Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin lashed out at Ukraine on Thursday for delivering weapons to Georgia, overshadowing talks with his Ukrainian counterpart that ended in a draft agreement on gas pricing.
Putin sharply criticized the ex-Soviet republic over what he said was weapons used by Georgia to fight Russia during a brief conflict in August.
“A more serious crime than arms deliveries in a conflict zone cannot be imagined,” Putin said.
“Several years ago, we could not have imagined Russians and Ukrainians making war against each other, but that has happened and it’s a crime,” he said.
The comments came amid tense relations between Moscow and Kiev over the conflict in Georgia, but the two prime ministers were able to reach a draft agreement that seeks to resolve the delicate issue of gas prices. Gas prices have been a sore point between the countries, and much of Europe also has a stake in whether the issue is put to rest.
Russia has cut supplies to both Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy, and Western Europe before in disputes over gas prices.
“The parties have confirmed their good will in moving gradually, in three years, to market prices,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said after the meeting outside Moscow.
“We don’t need shock therapy in terms of prices,” she added at a joint press conference with Putin.
Ukraine eventually paying market prices for gas would mean a major increase on what it pays now.
Tymoshenko said last week she expected Ukraine to sign a deal with Russia by the end of next month on the delivery of gas from next year for a period of up to four years.
Tymoshenko later met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, his press service reported according to Interfax news agency.
Media reports had said Moscow was pressuring Tymoshenko to ally with pro-Russian forces in Kiev, but she denied any such links between the “price of gas and the composition of the future coalition” in Ukraine.
China’s military news agency yesterday warned that Japanese militarism is infiltrating society through series such as Pokemon and Detective Conan, after recent controversies involving events at sensitive sites. In recent days, anime conventions throughout China have reportedly banned participants from dressing as characters from Pokemon or Detective Conan and prohibited sales of related products. China Military Online yesterday posted an article titled “Their schemes — beware the infiltration of Japanese militarism in culture and sports.” The article referenced recent controversies around the popular anime series Pokemon, Detective Conan and My Hero Academia, saying that “the evil influence of Japanese militarism lives on in
DIPLOMATIC THAW: The Canadian prime minister’s China visit and improved Beijing-Ottawa ties raised lawyer Zhang Dongshuo’s hopes for a positive outcome in the retrial China has overturned the death sentence of Canadian Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official said on Friday, in a possible sign of a diplomatic thaw as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to boost trade ties with Beijing. Schellenberg’s lawyer, Zhang Dongshuo (張東碩), yesterday confirmed China’s Supreme People’s Court struck down the sentence. Schellenberg was detained on drug charges in 2014 before China-Canada ties nosedived following the 2018 arrest in Vancouver of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟). That arrest infuriated Beijing, which detained two Canadians — Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig — on espionage charges that Ottawa condemned as retaliatory. In January
A sign hanging from a rusty ice-green shipping container installed by Thai forces on what they say is the border with Cambodia reads: “Cambodian citizens are strictly prohibited from entering this area.” On opposite sides of the makeshift barricade, fronted by coils of barbed wire, Cambodians lamented their lost homes and livelihoods as Thailand’s military showed off its gains. Thai forces took control of several patches of disputed land along the border during fighting last year, which could amount to several square kilometers in total. Cambodian Kim Ren said her house in Chouk Chey used to stand on what is now the Thai
NEW RULES: There would be fewer school days, four-day workweeks, and a reduction in transportation services as the country battles a crisis exacerbated by US pressure The Cuban government on Friday announced emergency measures to address a crippling energy crisis worsened by US sanctions, including the adoption of a four-day work week for state-owned companies and fuel sale restrictions. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga blamed Washington for the crisis, telling Cuban television the government would “implement a series of decisions, first and foremost to guarantee the vitality of our country and essential services, without giving up on development.” “Fuel will be used to protect essential services for the population and indispensable economic activities,” he said. Among the new measures are the reduction of the working week in
RSS