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Putin says United States will never ‘subdue’ Russia

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The United States wants to subdue Moscow, but will never succeed, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday. "They do not want to humiliate us, they want to subdue us, solve their problems at our expense," Putin said at the end of a four-hour meeting with his core support group, the People’s Front. "No one in history ever managed to achieve this with Russia, and no one ever will," he said, triggering a wave of applause. Putin’s tough talk reflected the strain in ties between Moscow and Washington, who are at loggerheads over the crisis in Ukraine, where the West has accused Russia of promoting and arming a separatist rebellion. During the meeting, Putin repeatedly urged Russian firms, including in the agricultural and defense sectors, to boost their sales on domestic markets following tit-for-tat sanctions with West triggered by the row over Ukraine. Putin fielded a […]

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Russian energy interests tilting heavily toward Asia

Russia says it may court Chinese partners for energy work in the arctic. UPI/Shutterstock/Marco Varro MOSCOW, Nov. 18 (UPI) — Russian oil company Rosneft may focus more on Asia as it looks for new partners for exploration and production work in the arctic, a minister said Tuesday. With U.S. partner Exxon Mobil sitting on the sidelines because of sanctions imposed on the Russian energy sector, Russian Natural Resources Minister Sergei Donskoy said Rosneft will release new plans for the arctic before the end of the year. "China has announced its interest to the arctic," he said. "I think Rosneft has to independently choose partners out of countries which have not sanctioned Russia, and therefore here will be the final choice." In September, Rosneft estimated a discovery in the Prinovozemelskiy-1 license area in the Kara Sea holds at least 700 million barrels of oil. Russian energy interests have tilted toward […]

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Did Russia and China just sign a death warrant for U.S. LNG exports?

Printer-friendly Russia and China have signed  two large natural gas deals  in the last six months as Russia turns its attention eastward in reaction to sanctions and souring relations with Europe, currently Russia’s largest energy export market. But the move has implications beyond Europe. In the department of everything is connected, U.S. natural gas producers may be seeing their dream of substantial liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports suffer fatal injury because of Russian exports to the Chinese market, a market that was expected to be the largest and most profitable for LNG exporters. Petroleum geologist and consultant  Art Berman –who has been consistently skeptical of the viability of U.S. LNG exports–communicated in an email that Russian supply will force the price of LNG delivered to Asia down to between $10 and $11, too low for American LNG exports to be profitable. Now, let’s back up a little. U.S. natural […]

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Putin Readies Aid as Rosneft’s $21 Billion of Debt Looms

Russia ’s financial crisis has become so severe that President Vladimir Putin found himself reassuring investors late last week that the government would provide the support needed to the world’s largest oil company. With OAO Rosneft facing $21 billion of mostly foreign-currency debt maturities before April, Putin said the government will “definitely” help the company if necessary, according to an interview on the Kremlin’s website Nov. 14. After yields on Rosneft’s benchmark dollar bonds due in 2022 surged to a record 7.34 percent that day as oil sank to a four-year low, the statements may help restore investor confidence in the company, according to Commerzbank AG. “Putin’s comments tried to reassure investors about Rosneft’s strategic importance,” Apostolos Bantis, a credit analyst at the German lender, said in a telephone interview from Dubai. “This should alleviate investor concerns of a default-risk scenario.” Rosneft, which has more short-term debt than any […]

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Putin leaves G20 early over Ukraine

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin is seated for the "welcome country" ceremony for the G20 Summit at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center in Brisbane on November 15, 2014. Australia is hosting the leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies for the G20 Summit in Brisbane on November 15 and 16. AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN ©AFP Vladimir Putin walked out early from the G20 summit on Sunday after two days of tensions with fellow leaders over the crisis in Ukraine . The Russian president faced a barrage of criticism from western leaders at the meeting in Brisbane who warned that his country’s fragile economy would be hit by new sanctions unless he stops backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. More On this story Putin berates Kiev for cutting services Cameron warns Putin to pull back in Ukraine Russia army build-up sparks guessing game Russia braced for ‘catastrophic’ oil plunge […]

