Section: Voice of America (USA)
Ukraine, Kazakh Presidents Meet in Kyiv
The presidents of Ukraine and Kazakhstan have discussed military cooperation and the situation in eastern Ukraine during a meeting in Kyiv. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the countries renewed their military and technical cooperation. He also said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev agreed the principals outlined in the Minsk...
Ex-minister Kudrin Warns of ‘Full-fledged Crisis’ in Russia
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, as evidence mounted of trouble spreading through the economy. As he spoke, President Vladimir Putin prepared to hold emergency talks with Western leaders to try to...
Kremlin: Putin to Talk by Phone With EU, Ukraine Leaders
Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold phone talks later on Monday with the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine on a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin’s foreign policy adviser said. “Tonight, another telephone conversation with the presidents of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine will take place, in the...
Germany Sees No Need to Ease Russia Sanctions
Germany sees no reason to think about changes to the European Union’s sanctions regime against Moscow at the moment, a government spokeswoman said, after the foreign minister expressed concern that Russia could be destabilized if sanctions were not eased. The spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz told a news conference that the expiration of...
Belarus President Offers Support to Ukraine
Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Kyiv Sunday to offer his support as Ukraine struggles with its pro-Russian separatist insurgency and to try to revive stalled peace talks. At a meeting, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko told Lukashenko, “I would like to especially thank you for an absolutely clear position...
Obama: Putin Has Not Outmaneuvered the West
U.S. President Barack Obama says Russia’s economic troubles show Russian President Vladimir Putin has not managed to outmaneuver him or the United States. In an interview televised Sunday in the United States, Obama rejected the notion Putin was a “chessmaster” who outmaneuvered the United States and its Western allies in the...
Russia Dismisses New US Sanctions
Russia says it has a historic right to Crimea and has dismissed new U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia because of its annexation of the territory. The Russian foreign ministry said Saturday the sanctions will not force Russia to give up Crimea because Crimea is a “historic and integral part of Russia.” U.S. President Barack Obama has...
Obama Orders Trade Ban on Crimea for Russian ‘Occupation’
President Barack Obama has imposed a wide-ranging trade ban on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula, with an executive order that bars exports of key U.S. goods and services and blocks Crimean imports. A White House statement Friday said the order is “intended to provide U.S. clarity to American corporations doing business in the...
UN: Children Bearing Brunt of Ukraine War
The U.N. Children’s Fund reports that the conflict in Ukraine is having a terrible impact on more than 1.7 million children. The United Nations estimated that more than 1 million people have fled their homes since March because of fighting between government forces and Russian-backed rebels. About half of them are displaced within Ukraine,...
EU Leaders on Russia: After Sanctions, What Next?
It’s a rare occasion when European Union leaders end a summit in just one day, but that’s what happened Thursday when heads of state wrapped up their last big meeting of the year before midnight in Brussels. A top item of discussion: the standoff with Russia over Ukraine. Months of European and U.S. sanctions against Russia over the...
