Tank Biathlon 2014: Armenia ready for final “leap”

August 15, 2014 By administrator

The Tank Biathlon 2014 international competition is wrapping up in Russia, and the Armenia Armed Forces’ tank crews continue to demonstrate a high performance among the participating countries.

The Tank Biathlon 2014 comprises various complicated and unpredictable challenges, and Armenia is currently in fourth place in the competition.

The Armenian armed forces are represented by two officers and compulsory military servicemen, whereas contract soldiers and crews that have participated in previous tank biathlons make up the majority of teams from the other participating countries.

The Tank Biathlon 2014 international competition will conclude on Saturday.

Source: news.am

Russia, China agree currency swaps to cut dependence on U.S. dollar

August 9, 2014 By administrator

The Russian and Chinese central banks have agreed a draft currency swap agreement, which will allow them to increase trade in domestic currencies and cut the dependence on the U.S. dollar in bilateral payments, RT reported.

“The draft document between the Central Bank of Russia and the People’s Bank of China on national currency swaps has been agreed by the parties,” and is at the stage of formal approval procedures, ITAR-TASS quotes the Russian regulator’s office.

The Russian Central Bank is not giving precise details on the size of the currency swaps, nor when it will be launched. It says this will depend on demand.

According to the bank, the agreement will serve as an additional instrument for ensuring international financial stability. Also, it will offer the possibility to obtain liquidity in critical situations.

“The agreement will stimulate further development of direct trade in yuan and rubles on the domestic foreign exchange markets of Russia and China,” the Russian regulator said.

Currently, over 75 percent of payments in Russia-China trade settlements are made in U.S. dollars, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

In early July, the Central Bank’s chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said Moscow and Beijing were close to reaching an agreement on conducting swap operations in national currencies to boost trade. The deal was later discussed during her trip to China.

President Vladimir Putin, during his visit to Shanghai in May, said cooperation between Russian and Chinese banks was growing, and the two sides were set to continue developing the financial infrastructure.

“Work is underway to increase the amount of mutual payments in national currencies, and we intend to consider new financial instruments,” Putin said after talks with President Xi Jinping.

Later on, during his meeting with leading international news agencies on the sidelines of the St Petersburg’s economic forum, Putin said that Russia and China had made “the first modest steps” in using national currencies in international settlements. He added that the two countries were going to continue exploring opportunities for working together.

A currency swap is widely used and allows simultaneously exchanging a specific amount of one currency for another currency with two different settlement dates.

Russian cabinet ok’s Armenia’s EaEU deal

August 7, 2014 By administrator

The Russian cabinet on Thursday gave approval to the treaty on Armenia’s accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU).

The document is now pending ratification by President Vladimir Putin.

“The accession treaty is a fundamental document that lays out the terms of Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union based on an arrangement reached among the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan,” Armenpress reports, citing the statement posted on the Russian Government’s website.

The Russian cabinet members also approved the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty which will be submitted to the president for a further ratification by the State Duma (parliament). The document also needs to be adopted by the governments of the other founding member states, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Armenian Prime Minister said earlier at a press briefing that the country is most likely to become a full member of the Russia-led bloc in October.

Confirmed: US spy plane fleeing Russian jet invaded Swedish airspace

August 4, 2014 By administrator

US officials have confirmed Swedish media reports of a mid-July incident in which an American spy plane invaded Sweden’s airspace as it was evading a Russian fighter jet. The maverick plane was spying on Russia when it was intercepted. Reported by RT

The incident, which happened on July 18, went public last Wednesday after a classified document from Sweden’s Defense Ministry was leaked to the press.

The plane, a Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint, entered Sweden’s airspace after permission to do so was denied by traffic control, Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper said. It passed from the east over the island of Gotland and flew more than 200km over 90 minutes before leaving.

The aerial incursion was caused by a Russian fighter jet, which scrambled from a base in the exclave Kaliningrad Region and approached the American reconnaissance plane.

Neither party involved in the incident confirmed or denied it, but a source in the US military told CNN on weekend that it indeed happen.

