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Category: Russian Federation

  • Russia Says U.S. May Extend Missile Shield to Bulgaria, Turkey

    Russia Says U.S. May Extend Missile Shield to Bulgaria, Turkey

    Russia is concerned the U.S. may expand its planned missile shield in Poland and Romania to other eastern European countries and Turkey, a senior military official said.

    “Russia is deeply concerned that after Poland and Romania, elements of U.S. missile defense will emerge in the Czech Republic, Turkey, Bulgaria and some other NATO members,” the deputy chief of Russia’s general staff, Valery Gerasimov, told foreign diplomats today in Moscow. “In the future, it may create risks for Russian strategic nuclear forces.”

    A U.S. factsheet on its proposed missile shield, published May 3, mentions only Romania and Poland as sites where hardware would be based. The U.S. embassy in Moscow declined to comment.

    Russian leaders complain the shield, which the U.S. says is needed to guard against threats from countries such as Iran, will blunt their nuclear deterrent. They have warned of a new arms race within the next decade unless the U.S. and its allies agree to cooperate with Russia on missile defense.

    Russia may quit a nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. if it doesn’t get legally enforceable guarantees it won’t be targeted by the shield, President Dmitry Medvedev said May 18.

    To contact the reporters on this story: Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net; Henry Meyer in Moscow at hmeyer4@bloomberg.net

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net

    via Russia Says U.S. May Extend Missile Shield to Bulgaria, Turkey – Bloomberg.

  • Russian tourists will prefer Armenia for Turkey and Egypt

    Russian tourists will prefer Armenia for Turkey and Egypt

    56026YEREVAN. – Armenia has great chances to increase influx of Russian tourists considerably, said Russian official during round-table discussions on tourism held in Yerevan.

    Head of Federal Agency on Tourism Alexander Radkov said Egypt and Turkey, traditional directions preferred by Russians, experience hard times. Therefore, Russians show stronger interest in cultural tourism.

    “Due to cold climate in Russia, the sun and the sea are always in demand, but people do not want to visit the same places every time. Nowadays, Russians have become more interested in cultural tourism and Armenia has a good chance to receive more Russian tourists,” he said.

    Armenia is interesting for its religious monuments, skiing resorts and cultural directions. He stressed there should be “an Armenian brand” to attract Russians. Alexander Radkov promised to lobby Armenia’s interests in Russia.

    via Russian tourists will prefer Armenia for Turkey and Egypt | Armenia News – NEWS.am.

  • Russia and Turkey shift to visaless regimen

    Russia and Turkey shift to visaless regimen

    visa passANKARA, April 16 (Itar-Tass) — The agreement between the governments of Russia and Turkey on the conditions of mutual trips by citizens of the two countries entered into force on Saturday. It was signed in Ankara on May 12, 2010 during President Dmitry Medvedev’s first visit to Turkey. The last finishing touch to the practical application of these arrangements was made in March this year with the ratification of the agreement on readmission.

    The easier visa regimen enables people in either country to travel to the other without wasting time on visa procedures at the embassies or at the border. As Russian general consul in Ankara Alexei Shivanov told Itar-Tass, the agreement establishes a 30-day period during which the citizen who has, for example, a standard Russian foreign passport can continuously stay in the territory of Turkey.

    “There are certain restrictions, though. Russians and Turks may stay in the other state without a visa for a total of 90 days during a 180-day period. That is, within six months they can enter and leave the territory of the country without any restrictions, but they may stay there for no more than 90 days,” he said. For longer visits the applicants will have to turn to the consular authorities to obtain visas, as before. The agreement leaves in place restrictions for citizens entering the territory of the other state in connection with employment, for studies or other purposes requiring presence over 30 days.

    via ITAR-TASS.

  • Turkey, Russia to start visa-free travel

    Turkey, Russia to start visa-free travel

    ANKARA, April 15 (Xinhua) — Turkish and Russian nationals will be able to travel between the two countries without obtaining a visa starting from Saturday, the Anatolia news agency said Friday.

    Turkey and Russia signed an agreement last year to lift visa requirements for their citizens traveling to the other side and the agreement will take effect as of April 16, 2011, said the report.

