Tag: Europe

TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview for Handelsblatt, Germany

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Middle East, North Africa, Military, NATO, Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – February 11, 2016) Ahead of the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister answered questions from Editor-in-Chief Sven Afhüppe and international correspondent Mathias Bruggmann. Question: Mr Prime Minister, thank you for finding the time to meet with us. You will come to Munich to attend the Conference on Security. Handelsblatt will cover the proceedings and primarily your participation in […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Time magazine

Baltics, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Middle East, North Africa, Military, NATO, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Dmitri Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – February 15, 2016) Dmitry Medvedev has given an interview to Time magazine correspondent Simon Shuster following the Munich Security Conference. Question: Thank you very much for agreeing to this interview with Time magazine. I would also like to thank you for your remarks today at the conference. This was a very interesting and eloquent speech. You made a […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Euronews TV channel

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Middle East, North Africa, Military, NATO, Spies, Spy Allegations, Syria
Dmitry Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – February 14, 2016) The Prime Minister spoke with Global Conversation presenter Isabelle Kumar on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference Question: Mr Prime Minister, thank you for joining the Global Conversation. The Syrian issue is a priority; it dominates the international agenda. It is now believed that we are approaching a turning point, although it remains to […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Interview of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Sputnik News Agency

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Dmitri Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – February 12, 2016) Question: The organizers of the Munich Security Conference welcomed your participation in the conference, stressing that it is even more important to dialogue at a high level during times of crisis. What aims do you set before your delegation for your trip to Munich? What are the main theses of your speech? Dmitry Medvedev: The […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Dmitry Medvedev’s interview for Handelsblatt, Germany

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Dmitri Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru – February 11, 2016) Ahead of the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister answered questions from Editor-in-Chief Sven Afhüppe and international correspondent Mathias Bruggmann. Question: Mr Prime Minister, thank you for finding the time to meet with us. You will come to Munich to attend the Conference on Security. Handelsblatt will cover the proceedings and primarily your participation in […]

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RBTH: U.S. to spend $4.3 billion on ‘countering Russian aggression’

Europe, EU, Military, NATO, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

The White House has announced that a special sum allocated to fighting Russian influence in Europe and the former Soviet space will be included in the country’s budget for the 2017 fiscal year. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – MARINA KARPOVA, RBTH – February 11, 2016) The U.S. fiscal year 2017 budget will include $4.3 billion allocated “for political, […]

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U.S. National Intelligence Director Says Russia Is Paranoid, Aggressive

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Military, NATO, Syria, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – February 10, 2016) Russia is “paranoid” about NATO and is likely to continue “aggressive” actions this year to support its claim to great power status, U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper said in Senate testimony Tuesday. In a report on “Worldwide Threat Assessment” that Clapper presented to the Senate, Russia topped a […]

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NEWSLINK: “Life after sanctions: What kind of future awaits Russia and the EU? With calls for EU economic sanctions against Russia to be lifted growing, it is time to consider what kind of future awaits relations between Moscow and Europe – is the idea of close co-operation dead and buried, or can both sides bury the hatchet and move toward a more meaningful and trusting relationship?” – RBTH/Gazeta.ru/Fyodor Lukyanov

Europe, EU, Newslinks, Sanctions
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Is There A Non-West for Russia to Lead?

China, CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Military, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(PONARS Eurasia – ponarseurasia.org – Keith Darden – January 28, 2016 – ponarseurasia.org/memo/non-west-for-russia-to-lead) Keith Darden is Associate Professor in the School of International Service at American University. (PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) Recently, Russian policymakers and strategists have articulated a vision of a vibrant non-Western world, one in which the United States and European leaders are increasingly marginal and where Russia […]

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Andrew Davies’ New ‘War and Peace’ Takes the Small Screen by Storm

Britain, UK, United Kingdom, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television
Leo Tolstoy file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Des Brown – January 27, 2016) British screenwriter Andrew Davies is television’s best English literature lecturer. He introduced homicidal British Prime Minister Francis Urquhart to BBC viewers in the “House of Cards” trilogy between 1990 and 1995. Just over two decades ago, a wet-shirted Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy captured the national imagination in Davies’ […]

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Ukraine’s Graft Fight Shows Little Progress, Transparency Says

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Volodymyr Verbyany – January 27, 2016) Ukraine’s efforts to stamp out corruption last year brought scant progress, according to Transparency International, which said civil society, journalists and whistle-blowers have been more effective than government officials in combating graft. The former Soviet republic’s score rose “only one additional point” in the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index, the Berlin-based […]

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Russian Entente Nears as Allies Give Ukraine Sanctions Hint

Europe, EU, France, Germany, Military, NATO, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – January 26, 2016) After almost two years on the outside, signs are growing that Russia may soon be invited in from the cold. The worsening of crises from Syria to Libya are forcing the international community to reconsider sanctions slapped on President Vladimir Putin’s government over Ukraine as a way of getting a key diplomatic power […]

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Kudrin: Sanctions against Russia could start to ease late 2016-early 2017

