Russia yesterday said it welcomes Kiev’s decision to establish humanitarian corridors in its separatist east, but stressed that Moscow has yet to see an easing of the Ukrainian crisis.
“We’ve heard that [Ukrainian] President [Petro] Poroshenko spoke in favor of the creation of corridors for refugees. We welcome this,” Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his German and Polish counterparts.
However, Lavrov took issue with German Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s statement about a reduction in fighting, saying that “in some places we are witnessing an escalation of military operations.”
Photo: EPA
Poroshenko ordered the creation of the corridors in a bid to advance his plan to end nearly two months of fighting by this week.
The fromer tycoon’s initiative meets a major demand put forward by Moscow and helps address growing concern among rights groups about Kiev’s use of tanks and air power in heavily populated areas to suppress the pro-Russian insurgency.
Yet the 48-year-old chocolatier stopped far short of accepting the Kremlin’s request to allow Russian aid into Ukraine’s eastern rustbelt, a move Kiev fears could be a ruse to arm the rebels.
He also told his government to provide transportation, food and medical supplies to local officials so they can handle the expected inflow of displaced persons.
Also yesterday, Ukraine and Russia resumed efforts to resolve a gas pricing dispute after a Kremlin deadline for Kiev to pay some of its debts passed without Moscow cutting off supplies.
Kiev had until yesterday to pay some of the billions of US dollars it owes, but Russia pulled back after officials said talks brokered by the European Commission would continue in Brussels.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
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