Situation with migration policy in Russia to grow worse
A growing number of migrants from Central Asia are coming to Russia to earn money. Their situation became more difficult because of growing anti-immigrant sentiments, but they don’t see a way out yet. READ MORE
Russian-Led Trade Bloc ‘No Soviet Union’
Armenia will not lose its independence after joining the Russian-led customs union, Russia’s ambassador in Yerevan, Ivan Volynkin, insisted on Friday, strongly denying that Moscow is keen to recreate the former Soviet Union. READ MORE
Wait and see’ will not help Ukraine
Sir, While expressing my deep appreciation of a profound analysis offered by the FT in the article “Which way to turn?” (November 12) I still believe it is worth adding some highlights as well as reinforcing some conclusions. READ MORE
Linking up Europe and South Korea 'not easy'
Russian President Putin is set to arrive in Seoul with a long list of issues, including plans for a rail link that could ultimately link Europe to South Korean ports. The main stumbling block is likely to be Pyongyang. READ MORE
Russia–Azerbaijan: an ambivalent partnership
Following the disintegration of the USSR and the emergence of newly independent states, the Caucasus region, which for years had stayed at the periphery of world affairs, has found itself the focus of attention from influential international players as well as neighboring countries. Former Soviet Transcaucasia republics, which became subject to international law overnight, began to formulate their own national interests and foreign policy priorities. The emergence of independent states in the South Caucasus went hand-in-hand with attempts to advance new regional security mechanisms and new forms of international cooperation. READ MORE
Rar: No one Knows What the Situation with Gas in Europe Will Be
The Research Director of the German-Russian Forum Alexandr Rar during his conversation with the Telegraph doubted the feasibility of construction of terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivery in the Baltic region. At the moment Qatar gas from tankers is more expensive in Europe that Russian gas from the pipeline. READ MORE
Ukraine minimizes purchases of Russian gas
The government and NAK Naftogaz Ukraine have accomplished the task set by President Viktor Yanukovych to minimize purchases of expensive fuel from Russian OAO Gazprom. READ MORE
Conventional Prompt Global Strike and Russia's Nuclear Forces
On June 19, 2013—just hours before President Barack Obama called for further nuclear reductions in Berlin—President Vladimir Putin issued a preemptive rebuttal, stating that we see that work is active around the world on developing high‐precision conventional weapons systems that in their strike capabilities come close to strategic nuclear weapons. Countries that have such weapons substantially increase their offensive capability. READ MORE
Russian-Polish Relations Need A Shot In the Arm
Several years after the Polish presidential plane crash and the initial Russian-Polish rapprochement, the process of reconciliation has visibly stagnated. The Polish opposition accused the government, and the Russians, of having engineered the crash at Smolensk. Prime Minister Tusk got scared and preferred to stay passive in front of the absurd accusations. Moscow rejected even minimal responsibility of the Russian ground controllers in the affair. Apparently trying to keep the investigation suspended so as not to give more ammunition to the Polish opposition, Russia has still not returned the wreckage of the Polish presidential plane to Warsaw. True, there still have been notable achievements such as the agreement allowing for visa-free travel in the border areas, which include Kaliningrad and Gdansk, as well as regular trilateral meetings among the foreign ministers of Russia, Poland, and Germany. Yet, with the Civic Platform doing now badly in the polls, a return of PiS to government after the election two years from now is a distinct possibility. READ MORE