10:20
4.4.2014
Right Front leader and Ukrainian presidential candidate Dmytro Yarosh to give a press conference at 3:30 Kyiv time.
It's unclear whether he'll discuss this:
Russia's Interfax cites an unnamed source as saying Yarosh will soon be put on Interpol's international wanted list for calling on Chechen militia leader Doku Umarov to "activate extremist and terrorist activisites in Russia."
10:26
4.4.2014
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has vowed to continue to push IMF-imposed austerity measures as Ukraine's "price of independence." In a Reuters interview, Yatsenyuk said the IMF pledge of some $14 billion-$18 billion in return for strict economic reforms by Kyiv would be a "tremendous step forward" for Ukraine. The Ukrainian parliament last week rejected the austerity measures -- which include large increases on the prices of energy for Ukrainians. Yatsenyuk said Ukraine will never recognize Russia's takeover of Crimea in exchange for good relations with Moscow. He described the Crimea seizure as Moscow's "international crime." Yatsenyuk said the occupation of Crimea is part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's broader plan to exert greater control over former Soviet republics.
Turning Putin's notorious lament that "the collapse of the Soviet Union was" either "a major geopolitical disaster of the century" or "the greatest geopolitical disaster of the century" (depending on your translation), Yatsenyuk added that the biggest disaster of the 21st century would be "the resurrection of the Soviet Union."
Turning Putin's notorious lament that "the collapse of the Soviet Union was" either "a major geopolitical disaster of the century" or "the greatest geopolitical disaster of the century" (depending on your translation), Yatsenyuk added that the biggest disaster of the 21st century would be "the resurrection of the Soviet Union."
10:32
4.4.2014
11:04
4.4.2014
Two can play at that game! Read RFE's Claire Bigg on the tit-for-tat war of words between Russia and Moscow.
"It would be perfectly natural if Ukrainian became the second state language in Russia, or at least if it had special status," Yatsenyuk said. "We've also asked Russian authorities to open Ukrainian schools."
"It would be perfectly natural if Ukrainian became the second state language in Russia, or at least if it had special status," Yatsenyuk said. "We've also asked Russian authorities to open Ukrainian schools."
11:06
4.4.2014
11:17
4.4.2014
Russian news agencies report that Belarus will take over this year's CIS chairmanship from Ukraine, which has refused to chair the organization. Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimer Makey said at a session of the CIS Foreign Ministers' Council in Moscow today that Belarus as new CIS chairman will support "strengthening of good neighborly relations within the CIS space." Sergei Lebedev, chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, told reporters after the foreign ministers' session in Moscow that the CIS foreign ministers had expressed hopes that Ukraine would remain a member of the organization.
11:19
4.4.2014
Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak quotes British Foreign Secretary William Hague as telling journalists ahead of an EU foreign ministers' informal meeting in Athens today:
"It is important for us to continue to make it clear that what Russia has done in violating the independence and sovereignty of a neighboring nation state cannot be something that is accepted in Europe in the 21st century. So it is important for us to continue to discuss what we do in the future to reduce Europe's energy dependence on Russia, to make sure that we change balance of leverage between Russia and the EU in the future."
"The phase-two sanctions are important and I think have had some effect. Of course, there will always be a case for amending those or adding to those as the situation develops. I don't think you should expect a decision out of this meeting today about these things. This is of course not a meeting for detailed decisions. It is a meeting for extensive reflection on the situation and coordinating our strategies."
"This moment is not a moment for phase three of sanctions. But they have to be ready because the situation remains very dangerous, it remains very tense. There are very large numbers of Russian forces on the eastern border of Ukraine. Any withdrawal of those forces have been only been a token withdrawal so far. So the position remains as serious as before. We haven't seen real deescalation by Russia. Therefore Europe must not relax."
"The phase-two sanctions are important and I think have had some effect. Of course, there will always be a case for amending those or adding to those as the situation develops. I don't think you should expect a decision out of this meeting today about these things. This is of course not a meeting for detailed decisions. It is a meeting for extensive reflection on the situation and coordinating our strategies."
"This moment is not a moment for phase three of sanctions. But they have to be ready because the situation remains very dangerous, it remains very tense. There are very large numbers of Russian forces on the eastern border of Ukraine. Any withdrawal of those forces have been only been a token withdrawal so far. So the position remains as serious as before. We haven't seen real deescalation by Russia. Therefore Europe must not relax."
11:29
4.4.2014
Fast-food fans may be disturbed by the pictures coming out of Crimea today.
McDonald's has shuttered its three sites in Crimea, citing "manufacturing reasons beyond the company's control."
AFP notes the withdrawal "reflects a broader uncertainty among Western companies about their future" in Russia following the Kremlin's Crimean takeover.
Russian lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky has celebrated the closure and called for McDonald's to close Russia-wide. He referred to McDonald's food as "poisonous."
11:39
4.4.2014
"All the major US and European indices are up this week. Moscow’s Micex index, which plunged after Putin’s invasion of Crimea in February, has been on a robust ascent for the last three weeks. The market’s ho-hum posture mirrors Moscow’s: there is some blood on the floor after Crimea, but let’s move on."
11:43
4.4.2014
Not before. Now.