The Chairperson of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, promised journalists on Monday that Russia, without any doubt, will return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

“We will return, we need to. But who needs this more is another question, and not an easy one. The Council of Europe needs this no less, if not more than Russia. The dialogue continues as the Council of Europe understands clearly that we will not waiver,” TASS reported quoting …

The expansion of the Navy base in Syrian city of Tartus will require 3.2 billion rubles or $55 million annually, said the chairman of the Main Directorate for International Military Cooperation of the Defense Ministry Alexander Zinchenko, RIA Novosti reports. He outlined the required expenses at a meeting of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, where the question of ratifying the agreement with Damascus to expand this base was being considered.

As a result of the …

Moldovan leader Igor Dodon announced in an interview with Izvestia that there are two scenarios for the development of Moldova's relations with Russia.

"There are two scenarios for how to return to normal bilateral relations. The first scenario, and I very much hope that it will be possible to implement it, [would be] right after the New Year holidays ... We will try and do our best to resolve the problems right after the New Year. I spoke with the Prime Minister and Speaker of the Parliament …

Russia has begun establishing a permanent contingent in Syria’s Tartus and Hmeimim military bases, said Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu during a conference call on Tuesday.

“Last week, the supreme commander-in-chief [Putin] approved the structure and staff of the main bases in Tartus and Hmeimim. We have started establishing a permanent group there,” Shoygu stated.

According to Shoygu, 59.5% of Russian troops in Syria are equipped with modern weapons and the combat readiness of all the …

On Monday, December 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the activities of "some companies" in social networks to be monitored during the upcoming presidential elections. He also called for an assessment of the extent of their involvement in domestic politics.

He did not directly name any of the companies, nor did he differentiate any particular concerns between the activities of foreign or local firms. However, Putin’s call comes in the aftermath of accusations by the United States …

On Monday, December 25, the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the Russian Federation denied oppositionist Alexei Navalny’s registration as a presidential candidate in the 2018 elections. The meeting of a group of voters in support of Navalny’s self-nomination to the Russian presidential elections was within the law, said Central Electoral Commission head Ella Pamfilova; however, she said, Navalny cannot run due to undischarged previous convictions.

Commission member Boris Ebzeyev pointed …

The Kremlin declared that Moscow has made no decision concerning the supply of defensive weapons to the separatist-controlled territory of the eastern Ukraine following the US decision to supply Kyiv with such weapons.

"No decisions have been made regarding this," Russian President’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on December 25. According to him, the Kremlin has a negative attitude toward the US decision to supply Ukraine with Javelin anti-tank complexes.

On December 23, US State Department …

The first vice-speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, the President's representative in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on the issues of the Donbas, Iryna Herashchenko spoke with journalists on the night of December 25 after meeting with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

In answer to questions from the journalists of 112 Ukraine TV, she declared that currently, 170 citizens of Ukraine are being illegally detained in separatist-held Donbas. Ukrayinski Pravda published several details about the …