(Interfax – June 5, 2014) The attitude of Russians towards the United States, the European Union and Ukraine is cooling amid the Western sanctions, and Belarus and China are liked much more, Levada Center told Interfax, quoting May poll statistics. Only 18 percent of Russians speak well of the United States now. The numbers stood at 43 percent in the […]
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The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 04, 2014 FACT SHEET: U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine The United States is working to bolster Ukraine’s ability to secure its borders and preserve its territorial integrity and sovereignty in the face of Russian occupation of Crimea and a concerted effort by Russian-backed separatists to destabilize eastern Ukraine. […]
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The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 04, 2014 Remarks by President Obama and President-elect Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine After Bilateral Meeting Warsaw Marriott Hotel Warsaw, Poland 10:45 A.M. CET PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it is a great pleasure for me to have the opportunity to have my first extended meeting with President-elect Poroshenko and to […]
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… 1. Wall Street Journal: Matthew Kaminski, The Battle on the New Russian Front. How Ukrainians united to turn back Kremlin rebels in one eastern city.
2. Reuters: Fog of war falls heavy after violence in eastern Ukraine region.
3. Interfax: Negative attitude to U.S., EU reaches its maximum in Russia – poll. …
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List :: 2014-#124 :: 4 June 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php To subscribe to the JRL email version, email David Johnson at davidjohnson@starpower.net 1. Business New […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Yuri Paniyev, special to RBTH – June 3, 2014) The first NATO-Russia Council session in three months saw Russia’s envoy to NATO hit out at the organization’s deployment of extra troops to Eastern Europe. At the talks in Brussels Russia reiterated its call for Kiev to bring military operations in eastern Ukraine to […]
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DONETSK, June 4 (RIA Novosti) – Alexander Khodakovsky, one of the chief commanders with self-defense forces of Ukraine’s breakaway Donetsk Republic, has told RIA Novosti that the majority of its troops are residents of eastern and southern Ukraine who took to arms to protect their homes. “[They come from] Kharkiv, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia. We’ve become the center of […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Mikhail Sokolov, Claire Bigg – June 3, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin is enjoying almost unprecedented job-approval ratings in his country. And the only reason for this popularity surge, sociologists say, is Russia’s tough stance on Ukraine. “A fierce anti-Ukrainian campaign was launched,” says leading sociologist Lev Gudkov, the head of Russia’s independent Levada polling center. “Authorities have used the […]
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MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev needs Moscow as a strategic partner to help it implement joint projects that are essential for Ukraine to achieve its full potential, says Serhiy Arbuzov, Ukraine’s former Deputy Prime Minister. “Russia is Ukraine’s strategic partner. This relationship requires a lot of effort, but it’s a goal worth working towards because its joint projects […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva – June 3, 2014) OAO Gazprom (OGZD), Russia’s gas-export monopoly, said U.S. pressure won’t stop it from supplying fuel to Europe and increasing market share in the region. “We understand that the U.S., sitting high on a hill and independent of economic cooperation with us, is pushing Europe to take wild steps,” Gazprom Deputy […]
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MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s radical nationalist Right Sector movement claims the government guaranteed it provisions, armament and collaboration with state agencies in the course of the special operation in the country’s east, the UNN news agency reports, citing the movement’s leader Borislav Bereza. “As of today, we are ready to accommodate and integrate entirely all territorial defense […]
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MOSCOW. June 4 (Interfax) – The speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament said Russia is open to talks with the government to be formed in Ukraine after the recent presidential election but on the condition that military action is immediately ended in the southeast of the country. “We will hold negotiations after the government and all the state institutions […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Henry Meyer, Volodymyr Verbyany, Daria Marchak – June 4, 2014) President Vladimir Putin offered the first face-to-face talks with Barack Obama since pro-Russian separatists unleashed an insurgency that’s claimed almost 200 lives in Ukraine. The Russian leader, who rejected accusations his military is present in Ukraine, said he’s ready to meet Obama this week in France […]
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PARIS, June 4 (RIA Novosti) – It was never Russia’s intention to destabilize the situation in Ukraine or send its troops to invade the country’s south and east, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday in an interview with France’s TF1 channel and Europe1 radio station. “There are neither military personnel nor Russian instructors in southeastern Ukraine,” Putin stressed. When asked […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Iana Dreyer of borderlex.eu- June 4, 2014) Ukraine and the EU are adamant both sides will sign the long-planned free trade and association deal. Yet President-elect Petro Poroshenko sowed confusion soon after his election May 25 when he asked for more time before putting pen to paper, highlighting lingering doubts over the true […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Michael McAtavey, Special to RBTH – June 3, 2014) Russian markets have been pummeled by poor GDP growth and political headwinds. Yet some fund managers say they are finding deals. Sanctions. Conflict in neighboring Ukraine. Sagging economic growth. And let’s not forget capital flight. These are just some of the reasons why Russia’s […]
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(Interfax – June 4, 2014) Russia and the United States may soon announce new joint projects regarding the International Space Station (ISS), Izvestia wrote on Wednesday quoting First Deputy Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medical and Biological Problems Oleg Orlov. “Roscosmos has set a task to intensify the ISS scientific program. We are prepared. For instance, […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Sandrine Rastello – June 3, 2014) The World Bank approved an investment in Russia for the first time since President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea, overriding opposition from Canada and lack of support from the U.S. The International Finance Corp., the lender’s private-sector arm, voted May 29 for parts of a 250 million euro ($340 million) package […]
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… 33. Financial Times: Western optimism rises as diplomacy takes centre stage on Ukraine.
