Section: Voice of America (USA)
Political Pressure Mounts on Ukraine’s Poroshenko
Political pressure is mounting both at home and abroad on Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko, with critics arguing he lacks direction in combating a pro-Moscow insurgency in the east and not moving fast enough on reform. A month after Ukraine held its first parliamentary polls since the ouster of pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych,...
France Postpones Decision on Delivery of Mistral Carriers
French President Francois Hollande delayed indefinitely on Tuesday his decision on whether to deliver the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers ordered by Russia but whose status is in limbo as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. “The President of the Republic considers that the situation in the east of Ukraine still does not permit the...
Russian Oil Tsar to Meet OPEC as Saudis Keep Market Guessing
Russia’s most powerful oil official, Igor Sechin, was due in Vienna on Tuesday for talks with OPEC members as the group’s leader Saudi Arabia kept the market guessing about its response to flagging oil prices. Sechin, the head of state oil company Rosneft and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is expected to meet OPEC...
Merits of Giving Ukraine Lethal Aid Debated
US Vice President Joe Biden has condemned what he calls Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine, but stopped short of saying the US will provide Ukraine with lethal aid. He commented before wrapping up a visit to Ukraine that included talks with President Petro Poroshenko. But the White House nominee to fill the number two position at the State...
Lithuania Protests Russian Blockade at Border
The ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania accused Moscow on Monday of blocking its vehicles and goods at the Russian border, and summoned its ambassador to protest. “The drivers report that all traffic from Lithuania was blocked as of this morning,” said Algimantas Kondrusevicius, president of the Lithuanian truckers’ association...
Putin Strengthens Ties with Georgia Breakaway Region
President Vladimir Putin signed a “strategic partnership” agreement with Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia on Monday, angering Tbilisi, which said Moscow was looking to annex the territory. Russia and Georgia fought a war in 2008 over Abkhazia and a twin region of South Ossetia, provoking the worst crisis between Moscow and the West...
Russia Suspends Coal Supplies to Ukraine
Ukraine’s energy minister said on Monday Russia had suspended coal supplies to Ukraine, a blow to domestic energy suppliers who are struggling with a severe lack of raw fuel for power plants due to a separatist conflict in the industrial east. On November 12 Prodan said Ukraine would have to rely on Russian coal to get through the winter...
Poroshenko: Lithuania to Supply Ukraine With Military Aid
Lithuania is to provide Ukraine with some military aid to help in its fight against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday. It was not clear, however, if Lithuania was following fellow NATO member the United States in providing non-lethal military equipment, or supplying weaponry....
Russia to Lose Billions Over Sanctions, Falling Oil Prices
Russia’s finance minister says Russia is on a course to lose more than $100 billion due to Western sanctions and falling oil prices. Anton Siluanov said Monday at an economic forum in Moscow that Russia could lose as much as $40 billion per year because of Western sanctions. The United States and the European Union have imposed several...
Last Parts of MH-17 Wreckage Cleared From E. Ukraine
Dutch air crash investigators have completed their recovery of the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet that was downed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine four months ago. Workers sent the last pieces of the airliner on a train Sunday from the area controlled by pro-Russian separatists to the Ukrainian government-held city of...