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Russia and China’s new gas agreement will starve EU of natural gas

4719 Votes Russia and China’s new gas agreement will starve EU of natural gas China continues to siphon cheap Russian gas that once went to Europe. Without a plentiful supply of affordable natural gas, Europe faces a looming crisis Russia inked a second blockbuster deal with China that will starve Europe for natural gas in just a few short years. It’s now increasingly clear that 2018 will mark the beginning of the end for any hopes Europe had of returning to robust economic growth. It was by far the biggest news of the day. While it did make headlines, you might have missed it because not much was made of the affair beyond the announcement. The story came and went as if Russia has oodles of natural gas (NG) to send to China. It doesn’t. And the supplies it has now contracted to send to China will be pulled […]

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Putin: No problems for oil company Rosneft

Russian President Vladimir Putin sees economic support from pivot toward China. UPI/Lan Hongguang/Pool "We inspected the financial status of Rosneft recently and didn’t find any problems there whatsoever," he told Russian news agency ITAR-Tass. "[There are] simply no financial problems." Western sanctions imposed in response to the Kremlin’s position on crises in Ukraine have damaged the Russian economy. An annual report from the European Commission said the Russian economy was entering a period of stagflation and Russia’s currency is trading a historic lows against the U.S. dollar. Low oil prices for a Russian economy dependent on exports are exacerbating an already problematic situation. Putin said oil company Rosneft is moving closer to its Chinese counterparts . For Russia as a whole, the president said he was making arrangements to sell oil using the Chinese currency. In turn, Chinese partners may issue loans to support bilateral activity. Rosneft is the […]

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Russia Shuns Dollar as Putin Strengthens Ties with China

By Chiara Albanese Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on Friday that he wants to strengthen ties with China, and avoid using the dollar for bilateral trade. Data from China’s central bank suggest that companies are already starting to shun the U.S. currency. In an interview with the Russian news agency Tass, Mr. Putin said that oil giant Rosneft is working with a major Chinese corporation to receive renminbi as a payments for a significant flow of oil. "We’re moving away from the diktat of the market that denominates all the commercial oil flows in U.S. dollars," Mr. Putin said. Russian companies are increasingly shifting to direct renminbi-ruble trading to settle their imports and exports with Asia. Turnover in direct transactions in the two currencies soared to $1.2 billion over the course of October, from $307 million in September and as low as $52 million in July, according to data […]

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Putin Says Russia Preparing for ‘Catastrophic’ Oil Slump

Russia is preparing for a “catastrophic” slump in oil prices, which it can weather thanks to a cushion of more than $400 billion in reserves, President Vladimir Putin said. “We’re considering all the scenarios, including the so-called catastrophic fall of prices for energy resources, which is entirely possible, and we admit it,” Putin said in an interview with the state-run Tass news service before attending this weekend’s Group of 20 summit in Brisbane , Australia , according to a transcript e-mailed by the Kremlin today. Russia, whose economy is forecast by the central bank to run zero growth next year, is struggling under the weight of a plummeting ruble and sanctions imposed over the conflict in Ukraine. Brent crude , the grade that underpins prices for Urals, Russia’s main export blend, is set for a record losing streak amid speculation that OPEC will refrain from cutting production to ease […]

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Russia wades deeper into Iranian nuclear waters

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano briefs reporters on nuclear negotiations with Iranian officials in Tehran, Iran, on Nov. 11, 2013. UPI File/Maryam Rahmanian The state-run Russian atomic energy corporation said an agreement was signed between the two countries to build four new power units at the Iranian nuclear facility at the existing plant at Bushehr. The agreement calls for "four similar power units on another site in Iran, which will be provided by the Iranian party later." The agreement comes as representatives from the so-called P5 +1 — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany — are working from Oman on resolving a nuclear impasse with Iran. With a Nov. 24 deadline to reach a nuclear agreement looming , U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said "the time is now" to make decisions on Iran’s controversial program. Western powers have […]

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