Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin signed deals worth over $1.3 billion with the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, wrapping up a tour of the Gulf where he also courted investment in Saudi Arabia. A day after inking a major oil cooperation deal with Riyadh, …
Read More »Macron, Putin see chance on Ukraine but clash on Syria
Bormes-les-Mimosas, France | AFP | French President Emmanuel Macron and Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed changes in Ukraine had bolstered the chances of peace in its east but clashed on Syria, as the Russian leader made a rare bilateral visit to a key EU power. Macron, who hosted Putin at …
Read More »Moscow set for fresh protests after month of rallies
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow was set for fresh protests Saturday, the latest in a wave of demonstrations that has seen tens of thousands take to the streets after opposition figures were banned from local elections a month ago. The rallies, which have taken place every Saturday since the ruling, …
Read More »Secret Russia weapon project: gamechanger or PR stunt?
Paris, France | AFP | A deadly explosion at a Russian testing site has focused attention on President Vladimir Putin’s bid to build a nuclear-powered missile that the Kremlin hopes would give Moscow the edge in a new arms race. Western experts have linked the blast at the Nyonoksa test site …
Read More »Russians killed in missile test blast were working on ‘new weapons’
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russia’s nuclear agency chief on Monday confirmed that five scientists killed last week were developing “new weapons” and vowed to continue testing despite the explosion. The accident took place at an Arctic military facility on the coast of the White Sea on Thursday, but Russian authorities …
Read More »From reformer to hardliner: Putin’s 20 years on the global stage
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Twenty years ago on Friday, Russian president Boris Yeltsin appointed his fourth prime minister in less than 18 months: Vladimir Putin, then a relatively unknown security services chief with scant experience of politics. The departing Yeltsin was casting around for a successor and few could have …
Read More »Russia, China to show united front at economic forum.
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Chinese President Xi Jinping appears Friday as guest of honour at Russia’s showcase economic forum, as the two neighbours present a united front in the face of shared troubles with the US. Xi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for a three-day visit with Vladimir Putin and …
Read More »Kim, Putin vow to seek closer ties at first talks
Vladivostok, Russia | AFP | North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin vowed to seek closer ties as they met for the first time on Thursday, in talks aimed at countering US influence. Putin emerged from the meeting in Russia’s Vladivostok saying that like Washington, Moscow supports efforts to …
Read More »Russia says state and private ‘instructors’ are in Sudan
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Moscow on Monday said it had sent “instructors” to Sudan, where demonstrators have been protesting against President Omar al-Bashir for weeks, following reports of sightings of Russian-speaking soldiers in Khartoum. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not specify who the “instructors” were, but said they were in …
Read More »Putin lands in Belgrade ahead of rock star reception
Belgrade, Serbia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday kicked off a state visit to Serbia, where he is set to receive a rock star reception in the capital Belgrade which is preparing a parade in his honour. “Welcome honoured President Putin, dear friend” read one of many billboards around the city bearing …
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