• John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov meet in Zurich

    The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, and the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, met in the Swiss city of Zurich for the first bilateral negotiations of the year. The meeting was a prelude to the Syrian negotiations to be held in Geneva on January 25th.

    Earlier, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mikhail Bogdanov, said that Lavrov and Kerry would also discuss the situation in Ukraine and the implementation of the Minsk Agreements in eastern Ukraine. The issues regarding …

  • Dutch Prime Minister to Promote EU-Ukraine Association Agreement

    The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is on the agenda of the EU Dutch Presidency, said the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

    "We need this agreement. On the one hand, the agreement regulates the free trade zone. But at the same time, this agreement also addresses the stability at the borders of the European Union,” Rutte said while answering questions after the presentation of the Netherlands presidential program to the EU. …

  • Reports Allege That Chechen People Are Forced To Display Support for Kadyrov

    There have been reports from the Russian Republic of Chechnya that government officials, teachers and students throughout the territory are being compelled to show support for the Chairman of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.

    The Russian online edition Znak reported that the employees of the Ministry of National Policy, External Relations, Press and Information of Chechnya and its subordinate offices there were ordered to attend a flash mob on Thursday and rally in Grozny, the Chechen …

  • Protesters Surround Parliament Building in Moldova

    In Moldova, supporters of the opposition parties gathered in protest at the Parliament building in Chisinau on January 20th after lawmakers voted to approve a new government headed by a new pro-European Prime Minister, Pavel Filip. According to some reports, protesters also attempted to break into the Parliament building.

    On Wednesday, the Moldovan Parliament approved a new pro-European government, ending a political crisis that lasted months. 57 out of 101 deputies voted for a government …

  • More Than 400 German Companies Closed Their Doors in Russia In 2015

    According to the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce report released on January 20th, the number of German companies, together with their branches and representative offices, was reduced by 7% in Russia last year.

    According to the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation, six thousand companies with German capital were registered in Russia in 2014. However, in 2015, their number dropped to 5583, more than 400 fewer than the previous year.

    Meanwhile, the number of legal entities with …