May 30:
Russian officials could soon be banned from using popular Western online messenger and email services like WhatsApp, Viber and GMail, reports The Moscow Times. The ban, proposed by the country's Ministry of Economic Development, would affect two million Russian users, including military personnel, if and when it goes into effect. There is speculation that Russian President Vladimir Putin has commissioned the development of an alternative, Russian-controlled messenger service following concerns over leaked official information via online chats and emails.
Could Germany be preparing to abandon the EU's current Russia policy? The last G-7 meeting ended with a clear agreement among the parties that Russia must fulfill the requirements of the Minsk Protocol before any discussion on the easing of current economic sanctions could take place. Now, however, a growing polarization of public opinion within the EU could lead to a compromise - and to an easing of sanctions - as early as this year, reports Germany’s Der Spiegel. Despite concerns that such an easing of sanctions could play right into Putin's hands, many members of the bloc have expressed a willingness to modify current policy. According to Gernot Erler of the German Social Democratic Party, "the highest priority is that of preserving the EU consensus." Italy and Hungary, countries whose economies have buckled as a result of the sanctions, have become leading voices of dissent.
May 31:
Moscow and Beijing have announced an ambitious plan to expand trade between the two countries to $200 billion by 2020, reports The Moscow Times. The revamped trade agreement between China and the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union is an overt sign of increasing cooperation between the two countries - one that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has touted as "an example... in the 21st century."
It is also a sign of things to come, as Russia seeks closer economic cooperation with a rising China. "We are looking forward for deepening of cooperation between Russian and Chinese banking institutions that will include interaction in the framework of the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, BRICS and the Eurasian Development Banks," Lavrov has said.
Is Russia preparing to invade the Baltics? At least one prominent observer believes so. Writing in Estonia'sPostimees newspaper, activist Vadim Shtepa notes that the past year has seen Russia reconstitute its "First Guards Tank Army," an old Soviet-era military unit, with the express purpose of "neutraliz[ing] the threat" from the Baltic states. The new division "will be the hammer that will break any defense" erected by the Baltics, Shtepa relays Russian officials as saying.
This, coupled with the new unit's acquisition of preferential high-tech arms - such as the country's new "Armata" tank - and the creation of new urban warfare units, suggests strongly to Shtepa that Russia is in fact preparing for military action in the Baltics. "For those who think it is absurd," he notes, "we [should] recall that the annexation of the Crimea and the war in Donbas three years ago seemed impossible, too."
According to Business Insider, just six countries have so far announced their formal backing of Russia's recent seizure and annexation of Crimea. The list includes Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Syria, Afghanistan, and North Korea - all rogue or fragile states deeply dependent on Moscow.
Want these sent to your inbox?
Subscribe