June 23:
Moscow and Riyadh are moving closer together in the nuclear arena. The Press Trust of India reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia have, for the first time, signed an agreement on "cooperation in the field of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes." The deal, inked on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, "creates a legal basis for cooperation between two countries in the field of nuclear energy on a wide range of areas, including construction of nuclear power reactors, provision of cycle of nuclear fuel, including for nuclear power plants and research reactors."
Russia's newest territorial holding is proving to be a hotbed of corruption and human rights abuses. The Daily Beast cites a new report from Ukrainian-American human rights watchdog RAZOM as detailing instances of torture, forced interrogation and denial of freedoms perpetrated by Russian state-affiliated individuals and officials in the year-and-a-half since the Crimean Peninsula was absorbed into the Russian Federation - cases which have been compiled to date by various international bodies and NGOs (including the UN and Human Rights Watch).
TheRAZOM report, however, also boasts an interesting feature: a "human rights protection guide" with suggestions for ways in which Crimean citizens can prevent further injustices. Among the tactics outlined by the study is the matter of lawsuits. Recent days have seen the massive state seizure of Russian assets following court decisions in both Belgium and France - a strategy which human rights lawyers say could work in the case of Crimea's human rights situation as well. "Russia doesn't comply with international law," according to Matheus de Moura Sena, one of the lawyers involved in the RAZOM report. "With [lawsuits] you increase the cost of investment in Russia, the cost of loans made to Russia. You have this side effect if they don't pay the reparations."
June 24:
In the wake of the recent decision by the Caucasus Emirate, Russia's most significant jihadist group, to pledgebayat (fealty) to the Islamic State, the Middle Eastern terror organization has officially declared its presence in the North Caucasus. The Moscow Times reports that the group has formally established a "governate" (Wilayat, or province) in Russia's restive majority Muslim regions of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachayevo-Cherkessia.
It may soon be considerably more difficult to find Western chocolate in Russia. According to The Moscow Times, the Kremlin is considering more limits on Western goods such as chocolate - as well as fish and flowers - as Russia's relations with Europe and the United States remain strained. The additional restrictions are expected to be tacked on to already-existing import bans and curbs passed by the Kremlin, which have been extended for an additional half-year.
June 25:
Russia's direct involvement in the Ukraine crisis is "irrefutable," a senior U.S. military official has said. "Russia is actively and massively fueling this conflict," the New York Times reports Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. troops in Europe, as telling officials of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. "Russian soldiers are active parts of the fighting force... These are not volunteers or mercenaries; they are trained, equipped, and uniformed active duty Russian soldiers."
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