16:58
24.3.2014
In 2006 when asked if he could help with the "Crimean Tatar problem", Putin said they cannot interfere with the affairs of another country
— Посольство США в РФ (@USEmbRu) March 24, 2014
17:00
24.3.2014
Sergey #Lavrov and John Kerry's meeting in Hague @RusEmbUSA pic.twitter.com/4OphBGKZek
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) March 24, 2014
17:07
24.3.2014
Prime Minister David Cameron says there will be no G8 summit in Russia this year
— Sky News Newsdesk (@SkyNewsBreak) March 24, 2014
17:35
24.3.2014
Remember a few weeks ago when Arseniy Yatsenyuk alleged the Yanukovych regime had stolen $70 billion from state coffers? A new article by Christopher Miller in the "Kyiv Post" shows how just a portion of that was done, and how it was used.
The article cites prosecutors as alleging that Serhiy Kurchenko, Ukraine's youngest billionaire, ran a criminal ring that siphoned off nearly $100 million from state companies and used the money to pay thousands of Berkut riot police and titushki, or hired thugs, to crack down on Euromaidan protesters.
The heads of several government ministries are alleged to have been members of the Kurchenko ring.
Kurchenko, the owner of the VETEK energy conglomerate and Kharkiv's Metalist football club, as well as the publisher of "Forbes" magazine in Ukraine, is on an international wanted list for embezzlement. He has fled Ukraine and is believed to be living in Russia.
Read the entire article HERE:
17:48
24.3.2014
#Ukraine draft resolution to withdraw from CIS. http://t.co/rU5IFb7pPz
— Adin of Crimea (@RealCrimea) March 24, 2014
18:24
24.3.2014
Nix future tense in previous update. Russian agencies say Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and acting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Deshchytsya have already met on the sidelines of the nuclear summit in The Hague. Details to follow.
18:35
24.3.2014
More vox pops from around our region. This time from the northern Kazakh city of Petropavl, also known by its Russian name of Petropavlovsk. Our Kazakh Service asked local residents if they thought Russia might attempt to absorb Kazakhstan's northern territories following the annexation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea.
18:37
24.3.2014
19:14
24.3.2014
20:15
24.3.2014
Russian agencies Inerfax and ITAR-TASS are reporting that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov gave a press conference after his surprise meeting today with Ukrainian acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya and said President Vladimir Putin had instructed him to meet with Deshchytsya. Lavrov said he and Deshchytsya discussed "contemporary events and tasks, which, in our opinion, need to be considered in order to overcome the internal Ukrainian crisis."