Section: Voice of America (USA)
Bulgaria: Bring Back Nabucco Pipeline
Bulgaria wants the European Commission to revive plans for the Nabucco pipeline that would pump gas from the Caspian Sea, after a Russian project seen as a rival was scrapped, Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said on Wednesday. Keen to diversify its energy supplies due to the Ukraine crisis, Bulgaria meets more than 80 percent of its gas needs with...
US Official: New Sanctions Against Russia Under Consideration
A top U.S. official says Washington is considering imposing new sanctions against Russia if a Ukraine cease-fire deal reached last month in Minsk continues to be violated, and has sent a team to Europe to coordinate the measures with allied governments. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland told the House...
Budget, Reform Plans Put Ukraine in Line for IMF Aid, G7 Says
The International Monetary Fund and Group of Seven leading economic powers on Wednesday praised Ukraine’s determination to reform its economy against all odds, with the G7 saying Kyiv’s new draft budget should put it on track for an IMF-led bailout. Ukraine’s parliament approved on Monday a raft of IMF-backed amendments to its...
Eastern Ukraine Coal Mine Explosion Kills 32
Ukrainian officials say an explosion at a mine in the rebel-held eastern part of the country has killed at least 32 workers. A rescue operation is ongoing to reach the dozens of other workers who may still be trapped at the Zasyadko coal mine in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk. The cause of the explosion is not clear. The pro-separatist...
Turkey Aims to Become Energy Hub for Russian Gas
With Moscow declaring in the coming years that it will divert its gas supplies away from Ukraine and through Turkey to supply Europe, Ankara said it is a step closer to its goal of being a major gas hub. But critics point out Turkey still has many hurdles to overcome. The deepening crisis in Ukraine could open the door to Turkey’s decade...
Russian Opposition Leader Nemtsov to be Buried
A funeral is set to be held Tuesday for Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, the fierce Moscow critic who was gunned down just steps away from the Kremlin last week. Security was heavy outside the Andrei Sakharov rights center, where Nemtsov’s body will lie in state before it is laid to rest at Moscow’s Troekurovskoye cemetery....
Kerry Seeks Assurances of Russian Non-Interference in Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that his country could face further consequences to what he called its “already strained economy” if Moscow does not fully comply with a cease-fire in Ukraine. The two met, on Monday, on the sidelines of a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where Kerry...
EU Mediates Gas Talks Between Russia, Ukraine
Russia and Ukrainian energy ministers got together for key gas talks in Brussels, amid threats by Russia’s Gazprom to cut off deliveries to Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine have sparred over gas deliveries and payments before. With the conflict in eastern Ukraine further deepening divisions between the two countries, their energy ministers...
Nemtsov’s Shaken Girlfriend Says She Didn’t See Killer
Boris Nemtsov’s girlfriend has broken her public silence on the murder of the Russian opposition activist, saying she did not see the killer who gunned him down as they strolled across a bridge near the Kremlin. Speaking largely without emotion in deadened monosyllables, Ukrainian fashion model Anna Duritskaya said she had little...
Hollande Calls for Immediate Ukraine Truce, Heavy Weapon Pull-back
French President Francois Hollande repeated demands Monday for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the withdrawal of heavy weapons following a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “The Minsk accord is the only way to re-establish peace,” Hollande told a news conference. “France’s position is that the...
