“… .planned supply cuts represent a complete reversal by Russia and Saudi Arabia, which had both threatened to ramp up output in a battle for market share after the previous deal between … OPEC[] and other producers fell apart …. Combined with G20 input, the leaders of Russia, the United States and Saudi Arabia engaged in a series of phone […]
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“… The AG is logically being briefed on the progress and findings of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation, which he commissioned to examine how the empty Russia collusion case got started in the first place and if it involved any wrongdoing on the part of the government. It is a safe bet that … Durham is collecting evidence beyond the […]
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“After a Russian military contingent with medical equipment arrived in Rome last month, the Kremlin’s English-language media outlets RT and Sputnik found video gold. They highlighted an Italian man replacing an E.U. flag with a Russian one — deriding how Italy’s European partners “failed” to provide assistance to the coronavirus-stricken country while Russia ‘filled in.’ But when questions were raised […]
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All three leaders face economic threat from low prices. Moscow and Riyadh bury the hatchet. “… On Thursday, Saudi Arabia and Russia ended their stalemate and convinced a handful of other major oil producers to join them in the biggest monthly oil-production cut ever. … Mexico … [also] said it would reduce … production by 100,000 barrels a day …. […]
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“Spying may be the world’s second-oldest profession, but … Putin has certainly given it a fresh makeover. To fully grasp what Russia did in the 2016 U.S. presidential election – and hopes to replicate … – … look back to the end of the Cold War. Putin was a young Soviet KGB officer in Dresden, East Germany … as the […]
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“Attorney General William Barr believes the Russia investigation that shadowed President Donald Trump for the first two years of his administration was started without any basis and amounted to an effort to ‘sabotage the presidency’ …. Barr, who has appointed a U.S. Attorney to scrutinize the origins of the Russia probe, said the Justice Department has evidence there was ‘something […]
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NOVO-OGARYOVO, Moscow region. April 10 (Interfax) – Russia and the United States are cooperating both on space projects and on topical global affairs, such as the market situation and the fight against coronavirus, and such contacts will continue with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. “We are glad that our specialists are successfully working together with their […]
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“The 22-year old space station, which conducts research and scientific studies into space 400km above the Earth, is one of the most prominent examples of U.S.-Russian co-operation, under … joint management of Russia’s space agency and … NASA …. Russia’s Roscosmos is determined to stick to its rocket launch and return schedule to keep the ISS functioning and fully equipped […]
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“… New START … signed 10 years ago, verifiably caps each nation’s strategic nuclear arsenals at no more than 1,550 deployed warheads and 700 missile and bomber delivery platforms. The treaty has worked well for both sides. The latest data exchange mandated by the treaty shows Russia with 1,326 deployed warheads on 485 deployed delivery systems, while the United States […]
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“A U.S.-Russian space crew blasted off Thursday to the International Space Station following a tight quarantine amid the coronavirus pandemic. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos’ Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner lifted off as scheduled … from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan …. The International Space Station is currently operated by Russian Oleg Skripochka and NASA astronauts Jessica Meir […]
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WASHINGTON. April 7 (Interfax) – There are not enough applications from Russian citizens even for one flight from the United States amid the coronavirus epidemic, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said. “It is important that every compatriot who wishes to leave the United States for Russia gets registered in the relevant section of the Internet portal Gosuslugi. […]
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(Oilprice.com – Julianne Geiger – March 30, 2020) U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Monday to have energy officials from both countries discuss the dire state of the global oil market, the Kremlin said, according to Reuters. Trump and Putin discussed the matter over the phone on Monday. “Opinions on the current state of the […]
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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, March 20, 2020) When the USSR disintegrated, Western countries tried to establish conventional relations with the countries of Central Asia, setting up military bases and expanding security arrangements in order to strengthen the independence of these regimes both internally and from Moscow, Dmitry Vinnik says. But that policy has failed, according to […]
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(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – March 26, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/30511615.html) Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed at a Group of 20 (G20) video conference that a freeze be placed on economic sanctions to allow countries to better combat the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 500,000 worldwide […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – March 20, 2020) Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of Russia Matters. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. A popular talking point for many watchers of U.S.-Russian relations is to warn that reduced communication between the two countries, caused by the enduring animosities between Moscow and […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Steven Pifer – March 5, 2020) This op-ed is part of a new debate from Russia Matters and is written in response to “US Embrace of Great Power Competition Also Means Contending With Spheres of Influence” by Paul Saunders. In a recent article for Russia Matters, Paul Saunders argues that, since the United States now views great power […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Paul Saunders – March 12, 2020) Paul Saunders is a senior fellow in U.S. foreign policy at the Center for the National Interest. This op-ed is part of a new debate from Russia Matters. It is a rebuttal to “Contending With — Not Accepting — Spheres of Influence” by Steven Pifer. The opening argument can be read here: “US Embrace […]
