Section: Egypt
Baltic military chiefs to call for permanent NATO presence
Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will seek a permanent presence of NATO troops on their territory to counter increased Russian air and naval activity, the Lithuanian army said on Thursday. The states, all with ethnic Russian minorities, fear they could become a target of Kremlin pressure after a pro-Moscow rebellion in eastern Ukraine...
Kerry says ‘critical moment’ for Russia to fulfil Ukraine truce
US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said it was a critical moment for Russia and separatists to fulfil a peace deal to end the fighting in Ukraine, following his talks a day earlier with President Vladimir Putin. Kerry said at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Turkey that it is a “critical moment for action by Russia and...
Kerry to explore Putin’s flexibility on Ukraine, Syria
US Secretary of State John Kerry hopes to explore Russia’s willingness to curb its involvement in Ukraine and its support for Syria’s president at talks on Tuesday with President Vladimir Putin. Kerry flew to the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the highest-level US visit to Russia in two years, to discuss issues including the Iran...
Opposition report: Scores of Russian soldiers killed in east Ukraine
Moscow spent more than 53 billion rubles (US$1.04 billion) supplying a separatist rebellion in east Ukraine and at least 220 Russian soldiers have been killed there, a report by Russian opposition activists said on Tuesday. The report was the last project of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, who used open source information and interviews...
Exit poll: Polish president suffers shock reverse in first round vote
Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski came in a surprise second behind his conservative opponent in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday and must now face him in a run-off, an exit poll showed. Being forced into another round later this month pointed to voter disenchantment, an alarming prospect for Komorowski’s allies in...
Special Report: Russian soldiers quit over Ukraine
Some Russian soldiers are quitting the army because of the conflict in Ukraine, several soldiers and human rights activists have told Reuters. Their accounts call into question the Kremlin’s continued assertions that no Russian soldiers have been sent to Ukraine, and that any Russians fighting alongside rebels there are volunteers. Evidence...
Polish President Komorowski front-runner in election
Poland voted in the first round of a presidential election on Sunday that opinion polls show will send front-runner and incumbent Bronislaw Komorowski into a runoff against a conservative opposition challenger. A comfortable re-election for Komorowski would give a confidence boost to his allies in the centre-right Polish government, who face what...
Russia fetes WWII victory with huge military parade
Russia readied for a grandiose Red Square military parade Saturday to mark 70 years since the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, but Western leaders were going to stay away due to the Ukraine crisis. New tanks, mammoth nuclear missile systems and some 16,000 troops were set to sweep past the Kremlin under the gaze of President Vladimir...
Parade hiccup as Russia prepares to unveil ‘masterpiece’ tank
A new high tech battle tank hailed by Russia as a “masterpiece” appeared to break down on Red Square on Thursday during a rehearsal for the military parade at which it will make its long-awaited debut. The tank’s driver raised a small red flag to show he had problems but managed to drive on about 30 minutes later after an...
Russia’s Putin, Germany’s Merkel to discuss Ukraine on May 10
Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss the crisis in Ukraine at talks in Moscow on Sunday, a Kremlin aide told reporters on Wednesday. Outlining Putin’s planned meetings with foreign leaders during events this weekend marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Europe, foreign...
