Section: Voice of America (USA)
EU Faces Challenges as Threat of Russian Sanctions Looms
Washington warned Russia Friday that it could impose new sanctions if Moscow does not do more to defuse the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Obama administration said it has delayed implementation as it presses for unified support from European and U.S. manufacturers for the measures. Meanwhile, at a Brussels summit, EU leaders set a Monday...
Russia Scrubs Debut Launch of New Space Rocket
Russia was forced to abandon Friday’s debut launch of its first new space rocket since the Soviet era when the Angara booster cut out during a final countdown watched by President Vladimir Putin via video link from the Kremlin. Angara is seen as a test of Russia’s ability to turn around a once-pioneering space industry struggling to...
Poroshenko Signs Ukraine-EU Free Trade Agreement
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has said this is “one of the most historic days,” ahead of signing a long-awaited free trade agreement with the European Union. Poroshenko spoke to reporters in Brussels Friday ahead of the signing of the agreement, which was the trigger for last year’s political upheaval that led to...
US: Further Sanctions on Russia are ‘Ready’
The United States says it is fully prepared to impose further sanctions should Russia fail to call on pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to disarm. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry did not mince words Thursday after meeting with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius in Paris. With an eye to a cease-fire that expires on Friday, Kerry was clear...
Interview: Ukraine FM Says Russia Has No Prospects in Crimea
Questioning the viability of long-term political and economic goals Russia has set for itself in Crimea, Ukraine’s new foreign minister says that Moscow has no chance of implementing them on the annexed peninsula. In an interview with Austria’s daily Die Presse, Pavlo Klimkin said the two countries will have to find common ground on...
To Russia With Love: Muscovites Flock to James Bond Show
During the Soviet era, watching a James Bond film could lead to a jail sentence. Despite the ban, many were able to catch bootleg copies during the thawing of the Cold War in the 1980s. This developed into a Russian love affair with the foreign agent. In 1964, when the James Bond movie From Russia With Love was packing theaters in the United...
Putin Defends South Stream Pipeline
Russian President Vladimir Putin is pushing back against Western opposition to his country’s planned South Stream pipeline that would allow Moscow to ship natural gas to European countries without going through Ukraine. The Russian president spent six hours earlier this week in Vienna where he signed an agreement for the pipeline’s...
Report: Ukrainian Rebels Agree to Further Peace Talks
Ukrainian separatist rebels have agreed to take part in further peace talks on Friday to end the conflict in Ukraine’s eastern regions, Interfax news agency said on Thursday. “There is an agreement to hold a round of consultations on June 27 in Donetsk,” Andrei Purgin, a senior figure in the leadership of the self-proclaimed...
Kerry: Russia Must Act ‘In the Next Hours’ on Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it is “critical” for Russia “in the next hours” to call on pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine to disarm. He made the call Thursday in Paris, after meeting with his French counterpart Laurent Fabius. Kerry said he and the French foreign minister are in “full agreement” that...
White House: Obama Readies New Sanctions for Russia
The Obama administration says it is ready to impose fresh sanctions on Russia, if Moscow fails to take action to de-escalate the crisis in Ukraine. The White House, however, says it has delayed implementation as it presses for unified support from European and U.S. manufacturers for the measures. White House spokesman Josh Earnest, speaking...
