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On Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov said that the blatant attempts to pressure the Ukraine into signing an association agreement with the EU surprised Russia. He said that the pressure was continuing despite Kiev’s clear choice to develop closer ties with Moscow. He spoke a day after President Vladimir Putin agreed to cut the price of Russian natural gas exported to the Ukraine by a third from 400 USD (13,180 Roubles. 426 CAD. 450 AUD. 291 Euros. 245 UK Pounds) per 1,000 cubic metres to 268.50 USD (8,850 Roubles. 286 CAD. 302 AUD. 196 Euros. 164 UK Pounds). Russia would also buy 15 billion USD (495 billion Roubles. 16 billion CAD. 16.9 billion AUD. 11 billion Euros. 9.2 billion UK Pounds) of Ukrainian debt in Eurobonds in a deal struck in Moscow with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said that the “historic” agreement saved his country from imminent economic default and social collapse.
Lavrov told Russian lawmakers “We’re surprised by the attempts to put blatant pressure on the Ukrainian government, which continue despite the decisions taken in Moscow”. Ukrainian opposition leaders and EU official criticised the deal as a half-measure that failed to address the urgent need for economic reforms in the country, which they argue only EU integration could achieve. Lavrov said, “They demand that Kiev make a ‘free’ choice in favour of the EU”. However, he added, these demands clearly contradicted the right of a sovereign state to resolve the situation by itself and to act in accordance with its national laws and interests. Lavrov noted, “Our position is based on respect for the sovereign choice made by the Ukrainian people”.
The Ukraine became the focus of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Russia and the EU. Last month, the former Soviet republic stunned EU leaders by announcing that it was giving up pursuit of an association agreement that would strengthen trade and political links with the EU, and would instead seek closer ties with the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community (TS EvrAsES). Lavrov said after a meeting with his EU counterparts on Monday that the sides agreed that they should respect the Ukraine’s sovereignty, and that people should have a free choice over the future development of their country.
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On Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said that the economic deal that the Ukraine signed with Moscow on Tuesday helped the country to stave off an imminent threat of economic and social collapse. Azarov said at a government meeting in defence of Kiev’s decision to establish closer ties with Moscow rather than Brussels, “What awaited the Ukraine? The answer’s clear… bankruptcy and social collapse”. The Ukrainian rejection of the EU deal prompted mass protests and threw the country into a political crisis, with hundreds of thousands attending rallies demanding the dissolution of the government and early elections. Both the EU and Moscow accused each other of using strong-arm tactics to secure economic ties with Kiev.
18 December 2013
RIA-Novosti
Voices from Russia 
Putin Pledges to Support Perinatal Medicine… Russia SUPPORTS State-Provided Healthcare… Russian Birth-Rate GROWING, not Dropping
Tags: Abortion debate, alternatives to abortion, anti abortionists, anti-abortion, Birth rate, BMD Posterart, Christian, Christianity, Consistent life ethic, Eastern Orthodox Church, ethical orientation, ethics, moral dilemma, moral stance, morality, morals, Moscow, Moscow Patriarchate, Opposition to the legalization of abortion, Orthodox, Orthodoxy, political commentary, politics, poster, Pro-life, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Republican, ROCOR, Russia, Russian, Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, United States, United States pro-life movement, USA, Veronika Skvortsova, Vladimir Putin
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Editor’s Note:
I was looking for a RECENT news item on Russian state support for healthcare. Here’s something from last June. VVP is a TRUE conservative… he supports state-provided healthcare services (as did Bismarck and Stolypin). The Republicans are phony-baloney rightwingers, for they oppose them in favour of anti-people profit-making schemes. REAL conservatism conserves our nation, our people, our land, our resources, our economy, and our towns… that means that the Republicans of today aren’t conservative, and haven’t been since the time of Slobberin’ Ronnie (Wet Willy was the biggest anti-conservative of them all). Using this standard, leftists are conservators, but righties are ravening destroyers and greedsters. There’s more than one devastated and imploded factory town to prove my point. Now, that’s a meaty bone to gnaw upon!
I also wish to prove that the CIA lies (bandied about by the Fox News/CNN duopoly) about the “falling Russian birth-rate” repeated by quisling propagandists like Victor Potapov are fairy tales. I post two articles to prove my point. Potapov is one of the main ideologists of the contemporary ROCOR (he’s certainly one of the leading lights in the archpriestly cabal in the First Families)… these articles prove him a self-serving talespinner and pro-Western running dog. Please, don’t judge ROCOR priests harshly… they have to repeat Potapov’s fibs (and his support of the barmy pretender Maria Vladimirovna) or they get all sorts of grief. That’s why people such as Andrew Phillips post some of the things that they do… they have to follow the party-line… we don’t know the real POV of most of these men as a result, so, be Christian and forgiving.
Oh… the drop in abortions wasn’t due to legal restrictions… it was due to generous state support for poor mothers. Sorry, Pro-Life Movement… you (and the Republican Party) are in the wrong…
BMD
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At the XI World Congress of Perinatal Medicine, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian government would support perinatal medicine, develop neonatal surgery, and build perinatal centres. On Saturday, Putin told the Congress, “Our duty is to fight for the life of each child. Last year, Russia switched over to birth record criteria recommended by the WHO”. The Congress convened in Moscow on 19-22 June and gathered over 2,000 participants from 91 countries. Putin stated, “We began investing considerable state funds into this very important branch of healthcare, and will keep doing so”. He said that protection of mothers and children was a priority of Russian state and social policy. Putin noted, “58 modern perinatal centres are actively at work throughout the country”. He said that Russia would build more such centres to make specialised medical help available to mothers and children living in remote regions. He said that a large federal perinatal centre would open in 2014 in Moscow.
23 June 2013
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On Wednesday, Minister of Labour and Social Protection (Mintrud) Maksim Topilin said that the birth rate in Russia grew 30 percent since 2007. In an interview with Ekho Moskvy, Topilin attributed the trend in part to the introduction of so-called “maternity capital” in 2007. He said, without giving exact figures, “During this period, the birth-rate increased by 30 percent. We attribute this growth to the introduction of maternity capital, amongst other things”. In a bid to encourage families to have more than one child, all women who gave birth to their second child after 1 January 2007 are eligible for a government-issued benefit of almost 409,000 roubles (12,456 USD. 13,246 CAD. 14,019 AUD. 9,055 Euros. 7,580 UK Pounds). The state doesn’t pay the benefit in cash, but parents can spend the money to improve their housing conditions, pay for their children’s education, or put the money towards a pension.
20 June 2013
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On Friday, Health Minister Veronika Skvortsova said that the birth-rate in Russia grew by 5.6 percent year-on-year in 2012, saying, “In 2012, the birth-rate increased by 5.6 percent… from 12.6 to 13.3 births per 1,000 people”. She added that the number of abortions fell by 5.5 percent, or by 53,900, due to state measures to support pregnant women living in difficult circumstances. Skvortsova noted that advanced assisted reproductive technologies aided the births of about 3,000 babies.
25 May 2013
RIA-Novosti
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130623/181821034/Putin-Pledges-to-Support-Perinatal-Medicine.html
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130620/181763462/Russias-Birth-Rate-up-30-Since-2007—Minister.html
http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130525/181336561/Russias-Birth-Rate-up-56-in-2012—Health-Minister.html