Section: Voice of America (USA)
Russia, Ukraine Reach Gas Deal to Secure Winter Supplies
Russia and Ukraine have signed an agreement to end their dispute over gas supplies. Analysts say the deal – brokered by the European Union – will relieve Kyiv’s fears that it might not have enough gas in storage to get through the coming winter. Henry Ridgwell reports for VOA from London. …read more Source: Voice of...
Merkel Tells Putin Europe Won’t Recognize E. Ukraine Vote
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone that Sunday’s planned elections in eastern Ukraine were illegitimate and would not be recognized by European leaders, a Berlin government spokesman said on Friday. Merkel and Putin held a joint telephone conversation with French President Francois Hollande...
Ukraine, Russia Work Out Gas Deal
Russia say gas supplies to Ukraine could resume as early as next week after Ukraine pays the first installment on its debt. Alexei Miller, the chief of Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom said Friday a multi-billion-dollar deal worked out by Russia, Ukraine and the European Union will guarantee Russian gas supplies to Ukraine and other parts...
Merkel Not Acutely Worried About Russian Violations of Airspace
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she was not very concerned about sorties by Russian strategic bombers over the Atlantic and Black Sea and by its fighters over the Baltic which NATO said it had tracked on Wednesday. In the last few months, there had been a lot of activity in terms of Russian army exercises, said Merkel at a news...
Ukraine, Russia Extend Gas Deal Talks After Impasse
Trilateral talks in Brussels to restart the delivery of Russian gas to Ukraine will continue on Thursday after the parties failed to reach an agreement on the first day of negotiations. Despite frayed ties between Moscow and the West, envoys from Russia, the EU and Ukraine met Wednesday to settle a natural gas dispute that threatens...
UN Chief Condemns Planned Separatist Election іn E. Ukraine
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday condemned an election being organized by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, saying the vote would violate the country’s constitution. The November 2 vote would be being held in defiance of Ukrainian national elections last Sunday in which pro-Western parties, dedicated to holding the...
NATO Tracks Russian Warplanes in Europе Airspace
NATO says it has detected “unusual” activity in European airspace in the past two days. Speaking in Brussels Wednesday, a NATO military spokesman said that four groups of Russian warplanes, including Tu-95 strategic bombers and MiG-31 jets, have been “conducting significant military maneuvers” over the Baltic Sea, North Sea and the...
EU: 50-50 Chance Ukraine-Russia Gas Talks Will Succeed
Russia, the European Union and Ukraine have resumed talks aimed at ending a Russian natural gas supply cut as winter approaches. Ukraine’s energy minister, Yuri Prodan, is meeting his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in Brussels for negotiations mediated by European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger. Oettinger said there is a...
Russian Assembly Seeks Normal Ties With Ukraine Parliament
Russia’s lower house of parliament is ready to cooperate with the new assembly in Ukraine, its chairman said on Wednesday, although it will be dominated by pro-Western forces. Parties who want to move Kyiv further away from Moscow’s orbit towards mainstream Europe will lead the Verkhovna Rada after an election on Sunday, held despite...
Nordic, Baltic States Face ‘New Normal’ of Russian Military Threat
Fears of Russia re-asserting its Cold War dominance in the Baltic Sea are forcing countries there to re-think their defenses, prioritizing military spending at home and reducing participation in far-flung U.N. or U.S.-led missions. Sweden’s fruitless search for a submarine – dubbed by locals “The Hunt for Reds in October” – and...
