Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatyana Moskalkova that he will "talk" with the Prosecutor General and the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs about verifying the reports on the persecution of gays in Chechnya, as reported by Meduza web site

"Of course, I will talk with the Prosecutor General and the Minister of the Interior, so that they will provide you with assistance regarding the issue that you have raised, regarding known …

A Russian government aircraft, allegedly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on board, violated Estonia's airspace, as reported by Postimees, citing the Estonian Defense Forces.

The IL-96 aircraft is owned by the state-run aviation enterprise, Rossiya, which is subordinate to the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. The plane violated Estonian airspace on the evening of May 3rd near the island of Vaindloo.

According to Estonian Defense Forces, the aircraft flew with the …

The flights of the coalition aircraft in the zones of de-escalation in Syria will not be permitted, as the guarantor countries (Russia, Turkey and Iran) will closely monitor all activities in those areas, said Alexander Lavrentyev, the Russian President's special envoy and Russian Chief Negotiator on Syria in Astana.

"Aviation in the de-escalation zones, especially by the forces of the international coalition, is absolutely not envisaged - neither with notification nor without notification. …

The Chairman of the International Committee of the Russian Duma, Leonid Slutsky, has stated that Moscow would not allow Washington to control Russian ports.

According to Interfax news agency, the senator called the bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on strengthening trade sanctions against North Korea , which stipulates a demand for control of Russian ports in the Far East, “outrageous”.

He called the document a violation of the principles of international law, and a gross …

Beginning May 1, Russian military aircraft have ceased military flights in the de-escalation zones in Syria in accordance with the memorandum, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sergei Rudskoy told reporters.

"From 00:00 on May 1, the use of the Russian Air Force aircraft in the areas corresponding to the de-escalation zones defined by the memorandum was terminated," he said.

The memorandum envisages the creation of …

Author: Dmytro Snegiryov, Head of Prava Sprava public initiative.

On 25 April, 2017, the power supply from the part of the Luhansk region controlled by the Ukrainian government to the uncontrolled part of the region was suspended.

Electricity was halted in accordance with the demands of the Energorynok State Enterprise following "The order of the implementation of measures for partial or complete cessation of power supply through its metering points" approved by the Ministry of Energy and …

Ukraine and Russia can be excluded from participating in the Eurovision Song Contest for three years for violating the rules of the contest. This was stated by the Chairman of the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group and the event’s steering committee, Frank-Dieter Freiling in the commentary for the German ZDF.

According to him, Ukraine violated the rules of the contest by not allowing a participant from Russia, Yuliya Samoylova into the country. "From the Ukrainian point of view, the legal …

Elena Kopnina, charge d’affairs of the Russian Embassy in Chișinău, was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry in connection with the intention of military divisions of the operative group of Russian forces stationed in Transnistria to take part in the events on May 9.

This was announced by the press-service of the Moldovan foreign policy department.

“The representative of the ministry of foreign affairs and European integration expressed their concern in connection with the intention of …