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Conditions are ripe: The pandemic is sweeping right into campaign season, and Trump’s response is highly contested. “Close observers of Russian disinformation tactics in electoral interference have two big questions as the 2020 election approaches: How large is the appetite for escalation among Russian intelligence agencies this time around? And where was, and is, S.V.R., Russia’s counterpart to the C.I.A.? […]
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“Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has been well documented, and evidence shows Russia is again trying to undermine the 2020 election. But what is the federal government doing to stop it? Richard Hasen, founder of the Election Law Blog and author of “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy,” joins Hari Sreenivasan to […]
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Subject: COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Update Date: Tue, 10 Mar 2020 From: Josh Wilson <jwilson@sras.org> COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Update SRAS.org SRAS Updates on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Update as of March 10, 2020 Russia, including the city Moscow where elevated precautions are being taken, has not yet applied any restrictions to US citizens traveling to Russia. US citizens arriving to Moscow or any […]
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Russian intelligence services are trying to incite violence by white supremacist groups to sow chaos in the United States, American intelligence officials said “The Russian government has stepped up efforts to inflame racial tensions in the United States as part of its bid to influence November’s presidential election, including trying to incite violence by white supremacist groups and to stoke […]
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(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – March 10, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/us-official-new-start-treaty-should-cover-russian-weapons-systems-under-development/30479166.html) An extension of the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia should include new weapons systems that Moscow is developing, a U.S. State Department official said in a briefing on March 9. The New […]
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President Trump’s former top adviser on Russia talks with Lesley Stahl about the differences between briefings in the Trump and Obama administrations, how Vladimir Putin operates and how both Republicans and Democrats have played into his hands “You may remember Fiona Hill from her passionate testimony, and English accent, during the impeachment hearings …. She held one of the most […]
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“… Moscow’s hybrid war against the Western world continues unabated. … There are many advantages to a modern-day revival of the Lend-Lease concept. Firstly, it materially strengthens Ukraine by demonstrating growing U.S. support …. Secondly, this plan would help increase allied security and capabilities in threatened areas such as Romania in the Black Sea region and Poland in the north. […]
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“… A blend of new threats and opportunities is causing Moscow to take greater risks and embrace more flamboyant policies in Europe. The Kremlin’s relationships with Italy and Austria shine a spotlight on how Europe’s domestic troubles have opened many doors for Moscow. … Europe … has always been too important for the Kremlin to ignore. … the historical benchmark […]
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“Russia’s new prime minister has ordered his government to revive Russia’s ties with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in what looks like a longshot bid to reopen links with western institutions severed after the Ukraine crisis began in 2014. Mikhail Mishustin [reportedly] asked subordinates to draft a plan … possibly even restarting Russia’s efforts to join …. The […]
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KYIV. Feb 27 (Interfax) – Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation has registered a criminal case opened into possible pressure put on Ukraine’s former prosecutor general Viktor Shokin by former U.S. vice president Joe Biden. “The State Bureau of Investigation has added information about a criminal offence committed to the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations,” Shokin’s lawyer Oleksandr Teleshetsky said at […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 27, 2020) The United States and Britain have more than doubled their crude oil purchases from Russia due to Iran and Venezuela sanctions, the RBC news website reported Friday, citing customs data. Russia exported more than 267 million metric tons of crude oil worth $121 billion in 2019, RBC cited Federal Customs Service data […]
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“The U.S. intelligence community’s top election security official …, Shelby Pierson, told lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election with the goal of helping … Trump get reelected. [But while t]he US intelligence community has assessed that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election and has separately assessed that Russia views Trump as […]
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“… We know that about a month ago, the F.B.I. went to Bernie Sanders. … The F.B.I. frequently comes around to give general warnings to all the candidates, but that’s not what this was all about. This was about a very specific finding. And their message was, we have reason to believe that the Russians, through their own calculus, […]
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“U.S. officials have told … Bernie Sanders that Russia is attempting to help his presidential campaign … according to people familiar with the matter. … Trump and lawmakers on Capitol Hill also have been informed …. It is not clear what form that Russian assistance has taken. U.S. prosecutors found a Russian effort in 2016 to use social media to […]
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“Russian disinformation is again a topic of conversation leading up to the presidential election. What is Russia doing to interfere …? … [T]hat question came up in a briefing the intelligence community’s election security czar gave House members …. [M]ultiple reports say that the meeting focused on Russia’s supposed preference for … Trump … so anger[ing] the president that he […]
