Section: Africa&ME
Putin says foes hope to dismember Russia; rouble falls as he speaks
By Timothy Heritage and Alexei Anishchuk President Vladimir Putin accused Russia’s enemies on Thursday of seeking to carve it up and destroy its economy to punish it for growing strong, in an annual state of the union speech that seemed to outdo even his own recent strident nationalism. The Kremlin leader trumpeted his annexation of...
Russia’s Putin Defends Annexation of Crimea
Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended his country’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and accused the West of using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext to impose sanctions on Moscow. Delivering his annual state of the union speech Thursday, Putin referred to Crimea as Russia’s spiritual ground. On the subject of...
Putin says West trying to undermine Russia; Crimea ‘sacred’
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (04/12/2014) accused the West of exploiting the Ukraine crisis to undermine Russia and said in a key speech that Crimea had “sacred” significance for Russia. Addressing hundreds of dignitaries, lawmakers and officials in his annual state of the nation address at the Kremlin, Putin said however that Russia...
Putin defends foreign policy in state address
Russian president accuses western governments of using Ukraine crisis as a pretext to slap sanction on his country. …read more Source: AL...
Kerry says Russia can rebuild trust if it withdraws from Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday Russia had pitched itself into isolation through its own actions in Ukraine and could rebuild inte …read more Source: The New...
Putin says foes hope to dismember Russia, defends Ukraine policy
President Vladimir Putin portrayed Russia as a strong state that would overcome its current difficulties. …read more Source: World...
Putin’s pipeline ‘gambit’ leaves West with mixed feelings
Was he flexing his muscles or beating a retreat? Opinions are divided over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s surprise announcement to abandon Moscow’s 50 billion South Stream gas pipeline. Some analysts viewed the unexpected December 1 decision to scrap the project to pump natural gas under the Black Sea to southern Europe as the...
Fleeing war and crumbling economy, Ukrainians flock to Europe
The nature of illegal immigration means it yields little data but legal flows show Ukrainians were the biggest single group of non-EU citizens granted residency permits by EU members in 2013. …read more Source: World...
Shrinking oil revenues could dig into funds
Energy-exporting countries which have stashed billions in windfalls in sovereign investment funds may be forced to draw down on them as oil revenues shrink, sending a chill through stock, bond and property markets worldwide. ||| Chris Vellacott LondonENERGY-EXPORTING countries which have stashed billions in windfalls in sovereign investment funds...
Russia’s Ex-Economy Minister Sees Fundamental Problems
MOSCOW—Russia’s currency, the ruble, this week fell to its lowest value in a quarter century. Oil prices also fell as finance officials changed their economic forecast for next year from slight growth to recession. Russia’s economy is taking a beating from Western sanctions over Ukraine and foreign investment is fleeing the country....
