During a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 14th, US President Barack Obama urged the Russian leader to release Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, Interfax reported.

The news agency quoted the press secretary of the US Embassy in Moscow, Will Stevens.

"President Obama also urged President Putin to release detained pilot and parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko in accordance with the Minsk commitment to release all unlawfully detained persons," Stevens said. …

According to the RBC media outlet, Russia could spend at least 38 billion rubles or up to $535 million on the military operation in Syria. Since the beginning of the campaign its costs could have grown by almost half.Costs per dayDuring Russia's 167-day military campaign in Syria the daily cost of operations could have grown by almost 50%, RBC estimates, basing its calculation on the data that was revealed by the Defense Ministry and the experts' evaluations.At the end of October 2015 the cost …

The Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Mustafa Dzhemilev, stated in his interview with Radio Svoboda that Turkey joined the sanctions imposed against Russia for the annexation of Crimea only after the deterioration of their relationship with the Russian Federation. Prior to that, Turkey hadn’t joined the group of countries that impose sanctions against Russia.

According to Dzhemilev, officials in Ankara believed the Turkish leader would be more powerful and better able to …

According to Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the United States Department of State, Washington demands that Russia fulfill the requirements of the Minsk Agreements. The Assistant Secretary also called on Moscow to release Nadiya Savchenko.

The US administration intends to uphold sanctions against Russia that were imposed due to the annexation of Crimea, stated Nuland on Tuesday, March 15th. "We will continue to cooperate with Ukraine on the …

Nadiya Savchenko has become the winner of prestigious Polish Jan Karski Award. Savchenko was given the award for her tempered heart in the fight for human dignity and pride, Radio Poland reported.

By Savchenko’s conduct in the face of trumped up charges, she provides a shining example of a person who can be deprived of life but can’t be broken. “Currently, Savchenko is on a hunger strike,” the jury of the award reported. Jan Karski established the Jan Karski Eagle Award in 2000, not long …

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed serious concern over the possible banning of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, Krym.Realii reported.

“The Mejlis is an important tool for the representation and the emancipation of the Crimean Tatar people. It is absurd to label the Mejlis as an extremist organization just because they openly oppose Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea,” this was said by PACE co-rapporteurs, Axel Fischer and Jordi Xuclà.

The PACE also …

The wreckage of the plane that crashed near Smolensk that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyński in April of 2010 will not be handed over until the investigation concerning this criminal case is complete, as was reported by the official representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Markin.

"Of course, the wreckage of the plane contains evidence of the criminal case and cannot be given back to Poland until all investigations have been completed, this is in …

The EU Diplomacy Chief stated that member states support the five key principles for building relations with Russia. Italian and Hungarian Foreign Ministers spoke out against the automatic prolongation of sanctions against Moscow.

On March 14, at the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, discussed with the Foreign Ministers of the member states the five principles for cooperation with …