... METRO Group and UniCredit S.p.A. took place in Berlin on 18–19 April.
The forum was initially established as a platform for politicians and businessmen to discuss the prospects of the space “from Lisbon to Vladivostok”. Despite all the sanctions and counter-sanctions, the more than 40% plunge in trade between Russia and the EU in 2015, the harsh rhetoric coming from Poland, the Baltic nations and a number of other Eastern European countries as regards cooperation with Russia, there ...
... allowed Moscow to take a benign view on mounting political problems with Brussels— these problems were perceived as negligible or, at least, affordable compared to fundamental reciprocal economic interests.
The Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent EU sanctions against Russia proved this perception wrong. Of course, in Moscow the European decision on sanctions was interpreted as caused by the US pressure, but there are reasons to believe that the Russian side had expected EU countries to resist this ...
The issue of anti-Russian sanctions is not the subject of Russia’s negotiations with the European Union, Russian EU Ambassador Vladimir Chizhov said in an interview with the Izvestia daily.
"I would not like to speak about the future of sanctions, all the more to guess ...
Big Business – Serious Consequences
On February 23, 2016 the European General Court (EGC) in Luxembourg started hearings in the so-called sanctions case of Russia’s OJSC Rosneft against the EU Council. What role does this case play in the EU’s system for sanctions policy? When and why was the lawsuit filed? What are the prospects for its consideration amidst the sanctions war ...
... Council (RIAC), thinks that greater cooperation between Russia and Western powers is possible in Syria and that the Russian people, like its counterparts, is wondering why a large joint anti-terrorist coalition doesn’t exist. Western economic sanctions have been counter-productive since they failed to change Russia’s position in Ukraine and to erode President Putin’s popularity at home. It’s also up to Kyiv to comply fully with the Minsk agreements, explained Kortunov. Finally,...
... weaker demand of Russian importers. There is evidence that EU companies have started feeling insecure about political and economic perspectives of trade with Russia, fearing to violate, possibly involuntarily, certain intricate aspects of the so-called sanctions, perhaps even not the EU ones but those imposed by the US. Mostly renowned, experienced partners have stayed, whose economic stakes in Russia were too high.
Summing up: deterioration of political climate has led to contraction of economic turnover ...
... Western powers have made the security situation in the Middle East extremely complicated, which Iran does not welcome. Since its establishment Iran has been always threatened by southern and western neighbors. In fact, in addition to imposing direct sanctions on Iran the West has threatened it through its regional allies. Therefore, Iran has the right to cooperate militarily with other countries in the framework of international regulation to ensure its national security. Iran has sent some military ...
Iran does not want to lose any more time and is determined to expand cooperation with its international partners
Less than a month has passed since the provisions of the Iran nuclear deal were put in force and the sanctions against the country lifted. And Hassan Rouhani has wasted no time in developing Iran’s ties with the outside world, first welcoming the President of the People’s Republic of China on his official visit to Tehran and then setting ...
... out that finally, Russia needs to have a favorable international environment if it intends to modernize itself.
Further, Kortunov noted that the relations between Russia and the major players are not perfect to put it mildly.
“Russia is under sanctions from the US and the European Union,” he said. “Russia has very complicated relations with its neighbors in the West and has a crisis in relations with Turkey.”
These are the top challenges which are typical for any country ...
The West’s response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine has been to sanction and attempt to isolate Russia. The NATO-Russia Council, despite being a forum for consultation and airing grievances, was suspended, and Russia has been de facto expelled from the G8. Despite this, Russia continues to show its influence on critical international issues, with Syria being just the most recent example. After over two years of talking about the threat Russia poses and how the West can mitigate it, it...
