Is Moscow being passed intelligence gathered by Austria’s secret service? That is the question preoccupying the country’s opposition and media amid reports that European intelligence services have distanced themselves from Vienna, fearing sensitive information may be shared with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with whom the ruling far-right has cultivated links. A widely circulated image of […]
Putin
Trump vows ‘extraordinary relationship’ with Putin as summit opens
Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin began an historic summit on Monday vowing their determination to forge a reset of troubled relations between the world’s greatest nuclear powers. Trump, bent on forging a personal bond with the Kremlin chief despite allegations of Russian meddling in US politics, went into the summit blaming “stupidity” by his […]
US indicts Russian intel officers ahead of Trump-Putin meet
Twelve Russian intelligence officers were charged on Friday with hacking Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic Party in a stunning indictment just three days before President Donald Trump meets with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The charges were drawn up by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director who is looking into Russian interference […]
G-7 leaders meet to deliberate over Russia, North Korea
TORONTO: The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialized nations met in Toronto on Sunday seeking a common front against what they see as aggression from Vladimir Putin’s Russia. The envoys were also keen to glean clues from their US colleague about whether President Donald Trump will tear up the Iran nuclear deal and […]
Putin’s growing problems in Syria
Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war in 2015 at the behest of President Bashar Al Assad whose government seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Russian air power coupled with the firepower of the foreign militias assembled by the Iranian revolutionary guards and spearheaded by the Lebanese Hezbollah helped turn the tide […]
Trump proposed White House summit to Putin in March: Kremlin
US President Donald Trump proposed a White House summit when he called Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, prior to the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats from the US, a top Kremlin aide said Monday. “Trump proposed holding a meeting at the White House in Washington,” Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, told reporters. […]
Putin orders daily ‘humanitarian pause’ in Eastern Ghouta
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a daily “humanitarian pause” to air strikes on the rebel-held Syrian enclave of Eastern Ghouta from Tuesday, Moscow’s defence minister said on Monday. “On the instructions of the Russian president, with the goal of avoiding civilian casualties in Eastern Ghouta, from February 27, tomorrow, from 9.00 to 14.00 […]
Trump, Putin discuss North Korea over phone call
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump discussed the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program in a phone call Thursday, in which the US president took the unusual step of thanking his Russian counterpart for praising America’s economy. The two heads of state discussed “the situation in several crisis zones, with a focus on solving the nuclear […]
In Syria, Putin orders partial Russia troop withdrawal
President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the partial withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria, during a surprise visit to the war-torn country. Putin arrived at Russia’s Hmeimim airbase in Latakia province, a government stronghold, where he was welcomed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the two men were pictured smiling, shaking hands and hugging. Putin, […]
Trump, Putin agree ‘no military solution’ in Syria
LAHORE: The United States and Russia issued a presidential joint statement saying there was “no military solution” to the war in Syria after their leaders met briefly on the sidelines of a regional summit in Vietnam. There had been mixed messages for days from both Moscow and the White House on whether President Donald Trump […]