VIDEO REPORTS
Lavrov Praises Cease-Fire During Baku Visit
The Russian Foreign Minister, underscoring Moscow’s role as mediator, praised the cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenian-backed separatist forces as the two sides continued to accuse each other of breaking it.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, arriving in Yerevan on April 6, said he remains ready to act as an intermediary in resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Azeris React To Panama Papers Revelations
Baku residents responding to an informal street poll expressed a range of reactions to information contained in the Panama Papers that President Ilham Aliyev's wife and daughters have been secret shareholders in offshore companies with a portfolio worth millions.
Panama Papers Protests: Iceland vs. Russia
Icelanders and Russians reacted quite differently to their respective officials being implicated in the Panama Papers reports.
Crimean Tatar Leader Reports on Repressions
At a press conference in Kyiv on April 6, Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev said over 200 searches of Crimean Tatars have been conducted in Crimea,13 people have been imprisoned, and 20 have gone missing since 2014. (Ukrainian Service)
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
Investigation Shows Poroshenko Had Multiple Offshore Businesses
RFE/RL’s investigative program Schemes reports that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko appears to have used offshore companies since the early days of his business empire. (In Ukrainian)
Ukrainian National Police Head Accuses Judiciary Of Blocking Reform
Khatia Dekanoidze, the head of Ukraine’s new law enforcement body, says the country’s current judicial system threatens the success of police reform, citing, for example, the reinstatement by the courts of employees who are not certified. (In Ukrainian)
Putin Says Panama Papers Part Of Western Plot To Destabilize Russia
In his first remarks since news organizations on April 3 began reporting the massive leak of documents known as the Panama Papers, Russian President Vladimir Putin denied having any links to offshore accounts and said the project was an attempt “to rock us from within, to make us more obedient.”
Doping Benches Russian Ice Hockey Team
The Russian ice-hockey squad for next week’s under-18 world championship has reportedly been replaced after players failed tests for meldonium in what appears to be the latest doping scandal to hit Russian sports.
To Kadyrov, Kremlin Is Chechnya’s Hostage
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who recently authored a report on Chechnya, said that strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has never trusted Russia, and views himself as the future leader of an independent North Caucasus state. (In Russian)
In the wake of a new Belarus-China joint venture to produce “Geely” cars, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka has instructed officials to purchase domestically produced vehicles, authorizing only the country’s highest officials to drive imports. (In Russian/Current Time TV)
Russia’s Hermitage Museum Proposes To Restore Palmyra
Museum head Mikhail Piotrovsky said the plan, developed with the Russian Academy of Sciences and discussed with UNESCO, envisions an international restoration effort that would be a “fair trial test for international solidarity."
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