Europe, EU, Russia & the West, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Alexei Kudrin file photo

(Interfax – January 22, 2016) Relations between Russia and the West are normalizing and sanctions will be lifted, Alexei Kudrin, a former Russian finance minister, said. “I’m sure the sanctions will start to soften at the end of this year or start of next year. Nobody in Russia wants to keep up confrontation. I think the Minsk accords will be […]

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TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Interview to German newspaper Bild [Part 1]

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Kremlin.ru – January 11, 2016) [As published in Bild: bild.de/politik/ausland/wladimir-putin/russian-president-vladimir-putin-the-interview-44092656.bild.html] The interview was recorded on January 5, in Sochi. Question: Mr President, We have just marked the 25th anniversary of the end of the Cold War. Last year, we witnessed a great number of wars and crises across the world, something that had not happened for many years. What did […]

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100 Million Fewer People Speak Russian Now than Did 25 Years Ago

CIS, Customs Union, Eurasian Union, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Education, Academia, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, History, Soviet Union, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia Staunton, December 26, 2015) The number of people who speak Russian has declined by 100 million since 1989 or 27 percent, according to Leonid Slutsky, the chairman of the Duma committee on compatriots and Eurasian integration. (In 1989, 370 million said they spoke Russian; now, 270 million do.) But instead of seeing this as […]

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NEWSWATCH Carnegie Endowment for International Peace/Eugene Rumer, Paul Stronski: “Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia at Twenty­Five-A Baseline Assessment”

Central Asia, Europe, EU, Far East, Siberia, APEC, History, Soviet Union, JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace undertakes an overview of former Soviet states two-and-a-half decades following the USSR’s collapse. For nearly twenty-five years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia, Ukraine, and the rest of the former Soviet lands now collectively referred to as Eurasia defied the best and the worst expectations of students of the region’s history. Unfortunately, […]

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EU Council divided on procedure for prolonging sanctions against Russia

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Sanctions
EU Map

(Interfax – December 11, 2015) The EU restrictive measures against Russia may not be prolonged on Dec. 14, a high-ranking EU official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters in Brussels on Dec. 11. The source assumed that the sanctions will be prolonged fully, but not necessarily on Dec. 14. The source said such a decision does not have […]

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NEWSWATCH Deutsche Welle: “Activists or Kremlin agents – who protects Russian-speakers in the Baltics? Moscow has been financing Russian-language NGOs in the Baltic states for years. Security authorities there are suspicious of the organizations, but the NGOs deny there is any cause for concern.”

Baltics, Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Spies, Spy Allegations
Map of Baltics and Environs, Including Kaliningrad

Deutsche Welle covers Russian government financing of NGO activity in the Baltics. Authorities have long had these NGOs in their sights. In its annual report, Latvian police stated that the Russia-backed organizations are tasked with the distribution of “biased and distorted information” on domestic procedures in Latvia. According to Estonian and Latvian authorities, the violation of the rights of Russian […]

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RBTH: “Russia and the EU: United by the refugees’ tragedy; Similar approach to border controls is key to managing migration.”

Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Human Rights, Middle East, North Africa
Europe Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – DMITRY BABICH, SPECIAL TO RBTH – December 8, 2015) Dmitry Babich is a political analyst at Sputnik International. In recent years, Russia and the European Union have developed a taste for stressing what divides them, particularly the “differences in values” which presumably make us two worlds apart. But there is at least one […]

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RIA Novosti : “Russian envoy: Raised focus on relations with China predates Western sanctions”

China, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Far East, Siberia, APEC, Sanctions
Asia Map

(RIA Novosti – December 8, 2015) Russian ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Andrey Denisov has denied that Russia’s “eastward turn” – its visible attempt to improve relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily China – was a response to the introduction of sanctions against Russia by several Western countries; rather, he said, it had been mooted over […]

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RBTH: “Russia can now ignore rulings by European human rights court”

Europe, EU, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
European Court of Human Rights Building file photo

The Russian State Duma has passed a law making it possible to recognize, upon a motion from the president or the government, some rulings by international courts as unenforceable in Russia. While critics say the law is aimed at limiting the powers of the European Court of Human Rights, an RBTH source says the state is merely defending its sovereignty […]

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Will hybrid warfare doctrine draw NATO and Russia further apart?

