Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces Oleg Belokonev said in an interview with Nasha Niva newspaper that Minsk is negotiating with the North Atlantic Alliance on the format of joint military exercises.

At the same time, Belokonev stressed that NATO "must realize that Belarus is an ally of Russia."

"Belarus is ready for joint exercises with NATO. There are talks on possible formats. But we will agree on this if  NATO understands that Russia is our strategic ally," said …

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas sees no reason to lift the economic sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia. According to him, Moscow should make its contribution to end the war in the Donbas in order to improve Russian-European relations.

"People in Eastern Ukraine have been waiting for peace for too long. So far, there is no reason to oppose the policy of EU sanctions," wrote Maas on Twitter.

The easing of EU economic sanctions against Russia is not planned at the EU …

In the Arctic archipelago of Franz Josef Land, Russia is building a new military airbase where it will station fighter aircraft. The new infrastructure will be ready in 2020, which is extremely concerning to Denmark, TV2 Norge reports, citing Danish military intelligence.

According to Danish intelligence, Russia’s new airbase in Franz Josef Land will be the northern-most in the world, which will help Russia to strengthen its hold over the Arctic. Satellite images show that work is currently …

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said during the broadcast of the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on Russia-1 TV channel, that cooperation between Russia and NATO has not only stopped but is deteriorating every year.

Shoygu recalled that "about five years ago," Moscow had active cooperation with the military Alliance, and Russia had its representative in NATO. "And now it's all not only stopped but becomes worse every year," said Russian Defense Minister.

He explained that the US is …

Commander in chief of the Russian Northern Fleet, vice-admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, said in an interview with the newspaper of the Russian Defense Ministry Krasnaya Zvezda, that in the coming years anti-aircraft dome will be created over the Russian part of the Arctic. The project will be implemented after all military divisions in the region will receive the S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems.

"The Arctic will be protected from any means of enemy's air attack, including aircraft, cruise or …

During the Congress of the Serb People's Party, which is part of the ruling coalition in the country, Serbian Innovations Minister Nenad Popović said that Russia is the most significant ally and friend in defending Serbian national and state interests.

Popović noted that Moscow always, when it had the opportunity, helped and supported Belgrade, and if "because of its internal reasons," it could not help Serbia, it "never interfered with us." At the same time, the Minister spoke about his …

General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), supported by a number of countries, including Russia, is close to taking the city of Tripoli, UN Special Secretary for Libya Ghassan Salame told Corriere della Sera in an interview published on Sunday, December 8.

“Since the Russians joined Haftar’s forces, the offensive against Tripoli has intensified,” Salame observed.

Mohamed Siala, Foreign Minister of the Libyan Government of National Accord, has also mentioned the attack against …

Belarus and Russia have found ways to compensate for Belarus’s expenses that were caused by a Russian tax maneuver in the oil sector, said Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko on Sunday after a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi.

According to Semashko, the leaders have found ways to compensate part of Belarus’s losses arising from the tax maneuver – roughly $400 million per year, the amount that Minsk earned through favorable oil prices.

Semashko …