Contents tagged with Europe
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Russian fund sues Lithuania for €1 billion over nationalization of Snoras Bank
The Russian Fund for Protection of the Rights of Investors and Foreign States announced in a statement that it has filed a lawsuit against Lithuania at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.
According to the fund, when Snoras Bank group was nationalized, it was worth around € 2.5 billion. “The exact lawsuit amount will be determined at a later stage of the litigation on the basis of the damage assessment. However, the preliminary lawsuit amount is €1.1 …
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Russia decided to expel two Swedish diplomats
Russia expelled two Swedish diplomats, reports Expressen newspaper quoting the spokesperson of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Patric Nilsson.
He called this decision "a response to the refusal to grant a Swedish visa to a Russian diplomat."
TASS news agency reported that the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, also called the expulsion of diplomats a retaliation measure.
In December last year, Reuters news agency reported about the expulsion of …
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Secretary of European Council hopes for Russia’s return to PACE before summer session
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, in an interview with AFP, once again criticized the possible withdrawal or expulsion of Russia from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), calling it a "dramatic event."
However, the CE Secretary General is convinced that "there are good chances for resolving the conflict with Moscow," which will allow Russia to avoid a possible exit from PACE, writes the Deutsche Welle Russian service.
According to …
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Macron hopes Russia will remain a member of the Council of Europe
During a meeting with CE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, French President Emmanuel Macron said that he hopes that Russia will remain a member of the Council of Europe despite its disagreements with the other members of the organization, reported in Le Figaro.
“I hope Russia will remain a member of the Council of Europe,” said Macron as he welcomed Jagland to the Elysée Palace.
France will take over the presidency of the Council of Europe in mid-May.
Previously, it was reported in the …
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Lavrov after talks with Pompeo: US does not want war in Venezuela
After meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday 6 May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that no one in the world wants the Venezuelan crisis to end in war. However, he believes that any US military operation in the Latin American country could have catastrophic consequences.
“From my contact with American and other colleagues – European and Latin American – I do not see any proponents of a reckless military solution. I hope that this understanding which we …
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Russia may refuse to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights
Russian permanent representative to the Council of Europe Ivan Soltanovsky said that Moscow could not only refuse membership in the Council of Europe but also withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. According to RIA Novosti, the diplomat did not exclude such a possibility if the parties will not come to a compromise.
"We are considering all possible scenario, keeping in mind foreign policy consequences for both Russia and international relations on the European continent," he …
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President Duda wants to secure Poland's membership in the EU and NATO in the Constitution
During the celebration of Poland’s Constitution Day, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that the state's membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance should be added to the Constitution, reports Ukrinform. According to the opposition, the ruling party is against such a move.
“We have a constitution and we need to discuss any potential amendments. We should debate whether or not the EU membership should be included in the constitution and we must add a guarantee that we will …
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US Ambassador to Germany warns again of Nord Stream 2 sanctions
In an interview with the publication Focus, US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell alluded to the sanctions that Washington could impose on the German companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
“From an American perspective, the pipeline will bring more than just gas, but also an increased sanction risk,” he said. He pointed out that the pipeline will make EU countries dependent on Russia.
The American diplomat has repeatedly said that “the companies that operate in the …
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Head of Belarusian national telecommunications company detained in Minsk
The General Director of the leading telecommunications company Beltelecom, Sergey Sivoedov, was detained and taken into custody in Belarus. He was arrested for allegedly receiving a 15 thousand euros bribe from an unnamed Russian citizen, who was also arrested. According to the Radio Liberty, in the press release of the country’s Committee for State Security (KGB), the arrested Russian national is marked with the letter “K”.
The investigators believe that Sivoedov received a bribe from a …
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Belarus receives first clean oil supply from Russia
Russian oil has crossed the border of Belarus, beginning its flow at the Mozyr refinery, reports Interfax referring to the press-service of the Belarusian oil concern Belneftekhim.
"Oil meeting the standards, began to flow on May 2 at 12:40,” the press service of Belneftekhim said.
On April 23, Belarus was forced to suspend the export of light oil products to Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic States due to the low-quality Russian oil. On the same day, Belarus held negotiations in Moscow on the …