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Lavrov, Kerry discuss Syrian peace talks
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have spoken over the phone about the upcoming UN-sponsored Syrian peace talks in Geneva. The talks will be the largest effort yet to find a peaceful solution to the Syrian Civil War that has raged for almost 5 years.
Kerry’s call to Lavrov comes three days after a face-to-face meeting between the two in Zurich, following which a joint statement was released saying "particular attention was given to the need to form a …
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Russian Justice Ministry defines ‘political activity’ to amend ‘Foreign Agent Law’
In 2012, the Russian State Duma adopted a law requiring all nongovernmental organizations engaged in political activity that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” with the Ministry of Justice, a designation that severely hinders an NGO's ability to operate in the Russian Federation. While the law initially provided a vague definition of "political activity", the Ministry of Justice adopted a new amendment on Friday defining it as any work in the sphere of federal or …
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Sberbank: Russian Inflation will Exceed 8 Percent in 2016
The Russian bank Sberbank believes that Russia will see a recession and that inflation may exceed 8% this year, as reported by TASS, citing the head of the Center for Macroeconomic Research of Sberbank, Yulia Tsepliaeva. According to her, a decline in consumption and economic growth may also be expected.
“We expect an economic slowdown and an additional year of decline in consumption. Inflation is likely to be high. It is expected to exceed 8%,” Tsepliaeva said.
Tsepliaeva assesses the Bank’ …
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Russian Ambassador to the UK Calls Litvinenko Investigation a Provocation
The Russian Ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, called London’s approach to the "business of Litvinenko" a "blatant provocation" by the British authorities. Yakovenko said this after being summoned to the British Foreign Office.
According to him, for Moscow, "it is absolutely unacceptable to question whether the Russian government was somehow involved in the death of Litvinenko... This is an attempt to exert additional pressure on Russia in connection with the existing differences on …
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European Parliament Supports Establishment of International Tribunal for MH17
The resolution of the European Parliament stated that they support the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for investigating the MH17 incident. In 2014, the Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 passenger plane was shot down over the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. The European Parliament also called on Russia to fully cooperate with the international community in order to carry out a full and impartial investigation and bring the perpetrators to justice, the document says.
Russia’s …