Section: Cyprus
Russia keeps bombing despite Syria truce; Assad vows to fight on
MUNICH/AMMAN, Feb 12 (Reuters) – Major powers agreed on Friday to a pause in combat in Syria, but Russia pressed on with bombing in support of its ally President Bashar al-Assad, who vowed to fight until he regained full control of the country. Although billed as a potential breakthrough, the “cessation of hostilities” agreement does not take...
“Cessation of hostilities” in Syria lets Russia keep bombing
By John Irish and Warren Strobel Major powers agreed on Friday to a “cessation of hostilities” in Syria to begin in a week, doing nothing in the meantime to halt Russian bombing poised to give government forces their biggest victory of the five-year-old war. If implemented, the deal would allow humanitarian aid to reach besieged towns. It has the...
NATO agrees Russian deterrent but avoids Cold War footing
By Robin Emmott and Phil Stewart NATO agreed on Wednesday its boldest steps yet to deter Russia from any attack in the Baltics or eastern Europe, setting out ways to rapidly deploy air, naval and ground forces without resorting to Cold War-era military bases. In an effort to dissuade Moscow after its 2014 annexation of Crimea, NATO defence...
Pope, Russian Orthodox patriarch to hold historic meeting in Cuba
By Philip Pullella Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet in Cuba next week in what could be a historic step towards healing the 1,000-year-old rift between the Western and Eastern branches of Christianity. The Vatican and the Moscow Patriarchate announced on Friday that Francis will stop in Cuba on Feb 12 his way to...
German-Russian ties feel Cold War-style chill over rape case
By Andreas Rinke and Paul Carrel Moscow’s intervention in an alleged rape case involving a German-Russian girl has heightened suspicions in Berlin that it is trying to stir up trouble, with a view to weakening Chancellor Angela Merkel. The case of the 13-year-old, named only as Lisa F., became the focus of political intrigue after she told...
Wanted: a grand bargain to rescue EU from “polycrisis”
By Paul Taylor The European Union needs an ambitious grand bargain at its next summit to rescue itself from an accumulation of crises that threaten to blow apart its model of integration. Like children at a birthday party, each leader has to get a going-home present. And as with many children’s parties, there may be a tantrum along the way....
US Treasury official calls Russia’s Putin corrupt – BBC
A US Treasury official said the United States considers Russian President Vladimir Putin to be corrupt and that it has known this for “many, many years,” the BBC reported on Monday. Adam Szubin, acting Treasury secretary for terrorism and financial crimes, said in an interview with BBC Panorama that the Russian president has been amassing secret...
Kerry says effort and good faith could lead to lifting of sanctions on Russia
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday he believed that, with effort and good faith on both sides, it would be possible to implement the Minsk agreements on Ukraine in coming months to allow for a lifting of sanctions on Russia. In a speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Kerry said he and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden had meet...
Ukraine fines Gazprom $3.5 bln, cites abuse of gas transit monopoly
The head of Ukraine’s competition authority said on Friday that the watchdog had decided to fine Russian gas company Gazprom 85 billion hryvnias ($3.5 billion) for abusing its monopoly on the Ukrainian gas transit market. The decision by the Ukrainian regulator is the latest chapter in a long-standing gas conflict between the two countries,...
Putin named in Litvinenko murder – British inquiry (update 2)
By Michael Holden President Vladimir Putin probably approved a Russian intelligence operation to murder ex-KBG agent Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium-210, a British inquiry into the 2006 killing in London concluded. Litvinenko, 43, an outspoken critic of Putin who fled Russia, died after drinking green tea laced with the rare...
