Politics
Monday 10 July 2017
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![Viktor Medvedchuk]()
Viktor Medvedchuk
head of pro-Russian political organization Ukrainian Choice
“Perhaps for the U.S. this is indeed a ‘golden era,’ but for Ukraine, where ‘reformers’ shut down coal mines en masse and destroy the coal sector, this is a period of decline and total dependence on Washington.”
Read more...The leader of the pro-Russian Ukrainian Choice organization claims Ukraine is falling into “total dependence” on the United States for coal imports. In fact, Russia remains the country’s top supplier. -
![TASS]()
TASS
Russian state news agency
“Iranian television on Thursday distributed photographs confirming the death of the head of the Islamic State terrorist group, Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi.”
Read more...Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that Iranian TV had published photographic proof that Islamic State leader Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian airstrike in May. In fact, the same pictures had been circulating around the Internet since 2014. -
![Russian Foreign Ministry]()
Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian Federation
“There have been no violations on our part. The U.S. claims otherwise, without providing any specific information that could be verified in order to clarify the situation.”
Read more...Russia says the U.S. lacks specific data proving Moscow has violated the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In fact, the U.S. provided a detailed account of Russia's violations. -
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson
“There has been a real substitution of information. The CNN report was aimed at manipulating public opinion.”
Read more...It is unclear why Zakharova singled out CNN for criticism when Daqneesh’s story had been widely covered by international media. The timing of her comments, several weeks after the boy reappeared, may well be more to do with a scandal at CNN. -
![TASS]()
TASS
Russian government news agency
“According to the research, 27% of its participants regard the Russian leader with confidence, believing that he ‘is doing the right things on the world stage’."
Read more...Russia’s TASS state news agency misrepresented the results of the Pew Research Center’s 2017 global survey in a way favorable to Vladimir Putin. The actual results of the survey concerning Putin were the opposite of what TASS reported. -
![Alexander Zhilin]()
Alexander Zhilin
Director of the Center for the Study of Applied Problems of National Security
“The Americans have completely trampled on international law and today are behaving just like bandits. ... The American fighter violated all norms and agreements and in fact behaved like an air pirate.”
Read more...Zhilin’s claim that the NATO aircraft violated international law is false. Experts and NATO officials tell Polygraph.info that the F-16 acted within established rules of air policing, without violating any norms or agreements, and that, on the contrary, it was Shoigu’s plane that violated established aviation safety rules by refusing to identify itself. -
Vladimir Putin
Russian President
“Yes, they impacted [the economy]. To a large degree or not? I don’t think so. The economy was more affected by the global economy and the decline in prices of our tradition goods – oil, gas, metals and chemical industries and others.”
Read more...Putin's statement made during his annual national call-in program essentially contradicted remarks he made just months earlier. -
![Elmurod Rasulmukhamedov]()
Elmurod Rasulmukhamedov
First Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation
“The information about the green spaces targeted for renovation was apparently taken from a CIA spy satellite.”
Read more...Moscow’s controversial urban renewal project has prompted discussion among environmentalists, with Greenpeace Russia warning it could have damaging consequences. One Russian organization, however, falsely accused Greenpeace of using CIA spy satellite data to fabricate the report. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
Russian President
“The Ukrainian government is insisting that the section of the border in the area of the unrecognized republics must be closed. And indeed, the Minsk protocols require that the border with Russia be closed by Ukrainian border guards, but only after the key political decisions are adopted.”
Read more...Putin is right about the timetable of the Minsk peace agreements, but he ignores his own responsibility for the ongoing war in Ukraine. -
![Kiselyov’s legal defense team]()
Kiselyov’s legal defense team
“Dmitry Kiselyov has never expressed support for the directing of Russian forces to Ukraine... The EU Council did not provide information necessary to ensure [his] legal right to defense, since the accusations leveled were formulated in an unduly vague way.”
Read more...Lawyers for pro-Kremlin media figure Dmitry Kiselyov claim their client never expressed support for sending Russian troops into Ukraine, and that the European Council has denied him the right to legal defense. In fact, Kiselyov is notorious for provocative comments about Ukraine and the court followed regular procedures in adjudicating his case. -
![Anro Khidirbegishvili]()
Anro Khidirbegishvili
Editor-in-chief, Sakinform news agency
“A decision was made to drag Georgia into NATO as soon as possible… Therefore, it is no longer convenient for the West to recognize the territorial integrity of Georgia… This is [another] reason why it is essential to force Georgia to give up its rights to Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”
Read more...NATO is not forcing Georgia to join the alliance. It is Georgia which seeks to join both NATO and the European Union. In addition, NATO and the EU have consistently and publicly supported Georgia’s territorial integrity and called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Georgia. -
![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
Russian Presidential Press Secretary
“I know nothing about this, this is the first time I’ve heard about it.” [in reply to a query about then-President Barack Obama directly addressing President Putin on Russia’s alleged hacking attacks on the U.S.]
Read more...President Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, denies any knowledge of a phone call between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, in which the U.S. President addressed his Russian counterpart on the subject of alleged Russian cyber-attacks and interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Unfortunately for Peskov, he had briefed journalists on this very phone call less than six months earlier.
