Kyiv says Russia loots oil rigs
KYIV – Ukraine has accused Russia of looting two of its oil rigs after the Crimea-based oil and gas firm Chornomornaftogaz moved the Black Sea rigs into Russian territorial waters. Russia seized Chornomor-naftogaz, formerly a state-owned Ukrainian company, when it illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. On December 14, Chornomor-naftogaz said it moved the two oil rigs, worth about $357 million, from a location in international waters about 150 kilometers off the coast from Odesa. It said the move was due to “the complicated international situation and risk of losing vital assets.” Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on December 16 described the move as “large-scale looting” by Russia. It expressed “deep indignation in connection with the actions of Russia that violate international law, once again aimed at violating the sovereign rights of Ukraine.” Ukraine’s state-run energy firm Naftohaz Ukrainy, which owned 100 percent of Chornomornaftogaz before it was seized, says it will seek compensation from Russia in international courts for its annexed Crimean oil and gas assets – worth a total of $15.7 billion. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Russia, AP, TASS and Interfax)
Italy: Sanctions to be reviewed
ROME – Italy says that European and other Western countries are likely to review their economic sanctions against Russia next year. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on December 16 that he would not prevent a further six-month extension of European Union sanctions against Russia, due to expire on January 31. The extension is expected to be approved by EU member countries. But Mr. Renzi added that he believes the sanctions will be reviewed or revised “in the coming months.” Italy has major trade ties with Russia and its economy has been severely damaged by the sanctions imposed on Moscow because of its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and its support for separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine. Last week, Italy unexpectedly blocked an automatic rollover of the EU sanctions, saying the issue required further discussion. Italy is reportedly upset by the demise of Russia’s South Stream pipeline project that would have brought Russian natural gas to Austria and Italy for further distribution to Europe. (RFE/RL, based on reporting Reuters and AP)
EU set to extend Russia sanctions
BRUSSELS – A senior official of the European Union has told RFE/RL that the European Union is set to officially extend economic sanctions against Russia by another six months when EU ambassadors meet on December 21. The extension would keep sanctions in place against Russia’s financial, oil, and military sectors as well as against specific individuals until July 31, 2016. A motion to extend the sanctions during a December 14 meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels was blocked last week when Italy called for debate at a higher political level. The sanctions were first imposed in July and September 2014 in response to the illegal annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula by the Kremlin and Moscow’s support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Without an extension, the EU’s existing sanctions are due to expire on January 31, 2016. (RFE/RL)
Kerry, Putin, Lavrov discuss Syria, Ukraine
MOSCOW – Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that a planned international meeting on the Syrian crisis will take place in New York on December 18. Speaking after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 15, Mr. Lavrov said an agreement was reached on steps that will make cooperation against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria more efficient and more coordinated. Mr. Kerry’s talks with Messrs. Putin and Lavrov on December 15 were aimed at trying to bridge major differences with Moscow over the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. Secretary Kerry also said that he was looking for “common ground” during his December 15 talks in Moscow on efforts to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Afterwards, both sides stressed the importance of implementing the Minsk agreements that were signed in February as a way to resolve the war between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists there. (RFE/RL, with reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, TASS and Interfax)
U.S., Russia spar over Ukraine at U.N.
UNITED NATIONS – The United States and Russia traded accusations on December 11 over the conflict in Ukraine at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. Russia delayed the meeting for an hour and a half with an attempt to block testimony by U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, prompting Washington to accuse the Kremlin of trying to suppress public discussion of facts about Ukraine’s war with pro-Russian separatists in the east. In the end, Mr. Simonovic spoke at the meeting despite protests from Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who said human rights discussions should take place in Geneva at the Human Rights Council. Mr. Churkin accused U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, who is chairing the Security Council this month, of “introducing wrong elements” into discussion. “Washington is playing a destructive role” in Ukraine, Mr. Churkin said. “Obviously, this is one of the reasons why political settlement is so difficult.” Ms. Power said Russia was the one perpetrating death and destruction, and accused the Kremlin of trying to suppress the facts. “One does wonder what Russia seeks to hide” by opposing discussions of human rights in Ukraine, she said. “But we understand its very unfortunate desire to prevent the council from hearing inconvenient facts.” She cited the latest U.N. report on Ukraine, which said arms and fighters were still pouring into eastern Ukraine from Russia, with the death toll from 20 months of fighting approaching 9,100. “We are here because even today Russia continues to arm, train, support, and fight alongside separatists in eastern Ukraine,” Ms. Power said. Mr. Simonovic recited fresh allegations of human rights abuses in eastern Ukraine: “killings, torture and ill-treatment, illegal detention and forced labor.” He also said the Kyiv government has engaged in arbitrary detention, torture and other abuses. Mr. Churkin said Kyiv was maintaining an economic blockade of eastern Ukraine and refusing to engage in direct dialogue with the separatists. Moreover, he said Kyiv has “demonstrated complete inaction” against “radical nationalists” who were responsible for blowing up the electricity transmission pylons feeding power to Crimea. Ms. Power urged Kyiv to speed up efforts to ensure supplies and services make it to the east. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin blamed Russia for the blockages. Despite the sharp exchange, Messrs. Churkin and Klimkin shook hands at the end of the meeting. (RFE/RL, with reporting by Reuters and TASS)
Moscow jails Ukrainian for spying
MOSCOW – The Moscow City Court has sentenced Ukrainian Valentyn Vyhovskyi to 11 years in prison for espionage. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on December 15 that Mr. Vyhovskyi was found guilty of collecting classified information related to Russia’s aerospace technologies. The trial was held behind closed doors. The 32-year-old Ukrainian businessman was arrested last year in his native Crimea after it was annexed by Russia in March 2014. Three other Ukrainian citizens from Crimea, including prominent film director Oleh Sentsov, were arrested on the annexed peninsula last year and sentenced later to lengthy prison terms on terrorism charges. Mr. Sentsov, 39, denied all charges against him at his trial in August, saying that a “trial by occupiers cannot, by definition, be fair.” (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Mediazona, TASS and gordonua.com)
Bellingcat report on Russian offensive
OTTAWA – A team of investigators from the British group Bellingcat published an independent report, “The Burning Road to Mariupol: Attacks from Russia during the Novoazovsk Offensive of August 2014,” which concludes that “open-source evidence shows that attacks on Ukrainian forces around Novoazovsk came from Russia, and vehicles used in the conflict in the area were transported from Russia. This report adds to the growing body of evidence showing that Russia was directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict of 2014-2015.” The report can be accessed at https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2015/12/03/the-burning-road-to-mariupol/. (Ukrainian Canadian Congress)