Greece PM says sanctions against Russia ‘a road to nowhere’

ATHENS, March 31. /TASS/. Greece does back the West’s sanctions against Russia as this is a "road to nowhere," the country’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman on Tuesday.

In the interview ahead of his upcoming visit to Moscow on April 8, the Greek prime minister noted that there is a chance of bringing the trade ties between the two countries to a new level.

"We can have a substantial cooperation that will allow Greece to export its agricultural goods to the Russian Federation," Tsipras stressed.

"You know that over the past years a blow was dealt to these relations as the previous governments in my country had not done what they could have done to avoid this senseless sanctions policy, in my opinion, amid tensions in Ukraine," he said.

"The result of this is the embargo also on the Greek agricultural goods what has seriously damaged the Greek economy," Tsipras said.

The prime minister reminded that as soon as he took office he received a message from European Council President Donald Tusk "who almost took for granted Greece’s position in favor of sanctions."

"I called him and also [EU foreign policy chief] Federica Mogherini and told them: "Don’t think that Greece’s position is pretty much a given, the situation has changed and now there is another government in Greece. And now you should ask us before you take the decisions," he said.

"We do not agree with sanctions. I believe that this is a road to nowhere. I support the point of view that there is a need for a dialogue and diplomacy, we should sit down at the negotiating table and find the solutions to major problems," he said.

The Greek premier stressed that the economic war is a "dead-end policy."

"I’m for diplomacy," Tsipras said. "I believe reaching the Minsk agreements is an important achievement. I think every effort should be made to stop tensions in Ukraine," he added.

Tsipras said during his first participation in the EU summit on March 19-20 in Brussels he told the prime ministers and heads of states: "Tell me how do you imagine the new security architecture in Europe? Do you see it with Russia on the opposite side or with Russia in the process of a dialogue and mutual understanding?"

"I received no answer from many of them," Tsipras said. "In my understanding, the answer is clear: the new European security architecture should also include Russia.".

Читать далее ...

Japan endorses plan to prepare for catastrophic earthquake

TOKYO, March 31. /TASS/. The Japanese government approved on Tuesday a program to prepare for a major earthquake that could hit the area of Tokyo in the next 30 years with a 70% probability and claim some 23,000 lives in the worst-case scenario.

The program adopted by the cabinet is expected to reduce the number of these possible casualties by half. Its implementation is also aimed at cutting the losses by 50%, including the number of ruined or burnt houses.

Experts believe that a 7.3 magnitude quake in the central part of the Japanese capital could destroy some 610,000 buildings.

The plan will focus on earthquake-resistant technologies and fire-safety measures. In particular, the share of earthquake-proof buildings is expected to reach some 95% by 2020. In 2008, this ratio was 79%

In March 2011, Japan was hit by the strongest earthquake over the past centuries, which occurred near the northeastern coast of the country’s largest and most populous island of Honshu.

The tsunami triggered by the quake left more than 18,000 people dead or missing. A gigantic wave hit the nuclear power plant Fukushima-1 that resulted in the most devastating nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant catastrophe in 1986.

Читать далее ...

MH17 probe looking for witnesses to back ‘Buk missile’ scenario

In a video address, released by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), possible witnesses have been encouraged to share their photo and video materials to prove that a Buk surface-to-air missile launcher was transported through the Donbass region before and after the MH17 incident last July.

“The focus of one scenario is that the MH17 was shot down by a Buk missile system,”JIT said in a statement. “We are looking for witnesses who have seen Buk crew members or have more information about the identity of those involved in ordering and launching the Buk.”

Although some media rushed to conclusions, spokesman for the Dutch Public Prosecutor, Wim de Bruin, emphasized that there is “more than one” scenario. “But the one of the Buk rocket has a lot of unanswered questions and that’s why we have put out an appeal,” de Bruin said, calling it a“leading scenario.”

"This appeal for witnesses does not mean that police and prosecutors have definitively concluded what caused MH17 to crash," the address said. "For that, more investigation is needed."

A preliminary report of the official investigation published in September 2014 only said that the crash was a result of structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects that struck the Boeing from the outside. The report did not specify what the objects were, where they came from or who was responsible.

