08:26
2.4.2014
Here's a little more detail from RFE/RL's news desk on John Kerry's remarks in Brussels this morning:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has criticized Russia for increasing natural gas prices for Ukraine, saying energy should not be used as a political weapon.
Meeting in Brussels on April 2 with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and European Commission for Energy Guenther Oettinger, Kerry said adequate supplies of energy are "critical" to the economies, security and prosperity of people in Europe and the United States.
Kerry referred to the situation in Ukraine and said work is in progress to supply Ukraine with gas from Poland and Hungary and to create a new supply route through Slovakia.
Kerry also mentioned the "South Corridor" should play a role in supplying Europe with gas from Azerbaijan.
Kerry added that the solution to Europe's energy problems requires "a great amount of trans-Atlantic cooperation."
Meeting in Brussels on April 2 with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and European Commission for Energy Guenther Oettinger, Kerry said adequate supplies of energy are "critical" to the economies, security and prosperity of people in Europe and the United States.
Kerry referred to the situation in Ukraine and said work is in progress to supply Ukraine with gas from Poland and Hungary and to create a new supply route through Slovakia.
Kerry also mentioned the "South Corridor" should play a role in supplying Europe with gas from Azerbaijan.
Kerry added that the solution to Europe's energy problems requires "a great amount of trans-Atlantic cooperation."
08:43
2.4.2014
Our news desk has a bit more info on Yulia Tymoshenko's presidential bid:
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has said she will remain a candidate for president and will not make deals with other candidates to withdraw her candidacy.
Tymoshenko made her comments at a press conference in Kyiv one day after Ukrainian Democratic Party for Reform (UDAR) party leader Vitali Klitschko called on her to drop out and pledge her support to billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko, the front-runner in the election.
Tymoshenko also reiterated her call for early parliamentary elections to be held.
She said snap elections are the only way to "significantly change the content of the Verkhovna Rada's work."
Klitschko, who ended his campaign for president on March 30, wrote in an editorial in the online edition of German newspaper "Bild" on March 31 that it would be "responsible" for Tymoshenko to support Poroshenko.
Klitschko will run for mayor of Kyiv.
Tymoshenko made her comments at a press conference in Kyiv one day after Ukrainian Democratic Party for Reform (UDAR) party leader Vitali Klitschko called on her to drop out and pledge her support to billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko, the front-runner in the election.
Tymoshenko also reiterated her call for early parliamentary elections to be held.
She said snap elections are the only way to "significantly change the content of the Verkhovna Rada's work."
Klitschko, who ended his campaign for president on March 30, wrote in an editorial in the online edition of German newspaper "Bild" on March 31 that it would be "responsible" for Tymoshenko to support Poroshenko.
Klitschko will run for mayor of Kyiv.
08:47
2.4.2014
MT @ChristopherJM: Right Sector turns in cache of Molotov cocktails to #Ukraine authorities pic.twitter.com/nuPJbZGqAa via @UKRINFORM
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) April 2, 2014
09:31
2.4.2014
Another update from RFE/RL's news desk:
NATO's top military commander says Russia has all the forces it needs on Ukraine's border if Moscow were to decide to carry out an "incursion" into the country.
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, said Russia could achieve its objective in three to five days.
Breedlove, in an interview with the Reuters news agency and "The Wall Street Journal," called the situation on the border "incredibly concerning."
He said NATO had spotted signs of movement by a very small part of the Russian force overnight but no indication that it was returning to barracks.
Breedlove said that NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have asked him to draw up by April 15 a package to reassure NATO allies in Eastern Europe that would include reinforcements by land, air and sea.
NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, said Russia could achieve its objective in three to five days.
Breedlove, in an interview with the Reuters news agency and "The Wall Street Journal," called the situation on the border "incredibly concerning."
He said NATO had spotted signs of movement by a very small part of the Russian force overnight but no indication that it was returning to barracks.
Breedlove said that NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels have asked him to draw up by April 15 a package to reassure NATO allies in Eastern Europe that would include reinforcements by land, air and sea.
09:45
2.4.2014
In many ways, this YouTube video on Crimea by parliamentary deputies from ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party of Russia defies description. Well worth a gander though!
09:48
2.4.2014
It seems Lyudmila's interesting choice of dress is not quite as incendiary as it seems. The picture is from 2003 apparently:
Good one. Although it's a 2003 picture http://t.co/vFJoeCi3vO MT @KevinRothrock Lyudmila Putina the troll http://t.co/2T5vrCGqrZ
— RPW (@RusPoliceWatch) April 2, 2014
09:50
2.4.2014
Russia is seizing all methadone from Crimea's rehabs http://t.co/eeQbph4R1W | @rianru
— RPW (@RusPoliceWatch) April 2, 2014
09:57
2.4.2014
The "Lithuanian Tribune" has published an interesting piece by Edward Lucas on the Kremlin's "loaded lexicon."
10:14
2.4.2014
EU-US Energy Council – Joint Press Statement http://t.co/wxPEWcHM9q
— Wojciech Jakóbik (@wjakobik) April 2, 2014
10:24
2.4.2014
Moscow has threatened retaliatory action against U.S. diplomats after an American bank blocked a transfer of funds carried out by the Russian Embassy in Kazakhstan. From our news desk.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said Wednesday that Russia considered as "unacceptable, illegal and absurd the decision of JP Morgan Chase bank to block the transfer by the Russian ambassador in Astana to insurance company Sogaz" this week.
Sogaz is linked to Russian bank Rossiya, which is on the list of companies and individuals subject to U.S. sanctions over Moscow's move to annex Crimea.
Lukashevich said that the bank had "done a disservice" to the U.S. administration, which would "have an impact on the work of the U.S. embassy and consulate in Russia."
Sogaz is linked to Russian bank Rossiya, which is on the list of companies and individuals subject to U.S. sanctions over Moscow's move to annex Crimea.
Lukashevich said that the bank had "done a disservice" to the U.S. administration, which would "have an impact on the work of the U.S. embassy and consulate in Russia."