Section: The Gulf Today (United Arab Emirates)
G7 leaders take tough stance against Russia
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN: US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that Western sanctions must remain in place against Russia until it complies with a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. “The two leaders discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and agreed that the duration of sanctions should be clearly linked to...
Don’t be afraid of Russia, Putin tells West
MOSCOW: Russia is not a threat to the West, President Vladimir Putin insisted in an interview published on Saturday, saying he was still committed to a Ukraine peace deal after a fresh flare-up in the country’s east. “I would like to say — there’s no need to be afraid of Russia,” Putin told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an...
UN urges calm amid Ukraine fighting
KIEV: The UN Security Council on Friday urged all sides in Ukraine to respect a Europe-brokered ceasefire, as the warring parties accused each other of endangering the truce. UN political chief Jeffrey Feltman warned an emergency Security Council meeting: “We are either looking at a return to a deepening intractable conflict or a momentary...
Poroshenko cites ‘colossal threat’ of huge clashes
KIEV: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned on Thursday of the “colossal threat” of major clashes in eastern Ukraine where at least 26 people have died in renewed fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels. Fresh clashes erupted near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, in one of the worst outbreaks of violence since a...
Putin to visit Pope on June 10 at Vatican
VATICAN CITY: Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Pope Francis on June 10 at the Vatican, with conflicts in Syria and Ukraine likely to top the Holy See’s agenda. Putin last called on Francis on Nov.25, 2013. The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said on Thursday the meeting would take place in the afternoon of June 10;...
Ukraine army accuses rebels of launching ‘large-scale offensive’
KIEV: Ukraine’s army on Wednesday accused pro-Russian forces of launching a new attack against its positions in breach of a brittle ceasefire, with at least one civilian killed and several others wounded in the fresh clashes. Fighting has intensified around key hotspots on the frontline in eastern Ukraine and the latest violence revived...
Nato flexes muscles in Baltics, Poland
WARSAW: US-led Nato drills began on Monday in the Baltic states and Poland, a move intended to reassure Russia’s nervous neighbours amid tensions over Ukraine. Russia’s increased military presence in the Baltic Sea and regional airspace since its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year has jangled nerves in the area, which lay...
UN finds signs of Russia involvement in Ukraine war
GENEVA: A separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine is revealing increasing evidence, but not yet conclusive legal proof, of Russian state involvement, senior United Nations human rights officials said on Monday. “We are speaking about increasing inflow of (unofficial) fighters and increasing evidence that there are also some (Russian) servicemen...
Greens calls for debate on Russia travel blacklist
BRUSSELS: The Greens group in the European Parliament on Sunday called for a debate on a travel ban imposed by Russia on 89 European citizens — many of them outspoken Kremlin critics. The previously undisclosed list was revealed to European diplomats on Thursday, and includes past and serving parliamentarians and ministers who have openly...
Ukraine appoints ex-Georgia leader regional governor
KIEV: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday appointed fiercely pro-Western former Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, who once fought a war with Russia, as governor of the strategic Odessa region. Poroshenko made the announcement at a televised event in the Black Sea port alongside the reformist Saakashvili, calling the ex-Georgian...
