionary takeover in Kiev in February, U.S. policy has rested on […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Iana Dreyer of borderlex.eu – July 11, 2014) High-level officials from the EU, Ukraine and Russia are holding a trilateral meeting in Brussels on July 11 to address Russia’s concerns about how the free trade and association pact that Brussels and Kyiv signed in late June might have on its trade with Ukraine. […]
» Read more
BRUSSELS, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russia hopes that a three-party ministerial meeting to discuss Ukraine’s association with the European Union will produce a positive outcome, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Friday. Ulyukayev, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klymkin and European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht will meet for three-party talks and bilateral meetings later in the day. […]
» Read more
BRUSSELS. July 8 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian people have opted to join Europe but is confronted with serious challenges, first of all connected with Russia, said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Volodymyr Groysman. “Russia’s aggression – not only military – is unprecedented. Add to this information, economic and energy aggression which aims to ruin Ukraine,” he said at a high-level meeting […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Daisy Sindelar – July 6, 2014) Russia has never hidden how it feels about neighbors forging closer ties with the European Union. So it was no surprise when Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said there would be “grave consequences” for Ukraine when it signed a landmark deal on closer economic ties with Brussels on June 27. Georgia and Moldova signed […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 5, 2014) Ukraine’s move Friday toward attempting to sell nearly 50 percent in its gas pipeline system to EU and U.S. investors does not mean that Western buyers will rush to take up the offer, as the system’s value depends on a steady supply of Russian gas, energy analysts told The […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ian Wishart, Elizabeth Konstantinova – July 3, 2014) Joining the European Union was meant to give Bulgaria a fresh start. Try telling that to Anna Dimitrova. “Bulgaria didn’t gain from the EU as much as it could have, because it’s mismanaged by corrupt politicians,” said Dimitrova, a law student, in central Sofia. “Our politicians are not […]
» Read more
(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Viktor Kuzmin, special to RBTH – July 3, 2014) Tourist operators in Russia have expressed alarm at a substantial drop in the number of foreign visitors coming to the country in 2014. Key figures in the tourist industry speculate that the fall in tourist numbers may be a result of the Ukrainian crisis, […]
» Read more
(The Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – July 4, 2014) EU Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger on Thursday asserted European companies’ right to sell Russian gas back to Ukraine, flying in the face of warnings from Russian energy giant Gazprom as tensions continue to build over energy policy. Energy companies in the EU have an “absolute right to dispose of gas bought from […]
» Read more
(RIA Novosti – July 2, 2014) The USA is not interested in the EU participating more actively in settling the Ukrainian crisis and for this reason, among other things, is pushing Europe towards sanctions against Russia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoriy Karasin said in an interview to state-controlled rolling news channel Rossiya 24 broadcast on 2 July; his remarks were […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Nicholas Watson, Ben Aris, Tim Gosling, Rob Whitford – June 30, 2014) The growing confrontation between Russia and the West ranges across many fronts, none more significant than in an area of rural northwest Bulgaria, where in October workers began welding pipes that will feed a natural gas compressor station near the settlement of […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Marcus Svedberg and Aivaras Abromavicius of East Capital – July 1, 2014) Marcus Svedberg is Chief Economist, and Aivaras Abromavicius is Partner, of East Capital Ukraine signed an Association Agreement (AA) and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the EU in Brussels on June 27. President Petro Poroshenko, in his […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – July 2, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin lambasted the West in a speech to assembled diplomats call on July 1, although he stopped short of making new military threats against Ukraine as Kyiv resumed its antiterrorism operation in the east of the country. The Russian rhetoric is becoming somewhat […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 27, 2014) Russians must recognize that sanctions are “the new economic and political reality” in which they live and overcome three widespread and government-promoted misconceptions about such sanctions if the country is going to be able to cope with them as well as possible, according to a senior Russian scholar. In […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – June 27, 2014) With Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova set to sign the economic sections of association agreements with the European Union on Friday, analysts say the deals will have minimal impact on the Russian economy but will further broaden the political schism between Russia and its neighbors. Russia should not lose more […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Tim Ash of Standard Chartered – June 27, 2014) This is a landmark agreement for Ukraine, and will be transformational. Poroshenko has indicated that Ukraine aims for EU membership, but this is a long run goal – likely 10-15 years away, if then. Ukraine is realistic, and understanding of the changing politics in […]
» Read more
BRUSSELS, June 27 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s chances of attaining candidate status for membership in the European Union are hard to predict, Stefan Fuele, EU Commissioner for Enlargement said. “We are not at the stage when we could even speculate about the candidate status. We just signed the association agreement, it needs to be ratified, we need to move on […]
» Read more
[“Ukraine Signs Trade Agreement With European Union” – New York Times – ANDREW HIGGINS and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN – June 27, 2014] The New York Times reports on Ukraine and the European Union reaching a sweeping trade deal, one that had been the original impetus for protests effectively upending the earlier Ukrainian regime of Viktor Yanukovych. Meanwhile, Russia has threatened serious consequences in […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, June 26 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine and Moldova’s struggling economies could face multi-billion-dollar losses after signing association agreements with the European Union, Russian experts warn. “Countries that sign this association [deal] agree to fall in line with all EU directives, standards and technical regulations – and this is at their own expense. Even if the EU gives them certain […]
» Read more
[“Russian lawmakers revoke right to send troops into Ukraine” – Reuters – June 25, 2014] Reuters covers a vote by Russia’s Parliament to formerly rescind a past authorization of military intervention in Ukraine. The legislators acted in response to a directive from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The authorization of force could be reinstated in short order if need be. The Russian parliament […]
» Read more
[“Ukraine’s Ancient Hatreds” – The National Interest – Nikolas K. Gvosdev – June 25, 2014] The National Interest examines the Western response to the crisis in Ukraine, as well as various historical contexts for Russia, Ukraine and the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced a “triune people/one people” concept disputed by outsiders, even as it impacts Kremlin policy. In his public remarks, Putin […]
» Read more