Tag Archives: Russia
Russian President Meets with Austrian Leaders
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Austria to meet with government and business leaders to discuss European Union (EU) sanctions on Russia. The sanctions were a response to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian government for years ago (Reuters 1). While the sanctions contributed to the two-year recession in Russia, the […]
Russian Diplomat Expelled from Montenegro
On March 4, the Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal was found dead due to a nerve toxin left on his door (Reuters 1). As a result, the United States and other Western countries, including most member states of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), expelled over 100 Russian diplomats […]
Venezuelan Government Wins Easier Debt Terms with Russia, China
The Russian and Venezuelan governments signed an agreement on Wednesday confirming a ten-year payment plan for Venezuela’s 3.15 billion dollar debt to Russia (WP). Venezuelan payments to the Russian government will remain nominal during the first six years, allowing for economic stabilization and development, reported the Russian Finance Ministry. A day later, Geng Shuang, the […]
Responses to Kurdish Independence Referendum
The people of Iraqi Kurdistan voted to secede from Iraq on Monday, despite opposition to the referendum from almost every government in the Middle East. Kurds throughout the region celebrated the victory, and Masoud Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan, claimed a mandate to negotiate independence with Baghdad (Guardian). The Iraqi government refuses to recognize […]
ICJ Rejects Some Ukrainian Accusations against Russia
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected a Ukrainian request to block Russian support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine on April 19 (AP; Reuters). The case brought forward in March accused the Russian government of breaching the Terrorist Financing Treaty by supporting armed groups in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (BBC). The ICJ […]
Syrian Chemical Attack “Fabricated,” Assad Claims
On April 13, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad claimed that western countries fabricated reports of a chemical attack to justify a U.S. missile launch on a Syrian airbase (BBC; Guardian). In an interview with Agence France-Presse, Assad stated “there was no order to make any attack” and that government forces gave up their chemical arsenal in […]