Lavrov said that the ceasefire would begin on Monday February 20 [MFA, Russia]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has nnounced a new ceasefire set to begin in eastern Ukraine on Monday.
Lavrov met with his French, German and Ukrainian counterparts on the sidelines of the 53rd Munich Security Conference on Saturday, and they agreed to pressure the pro-Moscow rebels and Ukrainian army to withdraw heavy weapons.
Oil prices continue to waver above $50 a barrel, improving prospects for Russia’s economic recovery [Xinhua]
Russia’s Ba1 (government bond) sovereign rating has been upgraded from negative to stable by Moody’s international rating agency.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will also be attending the 53rd Munich Security Conference [Xinhua]
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a G20 meeting in Bonn, Germany on Thursday that Beijing wants to see an open world economy system and said his country stresses multilateralism and globalization.
He called on his German hosts to work with China to promote global rebalancing and safeguard trade and investment liberalization and facilitation.
He said such efforts would ensure continued global economic growth.
Lavrov said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson did not mention the issue of sanctions [Xinhua]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met in Bonn, Germany Thursday on the sidelines of a G20 meeting and ahead of the 53rd Munich Security Conference.
The two top diplomats discussed how to ease tensions left over from the Obama administration, cooperation on security issues – such as the situation in Syria, and the crisis in the Ukraine.
State-run Russian Helicopters have orders worth 388 billion rubles ($11.8 billion) through to 2020 in many countries, including India [Xinhua]
The head of one of Russia’s largest defense contractors Rosoboronexport said on Thursday that it is ready to supply advanced weaponry and transfer technology for local arms manufacturing with India.
Sergey Goreslavsky said during the 11th Aero India exhibition in Bangalore that India had signed purchase contracts for Russian armaments worth $4 billion through Rosoboronexport in 2016.
He expects this to increase in 2017.
The ruble, rand, real and a host of other EM currencies have registered strong growth against the dollar recently [Xinhua]
In case you haven’t heard, there’s a rally of sorts going on in emerging markets, defying all the factors stacked up against such a trend.
Conventional wisdom has it that with the US Federal Reserve promising to raise interest rates at least three more times this year, capital outflow from emerging markets will increase, sending their currencies plummeting.
In late June, India successfully launched a record 20 satellites with one rocket from the southern spaceport of Sriharikota [Xinhua]
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) broke a record previously held by Russia on Wednesday when it launched 104 satellites during a single space mission.
The satellites were launched into orbit at 9:28 am from the Sriharikota spaceport in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
One of the satellites, the Cartosat 2, is capable of taking high resolution images.
Although Russian President Putin and Japanese PM Abe have signed a number of trade deals, they have been unable to reach agreement on signing a peace treaty or resolving the island dispute [Xinhua]
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has defended Russia’s naming of a group of islands in the Pacific which Japan has claimed at its own territory.
Japan filed a formal note of protest with Russia after Moscow decided to name the Kuril islands, seized by Soviet troops in the waning days of World War II, after prominent historical figures.
Wang will speak at length of China’s vision of multilateralism and globalization when he attends the G20 meeting in Bonn on February 15 [Xinhua]
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives in Bonn, Germany tomorrow to attend a meeting of G20 officials at the invitation of his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.
He will also attend the 53rd Munich Security Conference.
The foreign ministers are expected to pave the way for the G20 Summit in Hamburg in July as well as discuss 2030 sustainable development goals.
OPEC total production declines would have been stronger had it not been increased output from Iran and Nigeria [Xinhua]
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has revised upward its predictions for global oil demand in 2017.
An OPEC report pointed to the improving state of the world’s economy as a key driver for higher oil demand which is expected to grow at 1.2 million barrels a day.
The International Energy Agency forecasts a growth in demand at a rate of 1.4 million barrels a day.
