Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
German foreign minister rejects calls to invite Putin to G7 talks
BERLIN – German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier dismissed on Sunday calls from the radical Left party to invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to this year’s summit of the Group of Seven industrial powers.The leaders of G7 nations held a summit without Putin last year in protest against Russia’s annexation of...
Russia invites China into oil business
VANKOR/SUZUN OIL FIELDS, Russia – R ussia’s freezing north has never been the most welcoming place for foreign travellers, and its onshore oil riches have always been state secrets. But when the order comes from the Kremlin to open up, people obey.Last September, President Vladimir Putin, who has been seeking new markets in Asia for...
Ukraine sets sights on joining NATO
Ukraine, locked in conflict with Russian-backed separatists in its east, on Thursday drew up a new security doctrine denouncing Russia’s “aggression” and setting its sights on joining the US-led NATO military alliance.Oleksander Turchynov, head of the national security council, told a session of the body that Ukraine saw Russian...
Iran’s Khamenei demands all sanctions end when nuclear deal signed
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday demanded that all sanctions on Iran be lifted at the same time as any final agreement with world powers on curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme is concluded.Khamenei, the Islamic Republic’s most powerful figure and who has the last say on all state matters, was making his first...
Ukraine separatist leader warns of possible return to war
DONETSK, Ukraine – Ukrainian pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko accused the Kiev government of “totally ignoring” the terms of a peace deal and warned in an interview with AFP that fighting might resume.The warning came as international monitors overseeing a fragile February truce – which is largely...
Greece has not asked Russia for aid, Greek official says
MOSCOW – Greece has not asked Russia for money to help cope with its debt and financial problems and wants to resolve them within the European Union, a Greek government official said on Wednesday.”We have not asked for financial aid,” the official said before talks in Moscow between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and...
Trolling for Putin: Russia’s information war explained
SAINT PETERSBURG – Lyudmila Savchuk says it was money that wooed her into the ranks of the Kremlin’s online army, where she bombarded website comment pages with eulogies of President Vladimir Putin, while mocking his adversaries.”Putin is great,” “Ukrainians are Fascists,” “Europe is decadent”:...
Three soldiers killed in restive east Ukraine
KIEV, April 4 – Three Ukrainian soldiers died when a mine exploded in the separatist-held east where isolated clashes continue to undermine a ceasefire aimed at ending a year-long war.Army spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Saturday that “as a result of the explosion of an enemy mine … three Ukrainian soldiers were killed, two...
Ukrainian government approves framework for $20 billion debt-swap
KIEV – The Ukrainian government approved on Saturday the framework for Ukraine’s debt restructuring operation through which it aims to generate US$15.3 billion (S$20.66 billion), the Finance Ministry said in a statement.Ukraine is due to start talks on a fast-track debt swap with investors including Franklin Templeton, PIMCO and...
From rebellion to stalemate: a year of war in east Ukraine
DONETSK, Ukraine – On April 6, 2014, pro-Russian activists stormed the offices of the Donetsk regional administration and the Lugansk office of the secret service in eastern Ukraine, sparking a year-long insurgency against the Kiev government in which 6,000 people have died.Their ire was directed at the pro-westerners who took the helm in...