The source said the plane was conducting an electronic eavesdropping mission on the Russian military when the latter locked on to the aircraft with a radar station and sent at least one jet to intercept it. The quickest path of escape was through Swedish airspace, which was what the spy plane pilot did despite the Swedes’ objection.

The source said similar incidents may happen in future, a fact which the US officials made known to Sweden. The CNN report didn’t elaborate on how it was perceived by Sweden, a country that is not even a member of NATO and maintains a non-alliance stance.

Over 400 Ukrainian troops cross into Russia for refuge (Video)

August 4, 2014 By administrator

RIA Novosti/Yulia Nasulina

More than 400 Ukrainian troops have been allowed to cross into Russia after requesting sanctuary. It’s the largest, but not the first, case of desertion into Russia by Ukrainian soldiers involved in Kiev’s military crackdown in the east of the country.

According to the Rostov Region’s border guard spokesman Vasily Malaev, a total of 438 soldiers, including 164 Ukrainian border guards, have been allowed into Russia on Sunday night.

One of the Ukrainians was seriously injured on his arrival in Russia. He was taken to the hospital for surgery, the officials added.

The other Ukrainian soldiers have been housed in a tent camp deployed near the checkpoint via which they entered Russian territory. The Russian border guards are providing them with food and bedding.

Footage taken by the Russian media at the scene showed the Ukrainian soldiers being handed ration packs and resting in their temporary shelter. Those who agreed to speak on camera said they were relieved to be in safety for the first time in weeks.

Land for gas: Merkel and Putin discussed secret deal could end Ukraine crisis – The Independent

July 31, 2014 By administrator

Germany and Russia have been working on a secret plan to broker a peaceful solution to end international tensions over the Ukraine.
The Independent can reveal that the peace plan, being worked on by both Angela Merkel and Vladimir Putin, hinges on two main ambitions: stabilising the borders of Ukraine and providing the financially troubled country with a strong economic boost, particularly a new energy agreement ensuring security of gas supplies.

More controversially, if Ms Merkel’s deal were to be acceptable to the Russians, the international community would need to recognise Crimea’s independence and its annexation by Russia, a move that some members of the United Nations might find difficult to stomach.
Sources close to the secret negotiations claim that the first part of the stabilisation plan requires Russia to withdraw its financial and military support for the various pro-separatist groups operating in eastern Ukraine. As part of any such agreement, the region would be allowed some devolved powers.

At the same time, the Ukrainian President would agree not to apply to join Nato. In return, President Putin would not seek to block or interfere with the Ukraine’s new trade relations with the European Union under a pact signed a few weeks ago.

Second, the Ukraine would be offered a new long-term agreement with Russia’s Gazprom, the giant gas supplier, for future gas supplies and pricing. At present, there is no gas deal in place; Ukraine’s gas supplies are running low and are likely to run out before this winter, which would spell economic and social ruin for the country.

As part of the deal, Russia would compensate Ukraine with a billion-dollar financial package for the loss of the rent it used to pay for stationing its fleets in the Crimea and at the port of Sevastopol on the Black Sea until Crimea voted for independence in March.
Read more on The Independent‘s website.

Online petition in support of jailed Armenian businessman launched

July 29, 2014 By administrator

An online petition expressing support to Levon Hayrapetyan, the Russian-Armenian businessman-philanthropist detained in Moscow earlier this month, has been launched on the international campaigning website Avaaz.org.

The appeal, addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls for urgent measures to release the businessman, the state news agency Armenpress reports.

“Levon Hayrapetyan is an elderly man who suffers from diabetes and recently survived a stroke. He cannot remain in detention for health reasons, as he needs permanent medical assistance that can be provided only in freedom. Amendments introduced to the Russian Criminal Code under [current Prime Minister] Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency prohibited detaining an individual over an economic crime committed in the course of entrepreneurial activity. The amendments apply to Hayrapetyan’s case as well. In all countries across the globe, a person is considered innocent unless his/her guilt has been proven,” reads the appeal.

Over 4,000 people joined the petition as of 11:50 Yerevan time.

