Tag: Russia

Obama says Trump not qualified to be president

VIENTIANE, Laos (AFP) — Outgoing President Barack Obama condemned Donald Trump as unsuitable to be commander-in-chief Thursday, after the Republican nominee blasted US military brass and praised Vladimir Putin. “I don’t think the guy’s qualified to be president of the United States, and every time he speaks, that opinion is confirmed,” Obama said in unusually caustic language while overseas. Obama, who was in Laos for a summit with South East Asia leaders and his final […]

Duterte meets with Russian Prime Minister Medyedev before ASEAN closing rites

  (Eagle News) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of the Russian Federation on the final day of the 28th and 29th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits and Related Summits in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic on September 8, 2016. This was after the gala dinner where Duterte and Medyedev sat beside each other, instead of the earlier announced seating arrangement where Duterte and US President Barack Obama were […]

Russian fighter in ‘unsafe’ intercept of US spy plane: Pentagon

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a US spy plane over the Black Sea on Wednesday, the Pentagon said, although Moscow quickly insisted the encounter was within “international rules.” A Russian Su-27 Flanker jet made an unsafe, close-range intercept of a US P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine and intelligence plane conducting “routine operations” in international airspace, Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said. A US defense official, speaking earlier on condition […]

Duterte, Obama shake hands and chat after rift over insult

  (REUTERS)  U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte shook hands and had a brief chat on Wednesday, officials said, easing a standoff after Duterte called Obama a “son of a bitch” ahead of a summit of Asian leaders in Laos. The presidents of the two longtime allies were due to hold talks on Tuesday but the White House canceled the meeting after Duterte’s insult. “I’m very happy that it happened,” Philippines’ foreign […]

Syria talks intrude as G20 tackles global economy

by Sarah STEWART HANGZHOU, China (AFP) — G20 leaders met Monday under pressure to reboot the world economy, but a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia’s heated territorial disputes intruded on the summit in Hangzhou. There had been hopes of a breakthrough in stemming the Syria conflict after the US said it was close to a deal with Russia. But frantic diplomacy ended in failure, with Moscow accused of backtracking. A US official […]

Japan’s Abe in Russia to warm ties with Putin

by Maria PANINA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s far east on Friday as the countries step up efforts to boost trade ties and resolve a lingering territorial dispute. Tokyo-Moscow relations are hamstrung by a row dating back to the end of World War II when Soviet troops seized the southernmost islands in the Pacific Kuril chain, known as the Northern Territories […]

US expands Russia sanctions over Ukraine conflict

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The United States announced a long list of fresh sanctions on Thursday aimed at Russia over its continuing support for Ukraine’s rebels and the 2014 seizure of Crimea. The new list took aim at a key unit of Bank Rossiya, often called the personal bank of Russian president Vladimir Putin, and some of Russia’s largest construction companies. It included 17 Ukrainian separatists, 11 of them officials of the government Russia […]

G20 offers Putin one more stab at Obama on Syria, Ukraine

by Maria PANINA MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — The G20 summit starting in China on Sunday gives Russian President Vladimir Putin one more chance to try to strongarm US leader Barack Obama over Syria and Ukraine as their fraught relationship nears an end. In recent years the two world leaders have barely been able to hide their disdain for each other as ties between Washington and Moscow fell to their lowest level since the Cold War […]

China state media casts doubt on Syria Omran video

BEIJING, China (AFP) — China’s state broadcaster has questioned the authenticity of the video of Syrian boy Omran which went viral worldwide, alleging it may have been faked as part of a Western “propaganda war”. The video showed the stunned-looking four-year-old covered in blood and dust after an air strike in Aleppo last week, with the US State Department calling the child “the real face” of the Syrian war. Beijing supports the Syrian government led […]

Japan protests to Russia over man detained on disputed island

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan on Monday lodged a diplomatic protest with Russia over the detention of a Japanese citizen visiting an island disputed by the two countries. Tokyo and Moscow are working to resolve decades of tensions over four islands occupied by the Soviet Union in the closing days of World War II and now controlled by Russia. The man, who has not been identified, was detained following baggage checks conducted ahead of his […]

Russia launches first Syria raids from Iran base

by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Russia said Tuesday its warplanes flew out of an Iranian airbase for the first time to bomb jihadist groups in Syria, as fighting raged for control of the ravaged city of Aleppo. The United States said the Russian move made the Syrian crisis even more difficult, but it credited Moscow with having given it a brief advance warning. The defense ministry in Moscow said long-range warplanes took off […]

Putin hints at war in Ukraine but may be seeking diplomatic edge

  (REUTERS)   Ukraine says it thinks Vladimir Putin is planning a new invasion, and it’s not hard to see why: the Russian leader has built up troops on its border and resumed the hostile rhetoric that preceded his annexation of Crimea two years ago. But despite appearances, some experts say Putin is more likely seeking advantage through diplomacy than on the battlefield, at least this time around. “It’s about sanctions,” Andrey Kortunov, director general of […]