Russia is currently engaged in negotiations with Iran on “energy development.” Encapsulated in a recently announced agreement to build two nuclear power plants in Iranian territory last week after Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif visited Moscow. This past Monday, Iran’s negotiator for nuclear talks, Abbas Aragchi, expressed his extreme disappointment with the Obama administration adding…
Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom will begin natural gas exploration operations this month, more than a year after the Moscow-based energy giant bought out Kyrgyzstan’s national gas company Kyrgyzgas. The commencement of operations will take place several months after Gazprom obtained ownership of Kyrgyzstan’s entire natural gas infrastructure, a move that was unpopular throughout the…
World leaders assembled for the NATO summit in Wales today, with the lead issue being the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. NATO leaders met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday to discuss providing arms and materials to assist in the ongoing fight against Russian-backed separatists and alleged Russian troops. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned…
The souring of US-Russia relations continued yesterday, as U.S. President Obama, speaking at a NATO in Wales, urged NATO to train and arm the Ukrainian military to defend itself from Russia. The American president described Russian activity in Ukraine as a “brazen assault” on Ukraine, and called for members of NATO to consider the accession…
In a telephone conversation with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, President Vladimir Putin asserted yesterday that Russian troops would be able to “take Kiev in two weeks if necessary.” This created quite a stir just ahead of the NATO summit planned to start this morning in Wales to discuss the unraveling situation in Ukraine.…
Russia’s incursion into Ukraine is ongoing, and has left no indication of slowing anytime soon. The powers that be in Moscow have recently issued statements warning NATO not to intervene in Ukraine, using thinly veiled allusions to Russian nuclear power to ensure their message was understood. Russian activity in Ukraine has begun to preoccupy other…
President Vladimir Putin warned over the weekend in the wake of increased sanctions from Australia and the EU that “Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers,” while speaking at a pro-Kremlin youth camp. He additionally denied any involvement in destabilizing eastern Ukraine while simultaneously warning Western powers that he would use force to defend…
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proclaimed that Russia has undertaken an incursion onto Ukrainian soil, and ordered that a draft of Ukrainian citizens be instituted as the situation in Eastern Ukraine worsens. Pro-Ukraine media sources within Russia have estimated the invading force at 15,000, although these estimates have been denied by a number of Western…
Petro Poroshenko announced earlier this morning that troops from Russia have been moved across the border, crossing into eastern Ukraine. He cancelled a planned visit to Turkey and a convocation of the national security council was called to devise a response. Ukraine is also formally requesting a meeting of the UNSC, as a leader of…
The unauthorized aid convoy that has attracted so much international attention in the past week has returned to Russian territory over the weekend after visiting the eastern city of Luhansk. Kiev and Western officials, noting the lack of Red Cross observers and direct inspection of the humanitarian aid, contend that the trucks had military equipment…
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