Is This The Next Major Market For Russian LNG?

Gas Flame file photo

(oilprice.com – Viktor Katona – Aug. 17, 2020) Russia’s ambitious LNG plans have so far based on two producing assets – the Gazprom-operated Sakhalin LNG and the NOVATEK-operated Yamal LNG. The addition of Yamal LNG into its portfolio has helped to boost its clout (growing from 4% of global LNG trade to 8% currently) yet the actual numbers of assets […]

» Read more

RUSSIALINK: “Russia able to ensure its security if New START Treaty isn’t extended – Lavrov” – Interfax

Sergei Lavrov file photo

MOSCOW. July 10 (Interfax – Primakov Readings) – Russia will promote the idea of the inadmissibility of a nuclear war at the P5 summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday. “We’re particularly concerned by the fact that the Americans have been refusing for the past two years to […]

» Read more

Russian Plane Draws Shots from South Korea in First Air Patrol with China: Belfer Experts Weigh In

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff- July 25, 2019) South Korean fighter jets fired over 300 warning shots at a Russian Air Force A-50 Mainstay Airborne Early Warning aircraft on July 23 after the Russian plane twice violated South Korea’s airspace above the East Sea, according to South Korean authorities cited by The Aviationist. Earlier that day, Russian and Chinese […]

» Read more

JRL NEWSWATCH: “No end to World War II in sight in the Kuril Islands; As Abe and Putin prepare to deal, a dispute that dates back to the final hours of World War II looks unlikely to be resolved” – Asia Times/Giovanni Pigni

Map of Northern Japan, Kurill Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Portions of Russian Far East

“… Japanese-Russian negotiations over the disputed Southern Kuril islands took place … in Moscow, ahead of … [a] summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and … Putin. … the only obstacle preventing the two nations signing an official peace agreement to end World War II. … The Kuril archipelago … [includes] 56 islands stretching from the Russian peninsula of […]

» Read more

Moscow Said Using Polls to Prepare Russians for Giving the Kuriles Back to Japan

Map of Northern Japan, Kurill Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Portions of Russian Far East

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, November 30, 2018) Seventeen percent of Russians are now ready to support the handing back to Japan of some of the Kurile Islands, up from only four to eight percent a decade or more above. This trend suggests, Yevgeny Rychkov of Nakanune says, “the powers that be using polls to prepare” Russians […]

» Read more

RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Eastern Economic Forum plenary session; Vladimir Putin took part in the Eastern Economic Forum. The President spoke at a plenary session of the Forum” – KremlinRu

Asia Map

(Kremlin.ru – September 12, 2018 – en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/58537) Speech at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, Mr President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr President of Mongolia, prime ministers of Japan and South Korea, ladies and gentlemen, friends, I would like to welcome you all to the 4th Eastern Economic Forum. It […]

» Read more

RUSSIALINK: “Moscow prefers G20 to G8, has not asked to return – minister” – Interfax

File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Interfax – June 9, 2018) Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Russia has never asked to be readmitted to the G8, and considers the G20 group a more promising format for the future, Interfax news agency reported on 9 June. “We’ve never asked to come back,” Lavrov said on Russia’s state-owned Channel One TV, the report said, noting that […]

» Read more

Bondholder’s Dream Beckons as ‘Japanification’ Sweeps Russia

Central Bank of Russia file photo

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – June 28, 2017 – Anna Andrianova) From the bondholder’s perspective, Russia has a lot in common with Japan and Italy. That’s a good thing, mostly. An aging population more prone to saving, combined with a “strongly conservative” economy, offer the best mix for fixed-income investors, according to Renaissance Capital. While poor demographics will haunt Russia’s growth […]

» Read more

Will the Russia-Japan “tug-of-peace” yield any results?

Japan Map

The upcoming Russia-Japan summit might mark the beginning of an actual compromise on the Southern Kuril Island territorial dispute, but this can only be the first of many steps, writes a Russian Japan expert. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – NIKOLAY MURASHKIN, SPECIAL TO RBTH – November 21, 2016) The writer is a doctoral candidate, at the faculty of […]

» Read more

NEWSLINK Asia Times/M.K. Bhadrakumar: “Japan and Russia subject each other to shock therapy”

Japan Map

“The common practice in inter-state diplomacy is to hype up forthcoming high-level visits by dignitaries to foreign capitals. President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan is due to take place on December 15 and the general expectation is that it will be a historic milestone in Russo-Japanese relations and a defining moment in the politics of the Asia-Pacific region. …”

» Read more

TRANSCRIPT: [Putin] Interview to Bloomberg. Part One

Asia Map

(Kremlin.ru – September 2, 2016) [More complete Russian text here: http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/52796] On September 1, Vladimir Putin gave an interview to the international media company Bloomberg in Vladivostok. John Micklethwait: Mr President, thank you very much for talking to Bloomberg. We are in Vladivostok, at the border of Russia, practically the Pacific Coast is its border, and this is already the […]

» Read more

Is the U.S. behind Japan’s reluctance to sign a peace treaty with Russia?

