The Russian Defence Ministry has reported the exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine according to the 150-by-150 formula. According to the report, the exchange took place on December 30. “Currently, all Russian servicemen are in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are provided with the necessary psychological and medical…
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Monday that nearly USD 2.5 billion in security assistance will be allocated to Ukraine. That is according to a statement on the White House website, Ukrinform reports. The aid includes an additional $1.25 billion drawdown package for the Ukrainian military, as well as a $1.22 billion Ukraine…
Georgian President Mikheil Kavelashvili signed 28 bills on his first day as head of state, some of which came into force on December 30. Among the bills are banning the use of firearms, lasers and face-covering clothing, including masks, at rallies, increasing administrative fines for graffiti and damage to the city’s appearance during protests,…
Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as U.S. president struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday(December 29) , the Carter Center said. He…
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is threatening retaliatory measures against Ukraine if Kyiv stops Russian gas transit to Slovakia as of Jan. 1, Politico reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week said his government “would not prolong the transit of Russian gas” once the current contract expires at the end of this year. Zelenskyy…
Any country with a neutral stance could serve as a platform for negotiations on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, and Slovakia is not the only option, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday, TASS reports. “No, this option [of Slovakia hosting the talks] is not the only possibility. We are talking about…
Russian airline Azimut canceled flights to Azerbaijan from the airports of Mineralnye Vody and Sochi, the company’s press service reports. “Azimut announces the cancellation of flights from Mineralnye Vody to Baku and Ganja, as well as from Sochi to Baku due to the withdrawal of slots by Baku and Ganja airports following the revocation…
President-elect Donald Trump has urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday (December 27) to pause implementation of a law that would ban popular social media app TikTok or force its sale, arguing he should have time after taking office to pursue a “political resolution” to the issue, Reuters reports. The court is set to…
“The presidential inauguration has no legal force, so I remain the president and will continue my work. This is what everyone needs to know. Details will be revealed on Sunday,” said Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili in an interview with the British podcast Rest Is Politics. When asked what she plans to do on Sunday,…
Two days after the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, Dmitry Yadrov, head of Rosaviatsia (Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency), spoke about the incident. He recalled a Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny Airport and the activation of the Kovyor (Carpet) plan at that time, Interfax Russia reports. “The situation around Grozny Airport at that time…
The Russian presidential press secretary has refused to comment on the Aktau plane crash until the investigation is complete. Dmitry Peskov noted that the Kremlin has seen statements from Baku that Russia should apologize for shooting down the Azerbaijani plane with air defense. “The incident is under investigation, and until the results of the…
The second black box has been found at the plane crash site near Aktau and handed over to the investigation department, according to a Kazakh official from transport department on Thursday, Reuters reports. The Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan on…
The Georgian Parliament has confirmed that diplomats accredited to Georgia will not be invited to the December 29 inauguration of Mikheil Kavelashvili, the elected president representing the ruling Georgian Dream party, Front News Georgia reports. The press center of the parliament cited a “shortage of seats in the meeting hall” as the reason for…
Reuters. Yemen’s Houthi group said it carried out two drone operations targeting Israeli positions on Wednesday (December 25). In a televised statement, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said the first operation targeted a “sensitive and vital target” in Tel Aviv. The second drone attack targeted a military industrial area of Ashkelon in…
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would cut the taxes for Canadians, if the country joins USA as a state. In his Christmas message on Truth Social Trump first “greeted” saying: Merry Christmas to all, including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000…
Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino reaffirmed the country’s sovereignty over the Panama Canal in a statement signed alongside three former presidents of the country on Tuesday in response to recent threats made by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to take control of the canal, Reuters reports. Calling the Panama Canal “a vital national asset for…
All structures of the OSCE Minsk Conference, the Minsk Group and the High-Level Planning Group should be dissolved, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said today. ‘The mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs on the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement approved by the OSCE has lost its relevance. And it all started with the blocking of…
The West and Kiev are now only talking about a ceasefire in Ukraine, which does not suit Moscow as it needs legally binding guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, TASS reports. “As for the essence of the conversations that are now taking place in the West and in Ukraine: they are talking exclusively…
The Danish government has announced a huge boost in defence spending for Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump repeated his desire to purchase the Arctic territory, BBC reports. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package was a “double digit billion amount” in krone, or at least $1.5bn (£1.2bn). He described…
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is returning to Baku from Russia after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan. He had arrived there to attend an informal meeting of CIS leaders. According to preliminary data, there were 37 people from Azerbaijan, 6 from Kazakhstan, 3 from Kyrgyzstan and 16 from Russia on board the plane.
Reuters. Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reached an agreement on Tuesday (December 24) with former rebel faction chiefs to dissolve all groups and consolidate them under the defence ministry, according to a statement from the new administration. Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former…
Armenian Foreign Minister thanks his Romanian outgoing counterpart Luminita Odobescu and congratulates Emil Hurezeanu on his appointment. “Dear Luminita Odobescu, I appreciate our close cooperation on enhancement of Armenia’s partnership with EU, and strengthening our bilateral ties. Extending warm congratulations to Emil Hurezeanu on his appointment as Foreign Minister of Romania, I look forward…
Germany with regret — stopped projects with Georgia state worth €237 million, Peter Fischer, German ambassador to Georgia, said. “Svenja Schulze Federal Minister Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development react to Georgia leaving EU path and crackdown on protests. We stopped finance of green hydrogen,…
Suren Papikyan, Armenia’s Defence Minister congratulated Sébastien Lecornu on his reappointment ad French Minister of Armed Forces. “Dear Sébastien Lecornu, my warmest congratulations on your reappointment as head of Ministry of Armed Forces of France. I am convinced that during your renewed mandate, we will continue to work together to strengthen and further develop…
US President Joe Biden announced Monday that he is taking 37 people off federal death row to serve out life sentences behind bars — a decision that leaves only three federal prisoners awaiting execution when President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month, CNN reports. “Today, I am commuting the sentences of 37 of the…
The Baghdad Karkh Appeals Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Iraq’s Federal Oil Ministry seeking to nullify oil contracts established by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), marking an important legal victory for the Kurdistan Region’s energy sector. Sabah Subhi, a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Oil and Gas Committee, told Kurdistan24 that the…
US President-elect Donald Trump has demanded Panama reduce fees on the Panama Canal or return it to US control, accusing the central American country of charging “exorbitant prices” to American shipping and naval vessels, BBC reports. “The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair,” he told a crowd of supporters in Arizona…
After Donald Trump demanded the return of the Panama Canal under the US’s control, the President-elect has now said that he wanted to buy and control Greenland, asserting it was an “absolute necessity”. Greenland is a part of the North American continent but is controlled by Denmark, India Today reports. “For purposes of national…
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that “Whatever sanctions EU member states agree on, we’ll back them,” Hungary Today reports. In an interview with public news channel M1 on Sunday, he stressed that “strategic composure is necessary in time of war.” Orbán reiterated his position that Hungary must “concentrate efforts on staying out of…
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday went to Magdeburg to voice his sympathy and support for the victims of a Christmas market attack that killed five people and left more than 200 injured, Reuters reports. “What a terrible act it is to injure and kill so many people there with such brutality,” Scholz said….
