Tag Archives: russia

On Thursday, UN Under-secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos accused Syria of putting more effort into obstructing the UN than providing aid to millions of needy people. Amos, presenting the fourth UN report on humanitarian access in Syria, stressed that around 10.8 million are in critical need of humanitarian aid, and that workers could not reach …

Russia on Monday commended the “successful” completion of the international mission to ship out chemical agents in Syria, under a Russia-US brokered deal that helped avert any potential Western air strikes on the middle-eastern country. In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, “Russia greets the successful end of a large-scale and unprecedented international operation to ship all components of chemical …

International prosecutors on Tuesday said that despite China and Russia’s efforts to block war-crimes from Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), it was still possible for them to go after those responsible for the crimes. Last month, Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution which would have referred war crimes committed by both sides …

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Ukrainian president-elect Petro Poroshenko on Friday during the D-Day anniversary held in Normandy, and called for an end to the violence and bloodshed on both sides, his spokesman said. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, was quoted as saying, “Putin and Poroshenko called for the soonest possible end to bloodshed in southeastern Ukraine, and to military …

On May 22nd, Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have referred the Syrian crisis to the International Criminal Court. The resolution had international backing and was approved by the other 13 members of the Security Council. “Moscow and Beijing can veto a resolution but they can’t suppress the desire for justice by the Syrian people …

Iran has reduced 80% of its nuclear stockpile, according to IAEA report The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday said that Iran has gotten rid of 80% of its nuclear stockpile under an interim deal with world powers, and that it has begun engaging with Iran on a long-stalled investigation into suspected weapons research. In its quarterly report, the IAEA …

The UN Security Council is expected to put to vote next week a resolution which would call Syria to the International Criminal Court; the measure, however, will likely fail due to opposition from China and Russia. The resolution was drafted by France and aims to “send a message that there is accountability for the crimes committed in Syria”. According to …

Ukrainian leaders on Wednesday launched round-table “Unity” talks as a part of a Western push to prevent the country from falling apart. They vowed that they wouldn’t bow to “blackmail” by pro-Russian forces waging an insurgency in Eastern Ukraine. The “Unity” talks do not involve the pro-Russian forces battling in Eastern Ukraine, and are being held two weeks before Ukraine …

Six Ukrainian military troops were killed by separatist forces near the city Krematorsk in eastern Ukraine, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday. Eight more soldiers were wounded in the separatist “ambush” in the outskirts village of Oktyabrske near the city Krematorsk. The statement, released on the Defense ministry’s website, said that the attack was “cynical and dangerous”, and had occurred …

The head of the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations (OPCW-UN) today called for safe and unfettered access to the remaining eight per cent of Syria’s chemical weapons material that needs to be removed and destroyed. Speaking to reporters after a closed-door briefing to the UN Security Council, Special Coordinator Sigrid …