Vladimir Putin - The African Mirror

Jul

2021

Kremlin says ‘provocations’ like UK warship episode demand tough response

A British warship's entry into what Moscow considers Russian territorial waters near Crimea last month is the kind of provocation that demands a tough response, the Kremlin has warned. President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia, which fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the warship to chase it out of Black Sea waters off the coast of Crimea, could have sunk the warship. Moscow challenged the right of HMS Defender to pass through waters near Crimea, something London said it had every right to do. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but most of…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Key remarks from Russian President Putin’s annual phone-in

WORLD

THE following are highlights from Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual phone-in yesterday. Putin spoke in Russian. The quotes below were translated into English by Reuters. PUTIN ON GETTING VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19 "I thought that I needed to be protected as long as possible. So I chose to be vaccinated with Sputnik V. The military is getting vaccinated with Sputnik V, and after all I'm the commander-in-chief. "After the first shot, I didn't feel anything at all. About four hours later, there was some tenderness where I had the shot. I did the second (shot) at midday. At midnight, I measured…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden talks down Russia, spurs allies in bid to back Putin into a corner

WORLD

SIMON LEWIS and TREVOR HUNNICUTT PRESIDENT Joe Biden on his first foreign foray sought to cast Russia not as a direct competitor to the United States but as a bit player in a world where Washington is increasingly pre-occupied by China. Aides said Biden wanted to send a message that Putin was isolating himself on the international stage with his actions, ranging from election interference and cyber-attacks against Western nations to his treatment of domestic critics. "He was clear and direct in where he was standing up and pushing back against Putin," Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Putin sees ‘a lot of issues’ at first summit with Biden

WORLD

STEVE HOLLAND and VLADIMIR SOLDATKIN WITH deep disagreements likely and expectations of solving them low, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat down in a lakeside Geneva villa on Wednesday for their first summit since Biden took office. Both have said they hope their talks can lead to more stable and predictable relations, even though they are at odds over everything from arms control and cyber-hacking to election interference and Ukraine. Putin and Biden shook hands on arrival before going inside. "Mr President, I'd like to thank you for your initiative to meet today," Putin said, sitting…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Putin calls U.S. ransomware allegations an attempt to stir pre-summit trouble

WORLD

SUGGESTIONS that the Russian state was linked to high profile ransomware attacks in the United States were absurd and an attempt to stir trouble ahead of his summit this month with the U.S. President Joe Biden, said Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, yesterday. A hack of Brazilian meatpacker JBS's facilities in the United States, reported this week, is the third such ransomware hack in the country since Biden took office in January. JBS told the White House it originated from a criminal organisation likely based in Russia. The White House said on Wednesday that Biden, who is due to…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Biden to press Putin on respecting human rights in Geneva

WORLD

U.S. President Joe Biden yesterday said that he will press Russian President Vladimir Putin to respect human rights when the two leaders meet in June. During a speech honoring the U.S. holiday Memorial Day, Biden said, "I'm meeting with President Putin in a couple of weeks in Geneva making it clear we will not, we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights." The White House said on Friday it was planning to move ahead with the summit between the two leaders after Microsoft flagged a cyberattack on U.S. government agencies by Nobelium, the group behind last year's…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Putin reviews Russian military might as tensions with West soar

WORLD

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin reviewed Russia's traditional World War Two victory parade yesterday, a patriotic display of raw military power that this year coincides with soaring tensions with the West. The parade on Moscow's Red Square commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two featured over 12,000 troops and more than 190 pieces of military hardware, including intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, and a fly-past by nearly 80 military aircraft under cloudy skies. Putin, who has been in power as either president or prime minister since 1999, stood beside Soviet war veterans on a…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt and Russia agree to resume all flights

NEWS

EGYPT and Russia have agreed to resume all flights between the two countries in a call between their presidents, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Vladimir Putin, Egypt's presidency said in a statement. Flights to resort destinations Sharm al-Sheikh and Hurghada were suspended after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Sinai in October 2015, killing 224 people. The Egyptian statement did not specify a timeline for the resumption of flights, but Russia's Interfax news agency reported this week that flights could resume in the second half of May. An Airbus A321, operated by Metrojet, had been taking Russian holiday makers home from…

Apr

2021

By The African Mirror

Jailed Kremlin critic Navalny starts ending his hunger strike

WORLD

ANDREW OSBORN and TOM BALMFORTH JAILED Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said yesterday he would begin gradually ending a hunger strike he had called to demand proper medical care, suggesting that support inside Russia and the West had got him much of what he needed. Navalny announced an end to his hunger strike on its 24th day after a medical trade union that supports him and which has treated him in the past appealed to him to start eating again or risk death. The worsening health of Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent domestic opponent, and the authorities' initial failure…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Putin and Biden in a war of words

WORLD

ANDREW OSBORN and TOM BALMFORTH PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin retorted yesterday that it takes one to know one after U.S. President Joe Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and already poor relations between Moscow and Washington sank to a new post-Cold War low. Putin was speaking on television after Biden, in an ABC News interview that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations a day earlier, said "I do" when asked if he believed Putin was a killer. Biden also described Putin as having no soul, and said he would pay a price for alleged…