34. Wall Street Journal: U.S. to Press Financial Weaponry In Talks With European Allies on Russia. Obama Administration Relies Increasingly on Treasury Unit to Hone Sanctions Strategy.
35. New York Times: In GPS Battle, Russia Sets Restrictions of Its Own.
36. The Times (UK): Russia fumes over Putin’s smoking ban. …
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva, Stephen Bierman, Daryna Krasnolutska – June 2, 2014) Russia gave Ukraine an extra week to pay in advance for gas supplies or risk a cutoff, as the Ukrainian government said its forces killed five pro-Russian rebels in an upsurge in fighting in the eastern city of Luhansk. Russian gas export monopoly OAO Gazprom (OGZD) […]
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KIEV, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – The United States has doubled its financial military aid to Ukraine, bringing it to a hefty $18 million over the past few months, according to US’s second top military commander Derek Chollet. Chollet, who serves as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the US Department of Defense, said at a press […]
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MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine has to pay Moscow the remaining part of $2.2 billion gas debt and agree on payment schedule for April-May gas supplies before June 9, press-service of Russia’s Energy Ministry said Monday. “Before this deadline Ukraine has to pay the remaining part of $2.23 billion debt and also agree on payment schedule for the […]
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(Interfax – June 2, 2014) The European Commission has effectively supported the Russian position in the second and third round of talks on payment of Ukraine’s gas debt to Russia, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television. “I consider that the European Commission has behaved quite constructively at these and previous consultations and many of […]
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MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) – Fitch Ratings forecasts that Ukraine’s GDP will contract by 5% in 2014, the ratings agency said in a statement. “The crisis will continue to weigh on Ukraine’s economy. We forecast GDP to contract by 5% this year. Ex-Crimea, industrial production shrank 6% year on year in April, and consumer spending is well down, especially in […]
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BRUSSELS. June 2 (Interfax) – NATO was and is a leading military organization in the European-Atlantic region – that is why, while developing cooperation with it in spheres of common interest, Russia paid special attention to ensuring appropriate defense levels amid any scenarios, Russia’s Permanent Representative to NATO Alexander Grushko told Interfax. “It is known that in military affairs potentials, […]
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MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) – The stepped-up debate on the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO may have negative implications for the north Baltic region, which has been traditionally calm from the military-political point of view, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. “Amid the NATO infrastructure build-up in a number of countries bordering on Russia and the stepped-up […]
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MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) – The Russians are rethinking their vision of the political future of the southeastern Ukraine but the majority of them are unanimous that Russia must provide economic and financial support, not direct military aid, to these regions, a poll has shown. The percentage of Russians who would like to see the southeastern regions of Ukraine as […]
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KIEV, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – A special operation of Ukrainian forces against independence supporters in the country’s southeast could last as long as one year, said Semen Semenchenko, commander of the Donbass battalion, a pro-Kiev militia set up by the Right Sector nationalist movement. “Unlike many people who believe that the ATO [anti-terrorist operation] will end in just a […]
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MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday voiced his surprise at the Western media’s spin of the ongoing bloodshed in southeastern Ukraine and the fact that they either hushed up the real situation or showed “different pictures” instead. “We are very concerned by what is going on there. People are being killed every day, […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – COMMENT: Jacob Grapengiesser of East Capital – June 2, 2014) After ten years of haggling, Moscow and Beijing finally signed off on game-changing $400bn gas supply deal, under which Russia will at first supply 38bn cubic metres (cm) of gas to China over 30 years from 2018. Moscow and Beijing are to share the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 1, 2014) One of the problems that Moscow propagandists face is that many of the arguments they put out for political change in Ukraine apply with equal or even greater force to the Russian Federation and thus have the potential to spark demands inside the latter country that the Kremlin is […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – June 2, 2014) On May 22, state-owned telecoms company Rostelecom launched the first version of its new search engine, Sputnik. A week later, the engine, which some analysts see as the latest move in the Kremlin’s ongoing crusade against the uncontrolled and subversive Internet, has fallen flat. On the day that Sputnik […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH – June 1, 2014) There are more than 5,000 music and art schools in modern Russia. Here children can learn to play different instruments and master the basics of painting or sculpture practically free of charge, in addition to their regular education. Teaching staff note that such a system remains […]
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MOSCOW. June 2 (Interfax) – Former CIA analyst Edward Snowden will have to ask for extension of his temporary asylum if he decides to stay in Russia, Vladimir Volokh, the head of the Public Council of the Federal Migration Service, told Interfax on Monday. “He has to request an extension of his temporary stay. No additional documents are filed if […]
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MOSCOW, June 2 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow is ready to work with the future president and government of Abkhazia to develop and strengthen bilateral ties, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday. “The people of Abkhazia will have their say during the early presidential election in August. Russia will respect this expression of will. We will be ready […]
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… 21. The National Interest: Robert Merry, How to Start a Civil War in Ukraine (and How to Avoid One).
22. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists: Peter E. Davis and Siegfried S. Hecker, Why the US should keep cooperating with Russia on nuclear security.
23. Asia Times: Pepe Escobar, The future visible in St Petersburg. …
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Elena Mazneva, Brian Parkin, Ewa Krukowska – May 31, 2014) Russia and Ukraine moved closer to a deal that would keep gas flowing between the countries even as they spar over Russian support for separatists seeking to break away from the government in Kiev. After talks brokered by the European Union in Berlin, Ukraine made its […]
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[“Why the US should keep cooperating with Russia on nuclear security” – The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists – Peter E. Davis, Siegfried S. Hecker – May 29, 2014] Stanford University’s Peter E. Davis and Siegfried S. Hecker consider U.S.-Russian cooperation on nuclear security in the aftermath of Russia’s annexation of occupied Crimea: We were surprised that without exception every one of our Russian […]
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MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti), Nastassia Astrasheuskaya – While much of Ukraine’s population and most western governments tie high hopes with the newly elected president Petro Poroshenko, a former diplomat and now a successful entrepreneur, foreign critics say his millions are likely to stand in the way of bringing democracy to the country that finds itself in deep political crisis. […]
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KIEV, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian forces have not confirmed the media reports that it planned to complete the special operation against federalization supporters in the eastern regions of the country by June 14, news agency UNN reported Friday. “As for the media reports on the timeframes of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, most likely it’s total nonsense,” UNN reported, […]
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… 4. Wall Street Journal: East Ukraine Town Digs In for Fight. Pro-Russian Locals Rally to Repel Military Attempt to Retake Town, Blaming Government for Bloodshed.
5. Kyiv Post: Civilian Donbas Battalion forming National Guard unit.
6. Reuters: Quoting Old Testament, new pro-Russia militia group lines up in Ukraine.
7. The Herald (Scotland): Pro-Russian separatists beyond Kremlin control.
8. Reuters: Russia has withdrawn most troops from Ukraine border: U.S. official. …
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Aleksandra Vagner – LUHANSK, Ukraine, May 29, 2014) Probably the most surprising thing that struck me during my four days reporting from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine last week came as soon as I arrived. Men armed with automatic weapons stood around the station, watching everything that was going on. From what I’d read, I had expected such men […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Islam Tekushev – May 28, 2014) Islam Tekushev is the editor-in-chief of the Caucasus Times. Events in Ukraine have both highlighted and influenced Abkhazia’s political divisions, as yesterday’s protests clearly demonstrate. The Crimean precedent has breathed a new divisive life into politics inside Abkhazia. Against the background of the Ukrainian crisis and the growing role of Russia in […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Alexander Panin – May 30, 2014) With the milestone agreement to create a Eurasian economic union clinched in Kazakhstan on Thursday, Russia put cheap energy resources at the head of its drive to pull former Soviet states away from European integration and into its orbit. The Eurasian Economic Union agreement, signed by the leaders of […]
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MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – Abkhazia’s President Alexander Ankvab is ready to negotiate with the opposition to achieve “a concrete result”, but says that he will not accept any ultimatums. “The situation is difficult, but not critical We propose to engage in a dialogue [with the opposition] in a manner that would bring us a concrete result,” Ankvab said […]
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WASHINGTON, May 30 (RIA Novosti), Lyudmila Chernova – The Eurasian Economic Union is a better, more realistic step towards economic integration than the European Union, and will be more productive, said Andrew McKillop, a former chief policy analyst at the European Commission Directorate General for Energy. “It is the right decision at the right time,” McKillop, now an independent journalist […]
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MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – The decision by organizers to reject Moscow’s application to attend next month’s international conference on missile defense signals that the West is suspending talks with Russia on this issue, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday. “We point that this step fits in the general trend aiming at folding dialogue with Russia on missile defense […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 28, 2014) The share of Russians who are “skeptical” about the value of political parties for themselves and their country is opening the way for a return to a one party system, in some ways resembling the one that existed in Soviet times, according to a Moscow commentator. In a Rosbalt.ru […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 30, 2014) The risk that the U.S. and European Union will slap further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine is subsiding, but the threat of a recession still looms over Russia, a Bloomberg poll of economists found. Half of the 32 economists questioned for the poll, released on Tuesday, said the Russian economy would slide […]
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US Department of State Jen Psaki Spokesperson Daily Press Briefing Washington, DC May 27, 2014 (excerpt re Ukraine) QUESTION: Ukraine. You have seen reports, I presume, of the fighting that’s going on in Donetsk. I’m wondering if you have anything to say about that. MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm. Well, first, let me of course – I know we put out a […]
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