Section: AsiaOne (Singapore)
Russia entering “full-fledged economic crisis”, says ex-minister Kudrin
MOSCOW – Russia’s government has pushed the country into an economic crisis by not tackling its financial problems fast enough, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday, warning the full effects would be felt next year.Kudrin – a darling of investors who is credited with building Russia’s $170 billion worth of...
China foreign minister says willing to help Russia
BEIJING – China is willing to help Russia if needed but believes that the country has the ability to overcome its current economic problems, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was quoted as saying in a state newspaper on Monday.The rouble has dropped about 45 per cent against the dollar this year, suffering particularly steep falls early last...
Obama: Putin ‘no chess master’
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama hit back at foreign policy critics in an interview aired Sunday, brushing off claims he had been naively outmaneuvered by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine crisis.Speaking on CNN, Obama bluntly dismissed the notion that Putin was “the chess master and outmaneuvering the West and...
Belarus strongman looks to revive Ukraine peace talks
KIEV – The authoritarian leader of Belarus flew into Kiev on Sunday hoping to revive stalled Ukrainian peace talks he has been hosting to calm Europe’s volatile eastern edge.But a high-ranking Ukrainian official said Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko was just as keen to use the trip to build bridges to Europe that ease his...
Euro entry in Jan follows tough market reforms
KYBARTAI – Geopolitics plague Lithuanians at this frozen Russian border post, where a return trip by car can mean 48 hours of queuing. It is a reminder for some of why the former Soviet republic will cement its move to the West by joining the euro zone next month.Tensions with Moscow have simmered ever since Lithuania became the first...
Russian envoy to Malaysia casts doubt on MH17 probe
KUALA LUMPUR – Outgoing Russian Ambassador Luidmila G. Vorobyeva has cast doubts on the investigation in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, claiming that the way it was being conducted has raised more questions than answers.According to the ambassador, the full report of the crash would only be out in 2016, alluding that it...
Russia’s parliament rushes through bill boosting banking capital
MOSCOW – Russia’s lower house of parliament passed on Friday a draft law that would give the banking sector a capital boost of up to 1 trillion roubles (S$21.8 billion).The State Duma said on its website it had passed the bill in all three required readings – speeding up a process which can sometimes see bills languish in...
New US sanctions law could undermine relations with Russia: Lavrov
MOSCOW – New US legislation authorising sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis could undermine relations between Moscow and Washington for a long time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying on Friday.In a phone call with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Lavrov said that the new legislation “threatening new...
Politics no problem, say US and Russian spacefarers
PARIS – US-Russian ties may have returned to Cold War levels, but an astronaut and a cosmonaut gearing up for the longest flight on the International Space Station said Thursday politics would not disrupt their work of helping a future trip to Mars.NASA’s Scott Kelly and Mikhail Kornienko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos are to...
Western sanctions may last for decades: Russian minister tells newspaper
Western sanctions over Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis are likely to last “for a very long time”, possibly decades, Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told Vedomosti newspaper.”When a U.S. law is passed it is very hard to change it afterwards – looks like it will be in place for decades,” Ulyukayev said in...
