About: Crimea annexation Archives

Despite its continued meddling in European affairs, Russia has been reinstated in the Council of Europe, with full voting powers. The decision will only encourage Moscow to continue its erratic behaviour on the European continent while others, like Turkey, may follow its example, writes Mark Temnycky.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Ukrainian ambassador to the EU Mykola Tochytskyi discussed the wide range of topics ahead of the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on 8 July, and beyond.

Latvia said Thursday (27 June) that lawmakers will vote next month on whether to suspend its participation in the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly after the rights body agreed to reinstate Russia.

Who are those ready to forgive Russia thousands of killed Ukrainians and millions of internally displaced persons, and pardon Moscow for the occupation of 7% of Ukraine’s territory, Mykola Tochytskyi asks in this exclusive opinion piece.

Ukraine on Tuesday (25 June) slammed as an “unacceptable concession to Russia” the decision of the Council of Europe to re-admit Russia, after the country was stripped of voting rights following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Monday (24 June) held talks with Russia's premier Dmitry Medvedev, in a rare high-level visit at a time of frosty ties between Moscow and the West.

The Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly agreed Tuesday (25 June) to allow Russian representatives to return to the body, five years after it was stripped of its voting rights over the annexation of Crimea.

Television comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy took the oath of office as Ukraine’s new president on Monday (20 May), promising that as hard as he had worked in the past to make Ukrainians laugh, he would now work to keep them from crying.

In a wide-ranging interview, the Ambassador of Georgia to the EU talked about the lessons learned from 10 years of Eastern Partnership, her country’s reforms, relations with neighbours, including the biggest one – Russia.

The Council of Europe, a pan-continental rights watchdog, on Sunday (5 May) marked its 70th anniversary at a time of mounting populism and a standoff with Russia as well as doubts over its own role in the modern world.

France this week kicks off meetings under its presidency of the club for the world's seven most developed nations as questions mount over the relevance of the group at a time of tension between Europe and the United States.

Russia has decided to deploy nuclear-capable Tupolev Tu-22M3 strategic bombers to the Crimean peninsula in response to the US rolling out missile defense systems in Romania, the RIA news agency cited a senior Russian lawmaker as saying on Monday (18 March).

Russian President Vladimir Putin flew into Crimea on Monday (18 March) to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Moscow's annexation of the strategic peninsula from Ukraine which was condemned by the West but remains popular among Russians.

Ahead of the fifth anniversary of Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, condemned by the West but celebrated by most Russians, the United States, Canada and the EU slapped new sanctions on more than a dozen Russian officials and businesses in response to Moscow's "continued aggression in Ukraine."

The EU should be ready to impose further sanctions on Russia if the country continues to violate international law, EU lawmakers said in a resolution adopted in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday (12 March).

A daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman is working as an intern with a deputy on the European Parliament's security and defence sub-committee, the French MEP told AFP Monday (25 February).

The politico-spiritual move away from Russian Orthodoxy, presented by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as a major national security issue, has deeply angered Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has political ambitions in the region, writes Willy Fautré.

Visits to the Black Sea by US warships have nothing to do with US security and are motivated by domestic politics, prominent Russian senator Alexei Pushkov said on Sunday (20 January), warning they should stay away from the Russian coast.

Russia's parliament voted Thursday (17 January) against sending delegates or paying contributions to the Council of Europe, increasing the risk of ultimate exclusion from the rights body and the European Court of Human Rights.

A senior official from Kazakhstan, one of the five members of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), has called for greater cooperation between EEAU and the EU, ultimately aiming to create a single economic space from the Atlantic to Pacific. But a Commission spokesperson made clear it could only be a long-term goal, depending on political developments.

With T-shirts, mugs and murals bearing his face, Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to receive a rock star welcome on Thursday (17 January) when he lands in Serbia, Moscow's key ally on the edge of Europe.

The leniency of the West encouraged Russia to take its aggression against Ukraine to a new level, writes Mykola Tochytskyi, who puts forward several recommendations.

In an exclusive interview, the long-serving Russian ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov provided insight on his country’s position on the Azov Sea situation, which led to the cancelling of a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Argentina.

President Vladimir Putin insisted on Wednesday (28 November) that Russian forces were in the right to seize three Ukrainian ships last weekend, while his Ukrainian colleague Petro Poroshenko invited NATO ships in the Azov Sea.