Sanctions

China pledges to help Russia overcome economic hardships
China's foreign minister has pledged support to Russia as it faces an economic downturn due to sanctions and a drop in oil prices. Boosting trade in yuan is a solution proposed by Beijing's commerce minister. “Russia has the capability and the wisdom to overcome the existing hardship in the economic situation," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists, China Daily reported Monday. [...]
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The US is behind the current drop in oil prices – Bolivia”s president
The US is behind the current drop in oil prices as it is aiming to undermine the economies of large petroleum producers Russia and Venezuela, Bolivian President Evo Morales told RT. In his interview with RT’s Spanish-language channel, Morales said that it’s was “a pity” that Washington remains on a “wrong course” by continuing to use sanctions against its political rivals. [...]
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What Putin is not telling us
Even facing what under any circumstances is a perfect storm; President Putin delivered an extremely measured performance at his annual press conference and Q&A marathon. The perfect storm evolves in two fronts; an overt economic war – as in siege by sanctions - and a concerted, covert, shadow attack to the heart of the Russian economy. [...]
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Pope Francis unexpected hero of US-Cuba relations breakthrough
Pope Francis has congratulated both the US and Cuba on restoring relations, as the Vatican together with Canada were confirmed to have played a significant role in the talks which broke 50 years of cold. The Vatican said that it was a key player in negotiations between the two countries, “resulting in solutions acceptable to both parties.” [...]
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How diamond diplomacy adds sparkle to Indo-Russian ties
Direct trade between India and Russia in rough diamonds is a diplomacy gem which was a Russian initiative buttressed by some quick decision-making by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The matter has been under discussion through the diplomatic channels between the two countries for quite some time and came up in a brief discussion between visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Modi during th [...]
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Putin: Nuclear projects core of cooperation between Russia and India
When President Putin makes his lightning one-day visit to India, the main thing on his mind will be power. He'll be discussing nuclear cooperation and energy when he meets Prime Minister Modi. “Nuclear energy cooperation is one of the pillars of our strategic partnership. We concluded two inter-governmental agreements in this field in 2008 and in 2010,” Putin said in an interview with India [...]
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Ron Paul: “US provoking war with Russia, could result in total destruction”
Former congressman Ron Paul has lashed out at the resolution the House passed against Russia, branding it "one of the worst pieces of legislation ever." It could even pave the way for a potential war with Russia, as it was with Iraq, he warns. Resolution 758 strongly condemns the actions of Russia under Vladimir Putin, for what it describes as a policy of “aggression against neighboring count [...]
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EU, US destroying Ukraine’s economy by sanctioning Russia – Putin
It's astounding that the EU and US don't realize that by limiting Russia's access to international capital, they're actually undermining the financial wellbeing of Ukraine, which is credited by Russian banks, Vladimir Putin told German TV channel ARD. The Russian President said that the country's banks "have currently extended a $25-billion loan to the Ukrainian economy.” [...]
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The bullying of Hungary – the country that dared to disobey the US and EU
25 years ago, Hungary was being toasted in the West for opening its border with Austria to East Germans, in a move which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now the Western elites are not happy with Budapest which they consider far too independent. The refusal of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz party to join the new US and EU Cold War against Russia, which has seen the Hungari [...]
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‘World moving away from hegemony model’
The unipolar world as we know it is moving to its end, Wolfgang Schüssel, Austria’s Chancellor in 2000-2007, told RT at the Valdai forum. Russia is to play a major role in the new order, but at the moment the Ukraine crisis dominates the country’s image. Wolfgang Schüssel: First of all, there was a story before the sanctions. We were absolutely surprised with what happened in Ukraine. [...]
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Putin lashes out at US, West for destabilizing world
Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States and the West for destabilizing the world order of checks and balances for its own gains. He also accused the West of inflaming the situation in Ukraine and said Russia is not interested in building an empire. The Russian President delivered a fierce broadside aimed at the United States in a speech for the Valdai Club in Sochi, which is an informal [...]
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Putin: Russia’s isolation is “absurd and illusory goal”
Trying to isolate Russia with sanctions and restrictive measures is "an absurd and illusory goal," Russia's president has said. Moscow intends to "further deepen" cooperation with EU partners, Vladimir Putin told the Serbian newspaper, Politika. “If the main goal is to isolate our country, it’s an absurd and illusory goal. It is obviously impossible to achieve it and the economic health of [...]
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Calling Russia “threat to humanity” puts Obama’s sanity in doubt – Medvedev
The Russian PM has suggested that Obama's charges against Russia were caused by a "brain aberration" and added that such rhetoric saddened him. “I am very upset by the fact that President Obama, while speaking from the United Nations’ podium and listing the threats and challenges humanity is currently facing, put Ebola in first place, the Russian Federation second and the Islamic State orga [...]
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Powerhouse Germany gets own spoonful of austerity
German industry is feeling the most pressure since the peak of the global financial crisis in 2009, putting Berlin in a difficult position as it preaches tough austerity to its neighbors. Russian sanctions are only exacerbating the economic misery. Industry orders tumbled 5.7 percent in August from July, the fastest since January 2009 when they dropped 7.7 percent, the Germany Economy Ministry [...]
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Serbia proposes free trade zone with Russia
Serbia's foreign minister Ivica Dacic has proposed a limited free trade zone with Russia and has assured Moscow the South Stream gas pipeline project is safe. Russian companies meanwhile expressed readiness to invest up to $1bn in Serbia's infrastructure. Under the plans put forward by the Serbian official, who is in Moscow until Wednesday for a session of the Intergovernmental committee on tra [...]
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“Ukraine crisis: part of US Transatlantic community plan”
The US goal in the Ukrainian conflict is to put up a dividing line between NATO states and Russia and create the Transatlantic political, economic and military community, John Laughland of the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation in Paris told RT. US Vice President Joe Biden in his speech to Harvard University's Institute of Politics last week admitted that the US government pushed the EU to [...]
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Biden says US ’embarrassed’ EU into sanctioning Russia over Ukraine
America's leadership had to embarrass Europe to impose economic hits on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine - even though the EU was opposed to such a motion, US Vice President Joe Biden revealed during a speech at Harvard. “We’ve given Putin a simple choice: Respect Ukraine’s sovereignty or face increasing consequences,” Biden told a gathering at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard [...]
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Russian senators cancel official US visit, plan to cut links with “hostile” EU states
Russia's Federation Council will boycott a scheduled business roundtable with US Senators next month, and has voiced intentions to stop co-operation with all sanction-supporting EU parliaments. The decision by members of the upper house to stay away from the October 14-15 summit in New York was voiced by the Council’s International Affairs Committee to Izvestia newspaper. [...]
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“China won’t support sanctions against Moscow”
China will never support any sanctions against Russia and will never join them, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house said, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom she met on Tuesday. Both Russia and China believe the sanctions are illegal, ineffective and counterproductive, according to Matviyenko. They are nothing but an attempt “to exert pressure on s [...]
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