Russia and Argentina agree framework energy deals

• 4 hours ago
 
• From the sectionEurope

Argentina is looking to Russia to help reverse a costly energy deficit

Russia and Argentina have signed a series of framework agreements on economic and energy co-operation following talks in Moscow.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and Russian leader Vladimir Putin hailed their co-operation as a "comprehensive strategic partnership".

The agreements include Russian investment in a hydroelectric plant and a nuclear power plant in Argentina.

Lifting Iran sanctions in Russia’s interest – Lavrov

Published time: April 22, 2015 06:54

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (RIA Novosti/Vladimir Astapkovich)

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Iran, Nuclear, Politics, Russia, Sanctions

The total removal of sanctions against Iran will benefit Russia’s interests and economy, as well as bring stability to the region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. He noted there is no UN ban on oil and gas trade with Tehran

“The lifting of anti-Iranian sanctions – both those imposed by the United Nations Security Council and all unilateral restrictions – meets our national interests,” Lavrov said in an exclusive interview with Argumenty i Fakty (Arguments & Facts) weekly. “We are confident that de-escalation of tension around Iran will improve bilateral trade-and-economic ties and, correspondingly, will be beneficial for Russia.”

(L-R) Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wu Hailong, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarifat, Russian Deputy Political Director Alexey Karpov, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrive for nuclear talks at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne) in Lausanne April 2, 2015. (Reuters/Brendan Smialowski)

Lavrov in particular stressed that there are no UN Security Council bans on exports of Iranian oil and gas.

“Tehran has been selling hydrocarbons to states that are not afraid of unlawful Western restrictions and to those who has been able to reach an ‘amicable agreement’ with Washington,” he added. 

For Italy, no end to flood of migrants desperate for refuge

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More than 200 rescued migrants brought to Italy(0:51)

An Italian Financial Guard boat rescued 220 migrants off the coast of Libya on Thursday as the European Union holds an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis. (AP)

By Daniela Deane April 23 at 4:56 PM 

CATANIA, Sicily — The tragic scenes unfolding here have become depressingly familiar.

Hundreds of bedraggled migrants shuffling ashore yet again at a port in southern Italy. Desperate asylum-seekers fleeing chaos, poverty and Islamist militants in their countries. Overcrowded, rickety boats that Italian maritime authorities often barely reach in time — if the boats do not capsize and drown their passengers first.

This tidal wave of humanity landing in Italy, seeking shelter, is now a daily occurrence — and the country is struggling under the enormous weight. Italian officials are deeply concerned that the approaching summer, with its calmer weather, could bring tens of thousands more migrants to their beleaguered shores.

On Thursday morning, 220 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa arrived, adding to the almost 1,000 asylum-seekers who came Wednesday. Many of them have the skin infection scabies, presenting a challenge to Italian health officials.

This past weekend, about 850 lost their lives in the sea between lawless Libya and Italy — the worst single death toll among those being smuggled across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

Migrants wait to disembark from the Italian Navy vessel Chimera in the harbor of Salerno. (Francesco Pecoraro/AP)

Catania police said just over two dozen, including four teenagers, survived the shipwreck.

Italy PM urges united EU action to tackle migrant crisis

ROME | BY ISLA BINNIE AND PHILIP PULLELLA

(Reuters) - The European Union must take a collective stand to tackle migrant trafficking at its source in African countries, Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Wednesday ahead of an emergency summit of the bloc's leaders to discuss the crisis.

Up to 900 people were feared dead after their boat sank on its way to Europe from Libya at the weekend including many women and children locked below deck, prompting calls for joint action to stop the flow of migrants fleeing war and hardship in Africa.

The deaths caused shock in Europe where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers.

EU officials, worried about encouraging people to make the crossing just as economic troubles in some European countries fan concerns over immigration, have struggled to come up with a response but proposed doubling rescue operations on Monday.

Turkey and Pakistan pledge ‘all potential support’ to Saudis over Yemen

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Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, left, and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoğlu shake hands after a joint news conference in Ankara, Turkey, Friday, April 3, 2015. AP PHoto

Turkey and Pakistan have called on “all Yemeni groups” for a peaceful solution to the country’s crisis, while pledging support for Saudi Arabia’s actions, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on April 3.

Turkey and Pakistan agreed to lend “all potential support” to Saudi Arabia in order to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yemen, Sharif said, speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

The two countries would work together to help resolve the crisis in Yemen, Sharif said, stressing a “common understanding” between Turkey and Pakistan to “stand behind Saudi leadership.”

For his part, Davutoğlu underlined that Turkey’s position on Yemen is to support all “steps taken for the constitutional reconstruction” of the country.

Putin: Greece did not seek financial aid from Russia

• 2 hours ago
 
• From the sectionEurope

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Media captionChris Morris reports from Athens on the ties that bind Greece and Russia

Greek bailout

• Could Europe lose Greece to Russia?
• How Greece's Syriza has had to compromise
• Key points: Greece economic pledges to Europe
• Video Greece bailout talks - in 60 secs

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras did not ask for financial aid from Russia during talks in Moscow, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said.

There had been speculation that Mr Tsipras would seek Russian aid to ease Greece's debt crisis, and to counter pressure from its creditors in the EU.

Mr Putin said Russia would consider loans to Greece for big joint projects, potentially in the energy sector.

But analysts say Russia's own economic woes mean any help would be limited.

Greece's new government is embroiled in negotiations with the EU and IMF to unblock a bailout package and could run out of funds within weeks.

Russia was among Greece's leading trade partners before sanctions on its energy industry and Greece's own economic difficulties reduced trade between the two countries by 40%.

Greece and Hungary sign up to Russia gas pipeline

• 

  The Budapest meeting comes amid Russian attempts to split the EU over Ukraine (Photo: Axel Buhrmann)

By ANDREW RETTMAN 

BRUSSELS, TODAY, 09:28

Greece and Hungary have endorsed plans to build a new Russian gas pipeline in the latest blow to EU unity over the Ukraine crisis.

Their foreign ministers, Nikos Kotzias and Peter Szijjarto, added their names to a declaration on the “Turkish Stream” project signed in Budapest on Tuesday (7 April) with counterparts from Serbia, Macedonia, and Turkey.

The text says they “expressed … support to create a commercially viable option of route and source diversification for delivering natural gas from the Republic of Turkey through the territories of our countries to the countries of Central and South Eastern Europe”.

It calls for the EU to help fund related infrastructure, claiming that the pipeline “would … make a significant contribution to the overall energy security of Europe and must therefore be a common responsibility of the European Union”.

Watchtowers on Poland-Russia border 'not linked' to Ukraine conflict

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  Kaliningrad is one of Russia's poorest regions (Photo: Christoph)

By ANDREW RETTMAN 

BRUSSELS, 7. APR, 09:25

Poland says its plan to build watchtowers on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is not linked to the Ukraine crisis.

Joanna Rokicka, a spokeswoman for the Polish Border Guard, told EUobserver on Tuesday (7 April) that the scheme, which is part-funded by the European Commission, was agreed “quite some time ago, before the events in Ukraine”.

“We are building the towers purely for migration-control purposes. It’s not designed to prevent any situation linked to the current crisis in Ukraine”.