The Group of Seven is playing a “dangerous game” by making aggressive criticism of the Kremlin because it pushes Russia closer to China, Russia’s ambassador to London Andrei Kelin said on Thursday. G7 foreign ministers this month scolded both China and Russia, casting the Kremlin as malicious and Beijing as …
Read More »US and Russian foreign ministers to meet in Iceland in bid to ease friction
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are due to hold talks on Wednesday night ahead of a possible presidential summit in Junein an attempt to improve the dire relations between the former Cold War foes. The face-to-face talks on the sidelines of a gathering …
Read More »Russia moves to bar Navalny allies from parliamentary race
Russia’s parliament approved a bill on Tuesday that would bar members of “extremist” organizations from serving as lawmakers, a move that allies of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny say aims to stop them running in September’s parliamentary election. The bill, which the lower house of parliament approved in a first …
Read More »China resisting nuclear arms talks, US says
China is resisting bilateral talks with the United States on nuclear weapons, the US disarmament ambassador told a UN conference on Tuesday, as Washington seeks to advance efforts to reduce nuclear arms stockpiles. “Despite the PRC’s dramatic build-up of its nuclear arsenal, unfortunately, it continues to resist discussing nuclear risk …
Read More »Russia warns Western countries against claims in Arctic ahead of talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday warned Western countries against staking claims in the Arctic ahead of this week’s Arctic Council meeting in Reykjavik. The Arctic in recent years has become the site of geopolitical competition between the countries that form the Arctic Council (Russia, the United States, Canada, …
Read More »Russia ‘monitoring’ Royal Navy vessel in Black Sea
In a sign the crisis on Ukraine’s border with Russia has not fully abated, the Russian navy has reported it is closely monitoring a British Royal Navy vessel in the Black Sea. The Royal Navy’s HMS Trent patrol vessel reportedly entered Black Sea waters only today (May 16). According to …
Read More »US, Czech Republic included in Russia’s “unfriendly countries” list
Russia has included the United States and the Czech Republic in a list of countries that have been classified as “unfriendly,” according to a document published Friday on the country’s official legal information portal. “To approve the attached list of foreign states committing unfriendly actions against Russia, citizens of Russia …
Read More »Armenian PM Pashinyan asks Russia’s Putin for military support -Ifax
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for military support, the Interfax news agency reported, amid a renewed rise in tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan that last year exploded into a bloody conflict. Putin held a phone call late on Thursday with Pashinyan, during which …
Read More »Putin says Russia will respond to Ukraine’s ‘cleansing’ of political space
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia would respond to what he called Ukraine’s ‘cleansing’ of the political space, a day after a Ukrainian court placed a prominent pro-Russian politician under house arrest. The Ukrainian court put Viktor Medvedchuk, who promotes closer ties with Moscow, and says Putin is …
Read More »China shares Russia’s concern over US biological weapons
China has called on the United States to give a full clarification on its bio-military activities at home and abroad, which is a matter of concern shared by Russia and others. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that it was necessary for …
Read More »Several children killed in Russia school shooting
At least seven children and one teacher killed in attack in Kazan, Tatarstan’s capital city. At least seven children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at a Russian school in the southwestern city of Kazan, local officials said. Rustam Minnikhanov, governor of the Tatarstan republic, of which Kazan …
Read More »Russia celebrates WWII Victory Day with traditional grand military parade in Moscow
An annual military parade was held on Moscow’s iconic Red Square as Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. World War II is often called the Great Patriotic War in Russia, and May 9 is one of the country’s most revered holidays. More than 12,000 uniformed soldiers, …
Read More »Amnesty apologises to Alexei Navalny over ‘prisoner of conscience’ status
Amnesty International has apologised to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and reversed a decision to stop calling him a “prisoner of conscience”. The human rights organisation took the decision earlier this year after concerns were raised about past comments he made. In a statement, Amnesty called for Navalny’s “immediate and …
Read More »Turkish Military Patrol Hit by Blast in Syria’s Idlib
The Russian center for Syrian reconciliation said a Turkish military vehicle has been hit by an unidentified explosive device during a patrol on a highway in Syria’s Idlib. The device detonated near a Turkish convoy on the route of the patrol, the center said, adding that no Russian troops had …
Read More »Putin, Erdogan discuss conflicts in Libya, Syria in phone call – Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflicts in Libya and Syria with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in a telephone call on Monday, the Kremlin said in a statement. The Kremlin said the call’s main focus was on the crisis in Libya, highlighting the need to make real steps towards …
Read More »China welcomes Putin’s proposed summit on Iran
China welcomed on Monday to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s proposed summit of world leaders to avoid “confrontation” over a U.S. threat to trigger a return of all U.N. sanctions on Iran. The United States lost a bid on Friday to extend a U.N. arms embargo on Iran. Russia and China …
Read More »Trump eyes Putin meeting before November election – Report
U.S. officials have explored potential times and places for a Trump-Putin summit, including next month in New York, said people familiar with discussions. US President Donald Trump has told aides he’d like to hold an in-person meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the November election, according to four people …
Read More »Lukashenko under pressure as rival protests planned in Belarus capital
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko was under growing pressure on Sunday with rival protests due to converge on the capital a week after a contested presidential election that has thrown his country into turmoil. Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, has faced down a week of street demonstrations and refused demands …
Read More »Protests swell in Belarus, Lukashenko blames foreigners
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday he wanted to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning street protests were not just a threat to Belarus. Mass unrest followed Lukashenko’s re-election victory last week, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets accusing him of rigging the vote. …
Read More »Russia starts production of Covid-19 vaccine – Health Ministry
Production of the Russian vaccine for Covid-19 has been launched, the Health Ministry says. It was dubbed ‘Sputnik V’ after the world’s first artificial satellite launched by the USSR but its official name is ‘Gam-COVID-Vak’. The vaccine, which was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center, has two components that …
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