Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | World leaders including a beaming Vladimir Putin welcomed Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday at the G20 summit, showing he was no pariah less than two months after the murder of a dissident journalist by a Saudi hit team. In an …
Read More »Trump sets up stormy G20 with Putin snub
Buenos Aires, Argentina | AFP | US President Donald Trump headed to Argentina Thursday for a fractious weekend of G20 summitry, cancelling planned talks with the Russian leader and boasting that his trade war with China was paying off. Rumblings of resistance to Trump’s assault on the international order were …
Read More »Putin warns against ‘reckless’ moves after Ukraine declares martial law
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukraine against any “reckless acts” on Tuesday after Kiev declared martial law in response to Moscow’s seizure of three of its navy vessels. The Ukrainian parliament late on Monday voted in favour of President Petro Poroshenko’s request for the introduction …
Read More »Kremlin says Putin, Trump to speak ‘briefly’ in Paris
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Vladimir Putin will speak “briefly” with Donald Trump when the two presidents meet in Paris this weekend for World War I centenary events, an advisor for the Russian leader said Wednesday. “It has been agreed that the leaders of the US and Russia will talk …
Read More »Putin warns of a new ‘arms race’ with America
Moscow, Russia | AFP | President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday of a new arms race if America pulls out of weapons treaties, and said Russia would respond “in kind” to any new US missiles placed on European soil. At the weekend, US President Donald Trump sparked concerns globally when he …
Read More »Putin says US bears some responsibility for Khashoggi disappearance
Sochi, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the US bears a “certain responsibility” for the fate of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, adding that there is not enough evidence that Riyadh is behind his disappearance. “As far as I know, the journalist that disappeared lived in …
Read More »Putin sworn in for fourth term as Russian president
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Vladimir Putin was sworn in as Russia’s president for a fourth term on Monday, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years at a time of high tension with his Western rivals. The 65-year-old, in power since 1999, is on course to become the …
Read More »Putin, Macron diverge on Iran deal as Trump decides
Paris, France | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin and French leader Emmanuel Macron launched a joint defence of the Iranian nuclear deal on Monday but expressed differences on how to move forward as US President Donald Trump weighs up whether to scrap it. The Kremlin said Putin and Macron were …
Read More »What the world is saying about Putin’s re-election
Paris, France | AFP | China was the first world power to react Monday to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin’s re-election, vowing to push ties to a “higher level”, but Germany questioned the fairness of the vote and warned that Moscow would remain “difficult”. And 24 hours after Putin’s victory, there …
Read More »Putin wins another term but what happens in 2024?
Moscow, Russia | AFP | In power for almost two decades, Vladimir Putin predictably won a fourth Kremlin term in Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, extending his long rule for another six years. With no successor and no political competition, what are the possible scenarios when his term ends in …
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