Slovakia Asks EU to Cut Sanctions Against Russia

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Slovakia speaks against some sanctions against Russia, proposed by the European Union, according to the Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico. “We have addressed the EU, asking them to remove some clauses from the sanctions proposal. We want a number of products included in the list to be exempt from sanctions, so that we can continue exporting them to Russia,” Fico said during press conference after a special meeting dedicated to the discussion of new EU sanctions against Russia. The ministers, who took part in a meeting, spoke against proposed export ban on goods that can have both military and civilian use, aimed for Russian private companies. 

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Estonia's President Criticizes Switzerland for Lack of Sanctions Against Russia

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Estonia's President Toomas Hendrik Ilves criticized Swiss authorities for acting in their own interests and refusing to introduce sanctions against Russia, Sonntags Zeitung newspaper reported on Sunday.
"Switzerland must live with the criticism that it has only dispensed with its own sanctions to gain an advantage for its banking sector," Ilves told the paper.

The president did not specify whether Estonia, as part of the European Union would put pressure on Switzerland. He noted, however, that other countries that claimed to be neutral, such as Sweden and Ireland, ended up supporting the sanctions.
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UN Conclusions Disprove Claims Against Russia Over Ukrainian Crisis - Moscow

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The Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday that recent remarks by the top UN human rights official shed doubt on claims of Russia's direct involvement in escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told reporters in Geneva on Thursday that the United Nations did not possess any hard evidence that Russia supplied independence supporters in eastern Ukraine with weapons.

"We consider it [Pillay's statement] as yet another confirmation of the fact that all accusations against our country over its alleged role in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis are groundless and unwarranted," the ministry said in a statement.

Puppetry Canada reduces sanctions against Russia to secure its business interests

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Canada abandons some of the imposed sanctions against Russia to save its business interests, putting the US, who iniciated the sanctions over the Urkainian crisis, in an akward political situation. Thus, Canada has not imposed sanctions against Sergei Chemezov, who heads state-owned industrial and defense conglomerate Rostec, and Igor Sechin, CEO of oil giant Rosneft. Both men have highly-profitable business ties to Canada.

Canada, home to 1.2 million people of Ukrainian descent, has imposed sanctions on more than 80 Russian and Ukrainian officials and businesses, compared to about 60 by the United States.

If Crimea referendum takes place, sanctions against Russia to follow - US's Kerry

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If the Crimean referendum takes place there will be some sanctions and some response, US State Secretary John Kerry has said after the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the situation in Ukraine.

John Kerry said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will make no decision on Ukraine until after Sunday's referendum on the region of Crimea.