Russia

Why Russia can't afford another cold war

World | James B. Stewart, The New York Times | Saturday March 8, 2014

Russian troops pour over a border. An autocratic Russian leader blames the United States and unspecified "radicals and nationalists" for meddling. A puppet leader pledges fealty to Moscow.

Russia is prepared to annex Crimea, deepening crisis

World | Steven Lee Myers, David M. Herszenhorn and Rick Gladstone, The New York Times | Saturday March 8, 2014

Russia signalled for the first time on Friday that it was prepared to annex Ukraine's Crimea region, significantly intensifying its confrontation with the West over the political crisis in Ukraine and threatening to undermine a system of respect for ...

Russia warns US against 'hasty' actions on Ukraine

World | Agence France-Press | Saturday March 8, 2014

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday warned US Secretary of State John Kerry against Washington taking "hasty" action or imposing sanctions over Ukraine, in what has escalated into the biggest East-West crisis since the Cold War.

Pentagon studying Vladimir Putin's body language

World | Agence France-Press | Saturday March 8, 2014

A Pentagon research team is studying the body language of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders to better predict their behaviour, officials said on Friday.

Beer diplomacy: Barack Obama loses bet to Canada PM

Offbeat | Agence France-Press | Saturday March 8, 2014

The White House will deliver two cases of beer to the Canadian Embassy on Monday after US President Barack Obama lost an Olympic ice hockey bet to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

France says no Crimea referendum without Ukraine consent

World | Agence France-Presse | Saturday March 8, 2014

France said on Friday that there could be no referendum on the future of Crimea unless Ukraine decided to organise one.

Bobby Jindal slams Barack Obama, describes him as worst US President

World | Press Trust of India | Friday March 7, 2014

Preparing ground for his potential presidential run in 2016, Indian-American Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has slammed Barack Obama as the worst president in history and took a dig at his inability to stop Russia from invading Ukraine.

Moscow signals it will embrace Crimean move for secession

World | Steven Lee Myers, David M. Herszenhorn and Alan Cowell, The New York times | Friday March 7, 2014

Leaders of both houses of Russia's parliament said on Friday they would support a vote by Crimea to break away from Ukraine and become a new region of the Russian Federation, the first public signal that the Kremlin was backing the secessionist move ...

Vladimir Putin speeds up Crimea claim; brushes aside Barack Obama's warnings

World | Associated Press | Friday March 7, 2014

One by one, President Barack Obama's warnings to Russia are being brushed aside by President Vladimir Putin, who appears to only be speeding up efforts to formally stake his claim to Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraine decides to compete in Paralympics in Sochi

World | Associated Press | Friday March 7, 2014

Ukraine will compete in the Winter Paralympics in Sochi despite Russia's military moves in Crimea.

Syria's Bashar al-Assad hails Russia's takeover of Crimea

World | Associated Press | Friday March 7, 2014

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says Russia's military takeover of Crimea reflects President Vladimir Putin's "wise policy" and his efforts to restore "security and stability" in Ukraine after an "attempted coup."

Vladimir Putin rebuffs Barack Obama as Ukraine crisis escalates

World | Reuters | Friday March 7, 2014

President Vladimir Putin rebuffed a warning from U.S. President Barack Obama over Moscow's military intervention in Crimea, saying on Friday that Russia could not ignore calls for help from Russian speakers in Ukraine.

Russia welcomes Crimea despite Western sanctions

World | Agence France-Presse | Friday March 7, 2014

Top Russian lawmakers on Friday welcomed the prospect of Crimea joining the country, despite stiffening sanctions on Moscow over the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.

A Ukrainian soldier's life under siege

World | Agence France-Presse | Friday March 7, 2014

It's seven in the morning and the alarm clock buzzes: a new day dawns for Oleksandr -- a Ukrainian soldier in Crimea living under siege from a foreign army.

Russian assembly says Crimea's parliament has right to referendum

World | Reuters | Friday March 7, 2014

Crimea's parliament has the right to hold a referendum on the region's future status and if its people vote to join Russia, Russia's upper house of parliament will support their decision, the assembly's speaker said on Friday.

China muddling through on Ukraine - and world affairs: analysts

World | Agence France-Press | Friday March 7, 2014

As world leaders scramble to shape events in Ukraine, China has stood by unable even to articulate its stance, exposing its muddled approach to foreign affairs despite its fast-growing global interests and stature, analysts say.

Russia's parliament will respect Crimea's 'historic' referendum choice

World | Agence France Presse | Friday March 7, 2014

Russia's parliament will respect the "historic choice" to be made by Crimea when the Ukrainian region's people vote in a referendum on joining Russia later this month, the speaker of the Russian lower house said.

World's biggest arms importer, India wants to buy local

India | Gardiner Harris, The New York Times | Friday March 7, 2014

India recently rolled out its own fighter jet and tank and several ships, a defense line-up that could put Russian arms exports in trouble.

Jarred by US 'top ten lies' list, Russia fires back

World | Ellen Barry, The New York Times | Friday March 7, 2014

Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs was not amused by the unorthodox statement from the State Department under the title "President Putin's Fiction: 10 False Claims About Ukraine," which purported to rebut a series of assertions by Vladimir Putin in...

Oligarchs recruited to tame eastern Ukraine

World | Agence France Presse | Friday March 7, 2014

After losing control of Crimea, Ukraine's embattled new government is turning to the nation's oligarchs to stamp out the flames of separatism in the mainly Russian-speaking east.