Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on Europeans to strengthen economic cooperation with Russia, but adding that he was powerless to rein in soaring oil prices.
Putin was speaking to journalists in Paris after talks with French Prime Minister Francois Fillon at the start of a two-day visit — his first outside Russia since stepping down as head of state.
The special treatment in the French capital accorded to Putin, who was president for eight years, underscored the view in Paris that he remains a predominant player in Russian affairs.
Replying to questions, Putin — who met French President Nicolas Sarkozy later on Thursday — said concern over human rights abuses in Russia was exaggerated, suggesting that the topic was being exploited to pressure Moscow.
Noting that France takes over the rotating presidency of the EU from July 1, Putin said: “We hope this will enable us to advance negotiations on a strategic partnership.”
EU member states on Monday approved the launch of negotiations with Moscow on a new partnership and cooperation agreement, putting an end to two years of acrimony over the issue.
Putin invited Europeans to invest in Russia, including its energy sector, citing the signature of the French oil giant Total in February of an accord to participate in a major oil project in the Barents Sea.
He said he regretted the amount of emphasis placed on primary materials in EU-Russian trade and urged development of high technology projects in the space, aeronautical and automotive industries.
Fillon, speaking to journalists along with Putin, said France was “open to Russian projects,” but stressed the need for a legal framework to develop such cooperation, a lack which the projected EU-Russian partnership aims to overcome.
“Energy security in Europe depends on calm relations with Russia,” he said, referring to concern in western Europe that Russia might try to exploit its gas and oil supplies to western Europe for political purposes.
DOUBLE-MURDER CASE: The officer told the dispatcher he would check the locations of the callers, but instead headed to a pizzeria, remaining there for about an hour A New Jersey officer has been charged with misconduct after prosecutors said he did not quickly respond to and properly investigate reports of a shooting that turned out to be a double murder, instead allegedly stopping at an ATM and pizzeria. Franklin Township Police Sergeant Kevin Bollaro was the on-duty officer on the evening of Aug. 1, when police received 911 calls reporting gunshots and screaming in Pittstown, about 96km from Manhattan in central New Jersey, Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renee Robeson’s office said. However, rather than responding immediately, prosecutors said GPS data and surveillance video showed Bollaro drove about 3km
‘MOTHER’ OF THAILAND: In her glamorous heyday in the 1960s, former Thai queen Sirikit mingled with US presidents and superstars such as Elvis Presley The year-long funeral ceremony of former Thai queen Sirikit started yesterday, with grieving royalists set to salute the procession bringing her body to lie in state at Bangkok’s Grand Palace. Members of the royal family are venerated in Thailand, treated by many as semi-divine figures, and lavished with glowing media coverage and gold-adorned portraits hanging in public spaces and private homes nationwide. Sirikit, the mother of Thai King Vajiralongkorn and widow of the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died late on Friday at the age of 93. Black-and-white tributes to the royal matriarch are being beamed onto towering digital advertizing billboards, on
Tens of thousands of people on Saturday took to the streets of Spain’s eastern city of Valencia to mark the first anniversary of floods that killed 229 people and to denounce the handling of the disaster. Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on regional government head Carlos Mazon to resign over what they said was the slow response to one of Europe’s deadliest natural disasters in decades. “People are still really angry,” said Rosa Cerros, a 42-year-old government worker who took part with her husband and two young daughters. “Why weren’t people evacuated? Its incomprehensible,” she said. Mazon’s
POWER ABUSE WORRY: Some people warned that the broad language of the treaty could lead to overreach by authorities and enable the repression of government critics Countries signed their first UN treaty targeting cybercrime in Hanoi yesterday, despite opposition from an unlikely band of tech companies and rights groups warning of expanded state surveillance. The new global legal framework aims to bolster international cooperation to fight digital crimes, from child pornography to transnational cyberscams and money laundering. More than 60 countries signed the declaration, which means it would go into force once ratified by those states. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the signing as an “important milestone,” and that it was “only the beginning.” “Every day, sophisticated scams destroy families, steal migrants and drain billions of dollars from our economy...
RSS