Following the election of billionaire Petro Poroshenko as President of Ukraine, diplomatic tensions seemed to be easing as Moscow agreed to recognize the vote; marking a turning point for the region’s crisis.
Poroshenko has indicated that he is willing to engage with Russia in order to end the turmoil in Eastern Ukraine, but that he plans to move forward on integrating Ukraine with Europe.
Following his remarks on Monday, pro-Russian separatists overtook an airport in the Donetsk region, causing Poroshenko to launch an airstrike against the rebel groups.
The fighting indicates that the region still has a long way to go before the conflict is settled, but there is some hope as diplomatic efforts seem to be making some headway.
In other news around the markets:
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the Wall Street Journal on Friday that Japan’s foreign policy will be assertive as he tries to rearrange the balance of power in Asia. Japan will try to increase its maritime aid for Vietnam to help the country stand its ground in its dispute over the ownership of parts of the South China Sea. Abe is also planning to maintain diplomatic relations with Russia despite President Vladimir Putin’s shaky relationship with the West.
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Pfizer has given up on its attempt to create the world’s largest pharmaceutical company and take over British drug maker AstraZeneca. On Monday, Pfizer CEO Ian Read said the company was planning to focus on internal growth and other potential deals, and that he was unsure of whether or not the two would resume negotiations in the future.
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European Parliamentary elections over the weekend showed a marked increase in votes for nationalist and anti-European parties, reflecting a growing dissatisfaction with what many see as a loss in sovereignty as immigration increases and job growth remains nearly non-existent. In France, the UK and Denmark, nationalist parties that strongly oppose the European Union’s fundamental policies claimed first place in the election.
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Tension between Vietnam and China continued to escalate on Tuesday as both nations accused the other of being responsible for a sunken Vietnamese finishing boat. The two nations are currently in the midst of a territorial dispute over a portion of the South China Sea, which has lead to several standoffs between boats from the two nations. However, up until Monday no ships had sunk.
Asian markets were down across the board with the exception of the NIKKEI, which gained 0.23 percent. The Shanghai composite was down 0.34 percent, the KOSPI lost 0.63 percent, the Shenzhen composite fell 0.27 percent and the Hang Seng index lost 0.08 percent.