Japan Map

In the second part of this series on Russia-Japan ties, Rakesh Krishnan Simha looks at how the two countries are finding common cause in many areas, despite being unable to settle the over 70-year old dispute over the Southern Kuril Islands. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – RAKESH KRISHNAN SIMHA, SPECIAL TO RBTH – May 25, 2016) The Russia-Japan […]

» Read more

How Russia is moving ahead with its Asian pivot

Asia Map

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently visited Mongolia and Japan. His goal was to initiate a real “Eastern turn” in Russian foreign policy. (Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – GEVORG MIRZAYAN, RBTH – April 20, 2016) At first glance Russia made an Eastward turn a long time before the West imposed sanctions on the country. However, until now we […]

» Read more

2015: A mixed bag for Russia’s Asian ‘Pivot’; Ties with ASEAN and China grow, but relationship with Japan remains frosty

Asia Map

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – AJAY KAMALAKARAN, RBTH – December 10, 2015) Russia’s strategic and economic push towards Asia achieved mixed results in 2015, with Moscow strengthening ties with ASEAN countries and China, while its ties with Japan and Australia remained frosty. “When it comes to Asia, the biggest strategic economic gains came to Russia from the ASEAN […]

» Read more

Got a Diplomatic Dilemma? Send in the Clowns

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 […]

» Read more

Putin: Russia has no relations with G7 but ready to cooperate with its members bilaterally

File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(Interfax – June 10, 2015) Russia currently does not maintain any relationship with the G7, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “We have no relations with the G7, what relations could there be?” Putin told journalists following negotiations with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on June 10. At the same time, “if our partners want it, we will be developing active […]

» Read more

Moscow Times: Russia Beats U.S. and Japan as Best Place to Live for Expats, Survey Shows

World Map Showing Continents, Greens, Browns, Ice

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 24, 2014) Russia has ranked 17th on HSBC Bank’s annual list of the of the world’s best countries for expats, beating other destinations like Japan, France and the United Kingdom. Expats in 34 countries were asked in the HSBC Expat poll published Wednesday to judge their experiences on living abroad in three main categories […]

» Read more

The Hague Declaration

File Photo of G7 Leaders and other Officials Around Round Table at the Hague, with Flags

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release – March 24, 2014) 1. We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission met in The Hague to reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and […]

» Read more

Statement of G-7 Leaders on Ukraine

File Photo of G8 Heads of State Outdoors in 2013

(The White House – Office of the Press Secretary – For Immediate Release – March 12, 2014) We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, call on the Russian Federation to cease all efforts to change the status of Crimea […]

» Read more

Japan-Russia Ties/Johnson’s Russia List 2014-#34

Japan Map

Subject: RE: Johnson’s Russia List 2014-#34/Japan-Russia Ties Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 From: Joseph Ferguson <jodyferg@earthlink.net> Regarding an article posted on the JRL on the 18th of February (#34) from the Moscow Times, “Japan-Russia Ties: An Opportunity for the U.S.” by Jeffrey Mankoff, I wanted to post the following comments. I know this topic seems peripheral at best given current […]

» Read more

NEWSLINK: Japan-Russia Ties: An Opportunity for the U.S.

Japan Map

[“Japan-Russia Ties: An Opportunity for the U.S.” – Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jeffrey Mankoff – February 18, 2014 – themoscowtimes.com/opinion/article/japan-russia-ties-an-opportunity-for-the-us/494786.html] A Moscow Times commentary by Jeffrey Mankoff, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, suggests that Russian relations with the United States and the European Union are at an impasse, but that Russian Relations with Japan have been […]

» Read more

Gazprom Completes First Solo Offshore Project

Map of Northern Japan, Kurill Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Portions of Russian Far East

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anatoly Medetsky – October 25, 2013) Gazprom has started to operate the first offshore field that it has developed on its own, in a test of its power to perform the challenging task without foreign partners. Sitting off the Pacific island of Sakhalin, the Kirinskoye field will feed natural gas to Asia, as demand from […]

» Read more

Kuril island may be named after Soviet diplomat Gromyko

Map of Northern Japan, Kurill Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Portions of Russian Far East

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. Feb 11 (Interfax) – The Russian Foreign Ministry’s office in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has suggested to the Sakhalin division of the Russian Geographic Society naming an unnamed Kuril island after Soviet diplomat Andrei Gromyko. The Sakhalin division backed the proposal and submitted it to the Moscow office of the Russian Geographic Society for approval, Vladimir Nosov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s representative […]

» Read more

Jets Scramble on Japan’s Northern Territories Day

Map of Northern Japan, Kurill Islands, Sea of Okhotsk, Portions of Russian Far East

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – February 8, 2013) Japan scrambled four fighter jets to intercept two Russian fighters it said invaded Japanese airspace near Russia’s Kuril Islands for about 11 seconds on Thursday, as Japan celebrated a national day of commemoration calling for the disputed archipelago seized in World War II to return to the Japanese. Russia’s […]

» Read more