"Russia has pulled out of a forum for discussing conventional arms control in Europe, closing another channel of communication with the west on security issues," the Financial Times reports. It shows that Russia no longer feels bound to the "longstanding security architecture on the continent," the article reads. The treaty in the focus is the CFE treaty signed in 1990 by 16 members of Nato and six members of the Warsaw Pact. In 2007 Moscow suspended its participation in the treaty. The Joint Consultative Group was the only forum that Russia continued attending. Starting from March 11 Russia is suspending its participation in the group.
"Volunteer Ukrainian unit includes Nazis," USA Today writes. "A volunteer brigade with self-proclaimed Nazis fighting alongside government troops against Russian-backed separatists is proving to be a mixed blessing to its cause," the article reads. USA Today interviewed a drill sergeant in Eastern Ukraine wearing a patch depicting an ancient Norse symbol appropriated by neo-Nazis who said that "when the war ends, his comrades will march on the capital, Kiev, to oust a government they consider corrupt." He also told a USA Today journalist that half of the people in his battalion were neo-Nazis.
"Obama Said to Resist Growing Pressure From All Sides to Arm Ukraine," the New York Times reports. According to the article, US President Barack Obama remains unconvinced that sending arms to Ukraine is a good idea. "He has told aides and visitors that arming the Ukrainians would encourage the notion that they could actually defeat the far more powerful Russians, and so it would potentially draw a more forceful response from Moscow. He also wants to give a shaky cease-fire a chance to take hold, despite a reported 1,000 violations so far, and seems determined to stay aligned with European allies that oppose arms for Ukraine," the article reads.
"US secretary of state John Kerry angrily condemned and refuted Republicans’ open letter to Iran on Wednesday, expressing shock and rejecting many of its claims, including that a future Republican president would renege on a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program," the British newspaper the Guardian writes. "White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the letter’s “most profound impact” was to erode the trust of international partners and allies in the United States." He added that the actions of the Republicans threatened "generations of credibility" and that confidence in the United States as a reliable partner has been undermined. Some of the Republicans also questioned the usefulness of the letter. Nevertheless, 47 out of 54 signed the letter "designed to undermine nuclear program negotiations." "The minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif called the letter a “propaganda ploy” and derided Republicans for failing to understand international and US law," the article reads.
