Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

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Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with German Chancellor Angela Merkel after a press conference following their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi on May 2, 2017.
Alexander NEMENOV / AFP

Chances of Rapprochement between Merkel and Putin

by Asharq Al-Awsat | May 3, 2017 | World

Sochi (Russia) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is currently on her first visit to Russia in two years. While she has firmly supported European sanctions on Moscow over the Crimea crisis and its role in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, Merkel is seen as a major...

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Flowers in memory of passengers and crew members of Russian military Tu-154, which crashed into the Black Sea on its way to Syria on Sunday, are placed at an embankment in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia, December 26, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

Russian Plane Crash: Second Black Box Retrieved

by Taha Abed alWahed | Dec 29, 2016 | World

Moscow – A team of experts began analyzing the second black box retrieved from the crash site of the Russian plane which crashed two minutes after its take off from Sochi. Russian authorities said on Thursday it would take at least 30 days to establish the cause of a...

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Dancers perform during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games February 7, 2014. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (RUSSIA – Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS)

Olympics: Russian Winter Games kick off with fairytale show

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Feb 8, 2014 | Sports

Sochi, Reuters—Russia’s Winter Games got off to a shaky start on Friday when one of the five Olympic rings failed, but ballet dancers, stirring music and huge mechanical props tracing the host nation’s history propelled the opening ceremony forward. Only...

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Flags from competing nations around the world fly at Olympic Park at the site of the 2014 Winter Olympics (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Bach: ‘I am still assured’ of security in Sochi

by Asharq Al-Awsat | Feb 4, 2014 | World

Sochi, AP—Heavy security and Russia’s anti-gay law should not detract from the Sochi Olympics, IOC President Thomas Bach said Monday. Bach also reiterated his defense of Russia’s massive spending on the Winter Games, saying the money is going to the...

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and Russian ice skaters Lina Fyodorova, left, and Maksim Miroshkin, second left, light an Olympic torch during a ceremony to mark the start of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic torch relay in Moscow on October 6, 2013. (Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin)

Opinion: Russia seeks a higher profile in Sochi

by Amir Taheri | Jan 31, 2014 | Opinion

As Russia prepares to host the 22nd Winter Olympics next week, the adage about not “mixing sports with politics” is making the rounds in the media. In reality, however, sport—as indeed other areas of human activity—is linked to and affected by politics. And the Sochi...