An item from our news desk on another development that is at least peripherally related to Ukraine.
Russia and Cyprus have signed an agreement that would give Russian military ships access to the EU member state's ports in the Mediterranean Sea.
"We signed a number of documents regarding our military cooperation. For example regarding the entrance of our ships to Cypriot ports," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 25 in Moscow after signing the deal with his Cypriot counterpart, Nicos Anastasiades.
The deal comes amid heightened tensions between the Kremlin and the West over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea territory a pro-Moscow insurgency fighting Kyiv's forces in eastern Ukraine.
Putin said deal with Cyprus, which relies heavily on Russian investment, should not "cause worries anywhere."
A Cypriot government source told Reuters that Cyprus had previously allowed Russian ships to access its ports but that the deal marked the first time this arrangement was formalized in a separate agreement.
(Reuters, AP)
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Good morning. Defense spending being cut in NATO countries:
A British-based think tank says some NATO member nations are cutting their spending on defense, despite stern talk and solemn pledges from the alliance.
In a report released February 26, the European Leadership Network said Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Hungary and Italy are all on track to reduce military expenditures in 2015.
The report said that in France, spending is forecast to remain flat.
Ian Kearns, director of the European Leadership Network and the coauthor of the report said, "Despite Russian aggression in Ukraine and much rhetoric from NATO leaders that this has been a game-changer in European security, all the evidence suggests there is a continuation of business as usual."
In September, NATO leaders vowed to "reverse the trend of declining defense budgets."
The report found that six member nations -- Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Romania -- will hike spending in 2015, but not reach the ultimate target of 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product agreed to at the NATO summit.