In an interview with the Russian media, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reported that the Russian military presence in Syria is long term and necessary for more than just carrying out the fight against terrorism, TASS reports.

He stated that Moscow and Damascus have reached an agreement on the status of the Khmeimim Air Base, which will be in effect “for another 40 years”.

“If the Russian Army came here solely for the purpose of combatting terrorism—then why would we sign an agreement to …

The nominal quantity of non-residents’ investments in Russian Federal Loan Bonds (OFZs) as at July 1 was 1.98 trillion rubles, the Central Bank of Russia reported. The total OFZ market at the time amounted to 7.03 trillion rubles. The non-resident investor share has thus dropped to 28.2%, the lowest in nearly one and a half years. The last time this indicator was below 30% was at the end of February 2017. Looking at the nominal volume, the amount invested by non-residents in Russian national …

At the Minsk contact group meeting in the Donbas, Ukraine’s representatives demanded the return of 85 rail wagons belonging to Ukrainian Railways that are currently being kept in Donetsk, as announced by the subgroup representative of Ukraine, First Deputy Chairwoman of the Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Herashchenko.

“In the economic group, the Ukrainians raised an issue of the Ukrainian property including the theft of 85 rail wagons belonging to the Ukrainian Railways, which were purchased using the …

The Italian government recognizes international law and supports the sanctions policy of the European Union, which is why it does not recognize Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, stated Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi during a parliamentary session, Ansa news agency reports.

“The government respects the rules of international law. Italy did not recognize regional authorities appointed in March 2014 following the EU sanctions,” Milanesi said in response to left wing MP Laura …

The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Kyiv has proposed that foreigners who attend events in Crimea should be prosecuted, reported the Ukrainian regulator’s press service, citing chief prosecutor Hyunduz Mamedov, who spoke about it on July 24 at a meeting of Crimea’s law enforcement agencies on the state of crime and the detection of crimes committed on the peninsula during the first half of this year.

Mamedov reiterated that he had previously emphasized the necessity …

Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation announced on Wednesday that Russia will have to implement its own military plan in case of Georgia’s membership in NATO and the deployment of NATO forces at the borders with Georgia.

In case of Georgia’s membership in the Alliance, “the normalization of Russia’s relations with Tbilisi, together with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, will not have any prospects,” said Kosachev at the meeting with journalists.

He …

An Israeli strike on July 25 in Syria has destroyed ISIS militants and missile launch sites, the Russian Defense Ministry told journalists Thursday.

According to authorities, at around 9:30 pm Moscow time a group of ISIS militants, “in an attempt to provoke an Israeli attack on Syrian army positions, drew artillery fire from the Israeli forces stationed near the population centers of Nafakh and Al-Shajara (Quneitra province)."

“A targeted counterattack by Israeli air forces and artillery …

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko expressed gratitude to the United States of America for decisive rejection of the Russian annexation of Crimea and called for foreign policy partners to support the "Crimean Declaration" by the USA.

"I welcome Washington's historic statement on the non-recognition of the attempt at annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea by the Russian aggressor. This is a worthy response to the Kremlin's hybrid provocations after Helsinki. I am sincerely grateful to the …