Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday he hopes for “normalization” of ties between rivals Armenia and Azerbaijan who pledged not to resort to force in their territorial dispute after tripartite talks, reasserting Moscow’s role as Caucasus powerbroker. The summit was held as Western engagement grows in the volatile Caucasus region, where Russia — distracted by…
Billionaire banker and entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov on Monday said he renounced his Russian citizenship because of the conflict in Ukraine, which he had previously criticised. “I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship. I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing…
The United States on Monday accused Russia of extortion at the expense of the developing world after it demanded Ukrainian security guarantees on its Crimea fleet for preserving a secure corridor to export grain. “What you’re describing appears to be either collective punishment or collective extortion,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “It is…
Cargo ships loaded with grain and other agricultural products left Ukrainian ports on Monday despite Russia’s decision to pull out from a landmark deal designed to ease the global food crisis. As one of the brokers of the grain deal, Turkey has stepped up diplomacy with the two warring countries in a bid to save…
Russia stripped renowned climate activist Arshak Makichyan of his Russian citizenship Monday, according to a post on his Instagram page. “The Russian state has deprived me of my only citizenship,” the activist, who is currently living in exile in Germany, wrote on Monday. Renowned as Russia’s “lone climate activist” for his solo protests on Moscow’s…
Moscow on Monday summoned the Dutch ambassador to “protest strongly” against Western efforts to “recruit” Russian diplomats in the Netherlands, the Foreign Ministry said. Ambassador Gilles Beschoor Plug was called in to hear Moscow “protest strongly against an attempt to recruit the military attache of Russia’s Embassy in The Hague on Oct. 20 by a…
The Russian-born co-founder and CEO of British digital bank Revolut has become the fourth billionaire to renounce his Russian citizenship, The Telegraph reported on Saturday. Nik Storonsky, 37, had dual British and Russian citizenship until his decision to renounce his Russian citizenship earlier this year, the report said. Storonsky, who has publicly condemned Moscow’s invasion…
Russia’s military said it successfully hit several Ukrainian energy infrastructure facilities in the latest round of missile strikes fired at the war-torn country Monday. “The Russian Armed Forces continued to launch strikes with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons against Ukrainian military and energy facilities,” the Defense Ministry said in an update on its Telegram…
Japanese tiremaker Bridgestone said Monday it was seeking a local buyer for its business in Russia due to “general uncertainty and the ongoing supply issues” in that country. The company suspended manufacturing activities in Russia and exports to the country in March — shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine — while freezing new investments, it said. Bridgestone said in a…
Police in Finland have raised the alarm over the smuggling of Western-donated weapons from Ukraine by criminal gangs, Finland’s Yle broadcaster reported Sunday. Weapons originally sent as military aid to Ukraine including assault rifles, pistols, grenades and combat drones, had been found in multiple European countries, Christer Ahlgren, head of organized crime at the Finnish…
Russia and Ukraine over the weekend announced a fresh prisoner exchange involving 50 captives on each side. Unlike previous exchanges carried out since the Russian invasion, the prisoner swap was made public by both Moscow and Ukraine on Saturday. Russia’s military said its 50 soldiers returned from Ukraine had been “in mortal danger in captivity”…
Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday after the leftist ex-president narrowly won a divisive runoff against far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. “The results of the vote have confirmed your high political authority,” Putin said in a telegram published by the Kremlin after Brazilian electoral officials called the election for…