Category Archives: Russia

Obama trade and human rights bill angers Moscow

Posted on December 15, 2012 by

President Barack Obama on Friday signed a bill that brings U.S. trade relations with Russia into the 21st century but also ushers in a potentially testy era in which the United States could publicly “name and shame” Russian human rights violators. The measure, which the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed by overwhelming margins, allows Obama to establish “permanent normal trade relations,” or PNTR, with Russia by lifting a Cold War-era restriction on trade. It also directs Obama to bar Russian human rights violators from entering the United States and freeze any assets they have in U.S. banks. The provision is named in honor of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian … Continue reading →

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Woman who killed Russian Sufi Muslim leader identified

Posted on August 29, 2012 by

Russian police on Wednesday identified the female suicide bomber who killed an influential Muslim leader in a terrorist attack that could worsen a longstanding confrontation between radical Islamists and moderate Muslims in the volatile Caucasus region. Said Afandi, 74, the powerful leader of a Sufi Muslim brotherhood in Russia’s unstable province of Dagestan, was killed Tuesday along with six other people, including an 11-year-old boy, in the central village of Chirkei by the bomber, who approached his house disguised as a pilgrim. Afandi’s tens of thousands of followers included influential officials, clerics and businessmen. Police in Dagestan said Wednesday that the bomber was Aminat Kurbanova, a 30-year-old resident of Dagestan’s … Continue reading →

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West ‘blackmailing’ Russia on sanctions – Lavrov

Posted on July 16, 2012 by

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Western attempts to get Moscow to discuss sanctions against Syria contain “elements of blackmail”. Mr Lavrov said the West had threatened to end a UN observer mission if Russia opposed its draft resolution. Peace envoy Kofi Annan arrived in Moscow Monday and was expected to urge Russia to put more pressure on Syria’s leaders to begin a political transition. Russia has strong ties with Syria and has vetoed foreign intervention calls. It has circulated its own draft resolution calling for the extension of the observer mission’s mandate, which runs out on Friday. It does not contain any threat of sanctions against Damascus. Mr … Continue reading →

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