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the attack, which occurred while President Vladimir Putin was visiting Russia’s second biggest city and his hometown.
The US administration will not grant ExxonMobil a waiver from US sanctions on Russia , Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on April 21. The oil company’s request would have allowed it to resume drilling projects in Russia with Kremlin-controlled oil major Rosneft. ExxonMobil renewed its efforts to have the projects approved shortly after its former CEO Rex Tillerson became US secretary of state in February.
Russia became the third highest defence spender worldwide, according to a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Russia hiked spending by 5.9% in 2016 to $69.2bn, pushing Saudi Arabia, which made a substantial decline in spending, into fourth place. Russia is now behind only the US ($611bn) and China ($215bn). Total spending in Central Europe grew by 2.4% in 2016, although this was a more modest rise than the 2.6% recorded in Western Europe, led by an 11% increase in Italy. Data from individual countries in the region - from the Baltic states in the north to Bulgaria and Romania in the south - showed an upturn in spending in the last one to five years. Poland plans to increase defence spending to 2.2% of GDP in 2020 and 2.5% by 2030, according to a draft bill published on April 21. Warsaw is also reportedly eyeing a number of large military purchases, including the US-made Patriot missile system. Romania too plans to buy Patriot missiles, along with other defence purchases. Elsewhere in the region, the Czech Republic is reportedly planning to buy 12 multi-role helicopters from US aircraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter.
16 RUSSIA Country Report April 2017 www.intellinews.com