Kremlin: New U.S. Sanctions ‘Not Consistent’ With Talks Over Cooperation
The Kremlin says expanded U.S. sanctions against Russia are not consistent with talks over possible cooperation between Russia and the United States.
"This is not consistent with talks over possible cooperation in sensitive areas that the two presidents discussed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on September 7.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart, Barack Obama, met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China earlier this week.
Obama described the meeting as “businesslike” and said it touched upon ongoing negotiations between their top diplomats over Syria.
Putin said he and the U.S. president took another step forward on moving to resolve the crisis in Syria.
The United States announced on September 1 a new round of sanctions targeting 37 individuals and companies involved in Russia's aggression in Ukraine.
Peskov suggested that Moscow will respond in kind after analyzing the sanctions.
Earlier, he called them a "dead-end track" that fails to solve any problems.
Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and TASS
EU Ambassadors Prolong Russia Sanctions Over Ukraine
By RFE/RL
BRUSSELS -- European Union ambassadors have prolonged asset freezes and visa bans on 146 individuals and 37 entities that, according to the bloc, have threatened Ukraine's territorial integrity.
The decision to prolong the measures by six months was taken on September 7, ahead of a September 15 deadline.
The sanctions were first introduced in March 2014 in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.
Their targets include companies in Crimea and various battalions formed by the Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, as well as Russian politicians like Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and Dmitry Kiselyov, a state media executive and presenter whom many regard as the Kremlin's chief propagandist.
The EU's economic sanctions that target Russia's energy, military, and financial sectors are up for renewal on January 31 but will be discussed by EU leaders when they meet for an EU summit in October in Brussels.
A decision on the measures is expected when the EU heads of state and governments meet again in December.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
Prominent Crimean Tatar Activist Released From Psychiatric Clinic
By the Crimean Desk of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
A noted Crimean Tatar activist has been released from a psychiatric hospital in Russia-occupied Crimea.
Ilmi Umerov, the former deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body, the Mejlis, was charged with separatism in May after he made public statements opposing Moscow's forcible annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine in March 2014.
In August, Umerov was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric clinic for a month of assessment tests.
Umerov's relatives and lawyers said he was released from the clinic on September 7.
The lawyers added that they will seek the transfer of their client, who suffers from heart problems, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease, to a cardiology clinic.
Human rights groups have urged the Russia-backed authorities in Crimea to drop the charges against Umerov and provide him with necessary medical treatment.
The Moscow-based Memorial Human Rights Center has called the case against Umerov "illegal and politically motivated."