Hayrapetyan was detained at Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport upon his return from Monacco on July 15. Two boxes of packaged bullets were confiscated from his office later the same dame. The Investigative Committee of Russia later submitted a motion for detaining the businessman.

Law enforcement sources told the media that Hayrapetyan was not in any way involved the murders committed by criminal group his name was associated with . The businessman is suspected of money laundering and legalization of illegally obtained assets. The illegal transaction is claimed to have been carried out during the sale of Sistema JFSC to Bashneft. The inquest reportedly revealed that Hayrapetyan received huge sums from the deal. The businessman does not admit any complicity in the affair; his lawyer was earlier reported to have appealed the arrest. No court ruling is available as of now.

Official charges against Hayrapetyan were brought on July 24. Several Russia-based Armenian organizations recently expressed support to the businessman. The residents of Vank (Nagorno-Karabakh), Hayrapetyan’s native village, have also launched a petition in protest against the businessman’s arrest.

Putin’s “Right Hand” Not Allowed in Greece

July 19, 2014 By administrator

by Nikoleta Kalmouki

The Greek Foreign Ministry has barred Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko, a high-level official of the Russian government, from coming to Greece.

A Turkish newspaper of Thrace that published the incident refered to a “serious diplomatic crisis between Athens and Moscow.”

According to the newspaper, the Greek Foreign Ministry has announced that Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko is a “persona non grata”, a decision taken under the sanctions implemented by the U.S. and the European Uninon against Russia.

Answering to questions by members of the opposition party SYRIZA, the Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas clearly accepted that “the Greek borders are closed for Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko.”

Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko is the highest-ranking female politician in Russia, the former governor of Saint Petersburg and the current Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. She is considered one of the most powerful members of the Russian government and close aide to Vladimir Putin.

Russian-Armenian businessman’s arrest linked to oil business – opinion

July 19, 2014 By administrator

The arrest of Levon Hayrapetyan, the affluent Russian-Armenian businessman held by the Moscow police upon return from Monaco earlier this week, is linked to an oil business, according to an Armenian pollster.

“It has to do with Russia’s oil business whose owners are normally Turkic-speaking nations. That’s a diaspora campaign of two countries, Armenia and Azerbaijan. So they will not let an Armenian go into that,” Aharon Adibekyan told reporters on Saturday.

He considered the arrest somewhat ridiculous, noting that the case in which Hayrapetyan was spotted has a history of ten years.

David Sanasaryan, the opposition Heritage party’s press secretary, pointed out to Soviet-style Chekist methods (when information is kept in secret as long as it isn’t in anybody’s interests). “I don’t know, of course, what Levon Hayrapetyan was involved in, but I am aware of the important things he did in Karabakh. Levon Hayrapetyan was among those people who strengthen Artsakh, its army and economy. He’s one of the rare wealthy people I haven’t heard anything bad about,” he noted.

Joel Kovel told Press TV Russia deflating US globalist ambitions

July 17, 2014 By administrator

The United States, with its antagonistic approach toward Russia, is considering fresh sanctions against Moscow because Russia is blocking its expansionist policies, an analyst tells Press TV.

“This is not a simple matter at all because there is a longstanding deep antagonism between the United States and Russia, which really comes more from the American side because Russia is the one great power that can inhibit United States’ expansion,” Joel Kovel told Press TV in an interview.

Noting that the United States is the only “imperial country” with “global aspirations”, he said that the US is “very eager to inhibit Russia” which is standing on its way.

Kovel said the US Treasury – under the pretext of the crisis in Ukraine – is specifically targeting Russia’s oil and gas companies in order to undermine European interest in Russia’s energy sector.

“I think the reasons for the sanctions have to do with the American’s desperate need to weaken European attraction for Russia and the sanctions would make it harder for that to go forward,” he said.

He said Russia, enjoying a “greatly stabilized” economy, has always been willing to share its “vast quantities of hydrocarbon resources” with European countries.

Under the new embargoes, Washington also targeted a series of large banks, energy and defense firms.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia activists and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush pro-Moscow protests in the east.

Violence intensified after the Donetsk and Luhansk regions held local referendums on May 11, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.