    The move is expected to boost bilateral trade to 40 billion U.S. dollars from the current 26.2 billion dollars within one year and promote tourism as well, the report said.

    Turkish and Russian citizens can travel for 30 days without visa within a 90-day period, according to the agreement.

    Mehmet Buyukeksi, president of Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) , said he hoped this historic step with Russia would be an example to other EU countries, added the report.

    Russia was the second biggest trade partner of Turkey and considered as a target market by all exporter sectors, he said.

    Editor: Xiong Tong

     

  • Netanyahu in Russia after Israel bus blast

    Netanyahu in Russia after Israel bus blast

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday arrived in Moscow for talks with the Russian leadership after a deadly bus bombing in Jerusalem threatened an escalation of Middle East violence.
    Netanyahu was expected to ask Russia not to give any support to Israel’s foes Iran …More
    A woman was killed and more than 30 people wounded when a bomb ripped through a bus in Jerusalem on Wednesday, hours after militants vowed revenge for two deadly Israeli raids on Gaza.

    The bombing also came several hours after two Grad rockets fired by Gaza militants hit the southern city of Beersheva.

    Netanyahu, who landed in Moscow in the early morning of Thursday, was later in the day due to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

    He was expected to ask Russia not to give any support to Israel’s foes Iran and Syria, amid contiuned Israeli concern about Russian ties with Tehran and its latest pledge to ship advanced anti-ship missiles to Syria.

    But an Israeli official in Moscow said Netanyahu would make the bus bombing the focus of his meetings, with other topics suggested by Russia such as the Middle East peace process taking a secondary role.

    Senior officials said that Israel’s intelligence agencies were investigating whether Hamas was behind the Jerusalem bombing and whether it was linked to the recent upsurge in violence in the Gaza Strip.

    If it was discovered that Hamas dispatched a cell to carry out the Jerusalem attack in response to the Gaza violence, Israel would view that as a real escalation, the officials said.

    “Israel is not interested in an escalation and if there is one it will be the work of Hamas,” said a senior Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity.

    Russia called the bombing a “barbaric act of terror” that must not be allowed to destabilise the Middle East peace process.

    Before departing for Russia, Netanyahu warned that anyone who attacks Israel will learn it has an “iron will.”

    “There are those who… are trying to test our will and our determination, and they will discover that this government and the army and the Israeli people have an iron will to defend the country,” Netanyahu told reporters as he stood on the tarmac before boarding his flight.

    A Kremlin source told the ITAR-TASS agency meanwhile that the talks would also touch on the unrest in Libya and instability elsewhere in the Arab world.

  • Turkey is the Most Favored country in Moscow

    Turkey is the Most Favored country in Moscow

    turkey mitt11 awardTurkish Culture and Tourism Ministry announced that Turkey’s stand at the 18th Moscow International Travel and Tourism (MITT) exhibition, which is held in the Russian capital from 16 – 20 March, 2011.

    turkey-mitt11-awardTurkey’s stand was chosen as the “Best Stand” at the world’s seventh biggest tourism fair, 2011 MITT Moscow Fair. Turkey attended the fair with 1,254 sqm stand at Hall 8 and received greater attention from Russian travelers thanks to good relations between two countries.

    Ozgur Ozarslan, Deputy Undersecretary of Turkish Tourism Ministry said that the Ministry is expecting Turkey will increase the Russian tourist number to four millions in the 2011. He also said 3.1 million Russian tourists visited Turkey in 2010.

    “Abolishing the visa regime will positively affect the relationship between Russia and Turkey. The number of the Turkish tourists will double also after the abolishing the visa regime,” Ozarslan added.

    Ozarslan noted that the number of Turkish visitors who visit Moscow increased 35% in 2010.

    Moreover, Turkey received more awards from Russia. Turkey’s Kemer town was chosen as “the Best Tourism Destination”, Alanya town was chosen as “the Best Family and Children’s Destination” while the Amara Dolce Vite Hotel in Kemer was chosen as “the Best Beach Hotel of Turkey” in a survey conducted by Russian tourism portal Zvezda Travel.ru.