Section: KXAN (USA)
Ukraine peace talks set to start in Minsk
MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Negotiators are heading to the capital of Belarus for another round of talks about a settlement of the Ukrainian crisis. Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, pro-Russia rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are to hold the talks in Minsk on Wednesday and on Friday. The negotiations are focusing on...
Russia’s central bank to help companies meet debts
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s central bank has made another move to shore up the ruble, offering hard currency loans to help companies and banks service their debts. The bank said Wednesday it would accept foreign currency debt obligations as collateral against the loans. The hope is that it will provide relief to those who can’t tap foreign...
Russia: NATO pushed Kiev to drop nonaligned status
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian deputy defense minister says NATO members pushed Ukraine toward dropping its nonaligned status. Ukraine’s parliament abandoned the nonaligned position Tuesday, possibly paving the way for a bid to join NATO, in defiance of Russia’s protests. The move doesn’t guarantee that Ukraine will apply to join the...
Russian opposition faces Internet censorship
MOSCOW (AP) — Supporters of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader on Tuesday revived their campaign to stage a protest near the Kremlin, despite government attempts to hamper their efforts by Internet censorship. Last week, prosecutors asked a court to sentence Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s chief foe, to 10 years in...
Russia, 4-ex-Soviet nations finalize new alliance
MOSCOW (AP) — The leaders of Russia and four other ex-Soviet nations have completed the creation of a new ambitious alliance intended to bolster their economic integration. The Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, comes to existence on Jan. 1. In addition to free trade, it’s to...
Russia’s PM in warning over ‘deep recession’
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that the country faces a risk of a “deep recession” if the government ditches its spending plans. Speaking at a meeting of his party, Medvedev said Tuesday that the government won’t retreat from its strategic aims and social spending. Otherwise, he said Russia could plunge into...
Ukraine abandons nonaligned status
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s parliament has voted to abandon the country’s nonaligned status, a move that could be a step toward seeking membership in NATO. Although Ukraine had pursued NATO membership several years ago, it declared itself a non-bloc country after Russia-friendly Viktor Yanukovych became president in 2010....
Ukraine’s rebel university goes Russian
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — In eastern Ukraine, where the country’s pro-Russian insurgency has claimed thousands of lives, the region’s top university is a major victim of the bitterness and rifts the fighting has caused. The conflict has not only split the university in half and forced many students and professors to quit, it also has...
Russia’s deputy economy minister talks up ruble as central bank bails out a bank
MOSCOW (AP) — The slide in the value of Russia’s ruble is straining that country’s banking system. Russia’s Central Bank says it has bailed out a mid-sized bank, at a cost of about $500 million, in order to save it from bankruptcy. It will also place Trust Bank under its supervision until it finds an investor. The bank’s...
Nazarbayev: Ukraine conflict is ‘nonsense’
MOSCOW (AP) — Kazakhstan’s president says the conflict in eastern Ukraine is “nonsense” and is calling on Russia and Ukraine to find a way to resolve it. Nursultan Nazarbayev’s comments Monday, after a meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, could carry weight because Kazakhstan is part of a Russia-dominated trade bloc that...