No other verifiable evidence has yet been made publicly available, besides objective air control and military monitoring data partially released by the Russian Defense Ministry, which indicated the presence of Ukrainian surface-to-air batteries and warplanes in the area on the day of the Boeing shooting.

READ MORE: ‘Reuters lied’: MH17 witness says reporter falsified testimony

Amid the JIT call for witnesses, a local resident in Lugansk region – whom Reuters cited as saying he saw evidence of a surface-to-air missile launched from rebel-held territory – has told RT that the news agency gave a false report of his interview.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed Reuters’ report as“stovepiping”from a seemingly“respected agency”.

“Attempts at distorting facts, enforcing theories as to what could have happened continue to exist, with some based on openly dirty intentions,” Lavrov told journalists.

Yet the JIT investigators, pursuing their “leading” scenario in the crash investigation, have compiled a video that incorporated both social-media-sourced materials and unverified audio files apparently provided by the Ukrainian Intelligence Service, stipulating direct Russian involvement in the tragedy. The team alleges that the Buk missile launcher was seen several times around the time of the crash, yet no real evidence has been offered to support this theory.

READ MORE: MH17 investigation going off in ‘wrong direction’ could embarrass ‘many powerful people’

The US intelligence community apparently does not have any evidence to support Russian involvement in any way, investigative journalist Robert Parry told RT, citing his intelligence sources and own probe.

Soon after the tragedy, Parry was told “their actual evidence was going in a very different direction.” Eight months after the tragedy the US stands by its old assessment of the incident all based on “circumstantial evidence” and social media reports, refusing to release new data, Perry says.

Читать далее ...

Iran insists US should guarantee lifting unilateral sanctions — source

LAUSANNE, March 31./TASS/. Iran insists at talks in Lausanne on obtaining guarantees from the US that it will lift unilateral sanctions in parallel with the cancellation of UN Security Council sanctions after a comprehensive agreement on settling Iran’s nuclear problem is reached, a diplomatic source taking part in negotiations has told TASS.

According to the source, the night bilateral consultations on Iran’s nuclear program didn't result in a breakthrough, and the sanctions remain the key problem.

"No breakthrough was achieved. The main unresolved problem remains the issue on lifting sanctions," the source told TASS.

"A new ministerial-level meeting of the six powers has started. Russia is represented there by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov," the source said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday returned to Moscow and is planning to come back to Lausanne on Tuesday in case progress at the talks is reached.

Читать далее ...

Ukrainian conflict confirmed death toll reaches 6,083 — UN report

UNITED NATIONS, March 31. /TASS/. The United Nations published on Monday a report on casualties in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, saying the number of the killed and injured has increased.

Full accounts on casualties during the most recent escalation of hostilities (mid - January - mid - February) are still pending. Overall, since the beginning of the conflict in mid-April 2014 and until 27 March 2015, at least 6,083 people were documented as killed and 15,397 as wounded in the conflict area, says a regular report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The document says mines and unexploded ordnance are also posing a threat.

As of 23 March, there were 1,177,748 registered internally displaced persons (IDPs) across the country. According to UNHCR, as of 26 March, the total number of Ukrainians who have sought asylum, residence permits or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries now stands at 763,632 including 625,470 in Russia and 80,909 in Belarus.

Since being enacted in January, the Temporary Order has not only limited the freedom of movement for civilians, but also significantly impeded access of much needed humanitarian aid, namely food and medicine and construction materials. Given all of the complexities around humanitarian access, OCHA called a meeting with key humanitarian partners to explore operational solutions for dealing with bureaucratic impediments, the report says.

According to the OCHA report, as of 27 March, donors funded or pledged around USD 51 million to the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), or 16% of the USD 316 million required for 2015. Lack of funding for HRP is expected to result in significant impact in overall operation of some critical clusters. Due to inconsistent or no funding, the Food Security Cluster expects around 80,000 individuals with no access to Cash and Voucher activities, whereas food parcel support will have to be ceased in Non - Government Controlled Areas. At the same time, Health Cluster members are continuing to run their operations using limited internal funding mechanisms with no hard or soft pipelines in near sight, thus leading to potential decrease in both operations and flow of life - saving assistance.

Читать далее ...