Military, NATO
Europe Map

NATO has adopted a new doctrine aimed at conducting a swift response to any attempts to use hybrid warfare against its member states, including the possible use of “little green men” to effect a change of power. Where does this leave relations with Russia, which is clearly perceived by the alliance as a potential instigator of such activity? (Russia Beyond […]

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Russia won’t turn off gas to Ukraine and risk transit to EU – energy minister

Europe, EU, Oil, Gas, Energy, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Gas Flame file photo

(Interfax – Vladivostok, December 5, 2015) Russia will in no circumstances turn off the gas supply to Ukraine and place the transit of gas to Europe at risk, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has said. He said this in an interview with Vesti on Saturday with Sergey Brilyev, which was broadcast in the [Russian] far east. “Ukraine is receiving gas […]

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Russians Want Better Ties With West, But No Change in Policy – Poll

Europe, EU, NATO, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Eva Hartog – December 3, 2015) Amid a standoff over the crisis in Ukraine and ongoing conflict in Syria, most Russians want their country to mend ties with its nemeses even while maintaining its political course, the independent Levada Center pollster said Wednesday. Seventy-five percent of those questioned in a new poll said Russia should […]

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NEWSWATCH New York Times: “Russia’s Fury Over Montenegro and NATO”

Europe, EU, JRL NewsBlog, Military, Motenegro, NATO
File Photo of Montenegro Coastal City Kotor with Portion of Old Fortress, Town in Distance, Mountain

The New York Times comments upon Russia’s reaction to the prospect of Montenegro joining NATO. It is a measure of how cold the West’s relations with Russia have become that NATO’s membership invitation to Montenegro — a small, poor Balkan state with a military force of 2,000 and no strategic significance save putting the last bit of Europe’s Mediterranean coastline […]

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Got a Diplomatic Dilemma? Send in the Clowns

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Russia & the West
Clown file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Justin Lifflander – December 2, 2015) While some potential visitors have crossed Russia off their list, a group of humanitarian clowns still regards the country as an ideal destination. The 22nd annual clown tour of Russia, which ended last week, brought more than 40 garishly dressed volunteers from 12 countries, including those with problematic relations […]

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Three-quarters of Russians stand for normalizing relations with West

Europe, EU, NATO, Russia & the West, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Interfax – December 2, 2015) Most Russians (75 percent) think that Russia should normalize relations with the United States and other Western nations, and 16 percent argue the opposite, Levada Center has told Interfax. Ten percent of 1,600 respondents interviewed in 137 populated localities in 48 regions on November 20-23 were undecided. In the opinion of 51 percent of the […]

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NEWSWATCH Moscow Times/Kevin Ryan: “Turkish Shootdown Shows Importance of NATO-Russia Dialogue”

JRL NewsBlog, Middle East, North Africa, NATO, Turkey
NATO Meeting file photo

In the aftermath of Turkey’s shoot-down of a Russian military aircraft, Retired Brigadier General Kevin Ryan addresses the need for greater dialogue between NATO and Russia. It is important to recognize how serious the situation has become between Russia and NATO over the last two years. In response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its activities in Ukraine, almost all operational communications between the militaries of NATO and Russia have been suspended. […]

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Downing of Russian Plane has Serious Consequences for Putin at Home, in Central Asia, and in Ukraine

Aviation, Drones, Europe, EU, Middle East, North Africa, Military, NATO, Oil, Gas, Energy, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Syria, Turkey
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 25, 2015) The shooting down of a Russian military plane by Turkish forces after Kremlin ignored repeated warnings from Ankara not to violate Turkey’s airspace not only increases the risks of a clash between Russia and the West but has serious consequences for Putin at home, in Central Asia and the […]

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NEWSWATCH International New York Times/Maxim Trudolyubov: “Putin’s Emergency Politics”

Europe, EU, France, JRL NewsBlog, Military, NATO, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Writing in The International New York Times, Maxim Trudolyubov comments upon Russia’s relationship with Europe and the United States, and policies towards Syria and Ukraine, in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in France. Much has changed for Vladimir Putin since the terror attacks in Paris. The trope that aggressions in Crimea and Ukraine show that he is more of a […]

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Can Putin Come In From The Cold?

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Europe, EU, Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, NATO, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – November 18, 2015) He wasn’t ostracized. He wasn’t isolated. And certainly nobody threatened to shirtfront him. In the space of a year, Vladimir Putin has gone from being the pariah of Brisbane to being the star of Antalya. The contrast between last year’s G20 summit in Australia and this year’s in Turkey couldn’t […]

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NEWSWATCH Reuters: “EU’s Juncker dangles trade ties with Russia-led bloc to Putin”

Europe, EU, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
EU Map

Reuters covers European overtures to Russia to improve ties with a ceasefire in Ukraine. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin this week, suggesting closer trade ties between the 28-nation EU and a Russian-led economic bloc once a ceasefire is implemented in Ukraine. … written after a G20 summit in Turkey … Russian aggression in Ukraine […]

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The Beginning of the End of Russia’s Estrangement from the West

Europe, EU, Georgia, NATO, Russia & the West, Terrorism, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov – November 17, 2015) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. Mr. Trudolyubov was the editorial page editor of Vedomosti between 2003 and 2015. He has been a contributing opinion writer for The International New York Times since the fall of […]

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Terrorist Attacks Force Russia and the West to Talk About Collaboration

Aviation, Drones, Disasters, NATO, Terrorism, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Middle East Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – November 19, 2015) Seventeen days after a Russian civilian airliner was downed over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31, Russian officials admitted it was a terrorist attack. On Nov. 17 Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), stated that the plane was blown up by an improvised explosive device. […]

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