Section: Voice of America (USA)
Official: Russia Stands by Ukraine Ceasefire Deal, ‘Respects’ Rebel Vote
Russia is committed to the peace process in eastern Ukraine and wants further talks on ending the conflict between government forces and separatists, the Kremlin said on Friday. Foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov also said Russia respects the will of voters in the east after a separatist leadership election regarded as illegitimate by the West....
Russian Ruble Continues to Fall
Hit hard by plunging oil prices and international sanctions, the Russian ruble slid Thursday to new lows of just over 46 to the dollar and 58 to the euro — part of its biggest weekly plunge since 2009. The dollar rose to 46.77 rubles from 44.95, while the euro reached 58.11 rubles. The ruble has lost about a quarter of its value so far this year,...
Stock Markets Rally as ECB Chief Suggests Further Eurozone Stimulus
European stock markets surged Thursday after the European Central Bank (ECB) indicated it is considering further action to boost the sluggish economy of the 18-member euro currency zone, which also threatens to drag down global economic recovery. As expected, the European Central Bank left its main interest rate unchanged. It’s already at a...
MH17 Investigators Seek Local Help at Ukraine Crash Site
Investigators looking into the July crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine said on Thursday they would probably hire local contractors to collect wreckage still beyond their reach because of a continuing pro-Russian insurrection. The crash of flight MH17 as it flew over the conflict zone stirred angry mutual accusation between...
Russia Nixes More ‘Geneva Format’ Talks on Ukraine
Moscow says it would be counterproductive to return to talks on settling the conflict in east Ukraine in a “Geneva format,” which would include Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States. An agreement reached in this format in Geneva April 17, 2014, has been “grossly violated” by Ukraine, a Russian Foreign Ministry commentary...
NATO Stages Military Drill in Lithuania
More than 2,500 NATO troops are taking part in exercises on two training grounds in Lithuania. Nine countries have sent soldiers to train as part of Exercise Iron Sword, Czech Republic, Estonia, the U.S., U.K., Canada, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary and Germany. Originally the exercise was to have involved only Lithuanian troops but was expanded...
Few Changes Predicted in US-Russia Relations After US Elections
The crisis in Ukraine has damaged relations between Washington and Moscow, with some experts believing they are at their lowest point in decades. Now that the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress, will that have an effect on U.S.-Russia relations? John Parker, a Russia expert at the National Defense University in Washington, said,...
Russia Tells US It Will Not Attend 2016 Nuclear Security Summit
Russia has told the United States that it will not attend a 2016 nuclear security summit, the State Department said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of frosty ties between Washington and Moscow. Explaining why it would stay away, Moscow said it doubted the value of the summit, which is to be held in Chicago in 2016, and believed the views of...
Forbes Magazine Names Putin World’s Most Powerful Person
For the second year in a row, the U.S. business magazine Forbes has named Russian President Vladimir Putin the most powerful person in the world. The magazine said its editors picked the Russian leader over President Barack Obama, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pope Francis and German Chancellor Angela Merkel rounding out the top five. Forbes...
Georgia’s Pro-West Foreign Minister Quits
Georgian Foreign Minister Maja Panjikidze resigned on Wednesday over what she called threats to the ex-Soviet republic’s pro-Western policies, deepening a crisis in the coalition government. A junior minister overseeing integration with Europe also quit, a day after Prime Minister Irakly Garibashvili fired his Western-leaning defence...