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(Oilprice.com – Simon Watkins – February 18, 2020) Historically, Russia goes to great lengths to hide or disguise its strategic intentions but it clearly feels empowered enough in the Middle East to very obviously stake its claim in the region – excluding, for the time being only, Saudi Arabia – by stating that a slew of Russian companies are to […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 18, 2020) Almost 80% of Russians believe that Russia and the West should become friends and partners, according to the results of an independent Levada Center poll published Tuesday. Only 3% of Russian respondents said they see the West as Russia’s enemy, Levada said. Another 16% said they view the West as a rival. […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Nikolas Gvosdev – February 7, 2020) With U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit to the region, the 2020 round of the Eurasian bazaar is in session. This is where the countries that border Russia attempt to bargain with the United States to obtain passes for their human rights records, to extract military or economic […]
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“The dossier on Donald Trump … by … former MI6 spy Christopher Steele …accus[ing Trump] … of being compromised by Russia, was a … ‘fabrication,’ according to … leading British spy writer[] Nigel West [who] … revealed he was hired by a … Republican law firm to assess the dossier in 2017 and concluded that large parts of it were […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 23 (Interfax) – Moscow and Washington have achieved a practically ideal level of interaction in preventing clashes between the Russian and United States militaries on the Syrian territory, Vladimir Batyuk, the head of the Center for Military and Political Studies of the Institute of U.S. and Canadian Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said. “Incidents can be […]
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“… the era of ‘High Putinism’ is ending. … Putin ruled out changing the constitution to allow one person to serve more than two terms as president … [but] will almost certainly remain the principal power broker …. Putin could once again become prime minister …. He could also remain the head of the State Council, a consultative body comprising […]
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“… Putin … proposed holding a summit between the leaders of Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain in 2020 to discuss the conflict in Libya and other global problems. Putin, … speaking during a trip to Israel, said Moscow was ready for a “serious conversation” with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, that there was much […]
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“Since his first job out of law school, John Sullivan has decorated his offices with two framed family heirlooms … a photograph of his father in his days as a submariner in World War II. … [and] a Newsweek cover from early 1979 showing his uncle, the last U.S. ambassador to Iran, surrounded by bearded Iranian students armed with assault […]
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“Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticizes the West’s ‘aggressive stance’ on the world stage” “… Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov … said the Kremlin would continue work to boost Russia’s global influence, while countering the U.S. and Europe. Russia’s growing sway on the world stage has reinvigorated Russians’ patriotism and contributed to the backbone of support for … Putin at home, even […]
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“The top U.S. intelligence official for election security warned that adversaries seeking to interfere in the 2020 elections have become ‘more sophisticated’ as states prepare to hold the voting season’s first primaries and caucuses next month …” Click here for: “Foreign Threats More Numerous, Sophisticated as 2020 Election Looms, Official Says; Concerns about Russia interference rose anew this week after […]
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“The National Security Agency and its British counterpart issued an unusual warning in October: The Russians were back and growing stealthier. …” Click here for: “‘Chaos Is the Point’: Russian Hackers and Trolls Grow Stealthier in 2020” – New York Times/ Matthew Rosenberg, Nicole Perlroth, David E. Sanger
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“… Why not make a ‘priority’ of telling readers that the dossier at the heart of that long-ago pre-election story lies in tatters within an FBI spreadsheet?” Click here for: “David Corn and the Steele dossier: Just checking the facts!” – Washington Post/ Erik Wemple Eleventh in a series on the media’s handling of the Steele dossier. Read the rest […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Todd Prince – WASHINGTON – Dec. 18, 2019 article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/u-s-lawmakers-to-discuss-russia-sanctions-bill-from-hell-/30331992.html) A U.S. Senate panel is set to debate a bill that is designed to punish Russia for its alleged interference in democratic processes abroad as well as “malign” actions in Syria and aggression against […]
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“…. [This] on-air interview was updated for a later broadcast of The World … Administration officials played host to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Washington, DC, on Tuesday as Democrats announced articles of impeachment against … Trump. …” Click here for “Analyst on Lavrov visit: Russia is ‘running circles’ around Trump [Carnegie’s Andrew Weiss]” – PRI [Click audio player […]
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(Voice of America – voanews.com – Jeff Seldin – WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2019) Russian efforts to weaken the West through a relentless campaign of information warfare may be starting to pay off, cracking a key bastion of the U.S. line of defense: the military. While most Americans still see Moscow as a key U.S. adversary, new polling suggests that view […]
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(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Todd Prince – WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/u-s-senate-hearing-exposes-partisan-differences-over-new-russia-sanctions/30306449.html) A hearing in the Senate to discuss U.S. foreign policy towards Russia exposed partisan disagreements over whether to impose new sanctions on a rival power accused of “malign” actions, including interference in foreign elections. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Dec. 2, 2019) Russia has passed legislation that will allow individual journalists and bloggers to be labeled “foreign agents,” a move that critics say will tighten curbs on the media and free speech. At least nine news organizations funded by the U.S. government have been designated “foreign agents” under the original version of the law […]
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Did the U.S. “Intelligence Community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election? (Jackmatlock.com – Jack Matlock – June 29, 2018) Most commentators seem to think so. Every news report I have read of the planned meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in July refers to “Russian interference” as a fact and asks whether the matter will be discussed. […]
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