• Putin: Russia is ready to extend Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty 'without any conditions'

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-3), reports Interfax.

    "Russia is ready to immediately, as soon as possible, by the end of this year, without any preconditions, extend the START Treaty so that there would be no further double or triple interpretation of our position. I say it officially," said Putin.

    The Russian President noted that the partners have not yet responded to Russia's proposals to extend the START-3 …

  • Russia expels Bulgarian diplomat amid spy scandal

    Russia is expelling a Bulgarian diplomat in response to the expulsion of a Russian diplomat, who was accused of spying, from Bulgaria. On December 5, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that Bulgarian Ambassador Atanas Krastin received a note stating that Russia declared Bulgarian diplomat persona non grata on a reciprocal basis, and he must leave the Russian Federation within 24 hours.

    The Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the employee of the Bulgarian Embassy in Moscow is expelled in …

  • Kyiv files lawsuit against pro-Russian militants for executing Ukrainian soldiers in Donbas

    The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine (GPU) has informed the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague about the summary execution of nine Ukrainian soldiers who were captured by Russian occupation forces during the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve.

    “The notice essentially consists of the facts of the extrajudicial executions of nine soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine by members of the pro-Russian organized group Cossack Union Don Army Region …

  • Russia to hold joint naval exercises with Iran

    The commander of the Iranian Navy Hossein Khanzadi called the date of joint military exercises with Russia and China, reports the Iranian Fars News Agency. "The upcoming exercises are called "Maritime Security Belt," and they will be held on December 27, 2019," said Khanzadi.

    As expected, naval military drills of the fleets of the three countries will be held in the Indian Ocean. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the military exercises "will not be directed …

  • Putin calls Ukraine’s gas transit terms unacceptable

    Ukraine has proposed economically unacceptable terms for gas transit, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference on Wednesday after meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Moscow, the Kremlin’s press service reports.

    “We are prepared to keep Ukrainian transit, we are currently conducting negotiations about it in Vienna. While’s it’s true that the terms offered to us by the Ukrainian transiters are possible, they’re still economically unacceptable. But I hope that it’ …

  • Zelensky claims he did not know US military aid for Ukraine was frozen when he spoke to Trump

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that when he spoke to US President Donald Trump on the phone, he was unaware that the US was blocking part of its military assistance. He also said that the Trump impeachment scandal is not influencing his work.

    “With all respect to our strategic partner, Ukraine is independent and we have higher priority problems,” he responded at a press conference after meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven.

    On December 3, citing former Ukrainian …

  • Putin accuses Bulgaria of sabotaging Turkish Stream project

    Bulgaria is deliberately delaying the extension of the Turkish Stream pipeline through its territory, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Wednesday.

    “Despite the numerous assurances and requests to the Russian side to supply our gas through Turkey to Bulgaria, we are seeing that the Bulgarian side, as sad and strange as it sounds, is deliberately prolonging the implementation of the project in its territory. I want to …

  • Unidentified warplanes attack Iranian military warehouse in Syria

    "Unidentified aircraft" conducted airstrikes on IRGC's (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) weapons warehouse near the city of Abu Kamal, Syria, near the Iraqi border, reports Al Arabia news agency.

    Iraqis and Syrians have accused Israel of the attack and have promised to take revenge. Unidentified aircraft regularly bomb this large military base near Abu Kamal, which is being built by the Iranians. The base is situated along the Iran-Syria main land route leading to Iraq.

    Iranians named this …

  • US denies visas to Russian Finance and Foreign Ministry officials

    Russia and the US are on the brink of another visa scandal. For the second time this year, a delegation of Russian officials was denied visas and was thus unable to fly to Washington, the Russian embassy to the US reported on Wednesday.

    On December 3, representatives of Russia’s Federal Treasury planned to attend a conference of the International Institute on Regulation of the Auditing Profession. However, they did not receive visas in time.

    Last week, the US Department of State also did not …

  • Germany expels Russian diplomats following murder in Berlin linked to Kremlin

    Germany has expelled two Russian embassy employees following the murder of the Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin, which Berlin suspects was orchestrated by the Russian government.

    Two Russian diplomats have been declared personae non gratae in accordance with article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, Interfax reported, citing a spokesperson of Germany’s Foreign Ministry. “This status becomes effective immediately,” the diplomat clarified. …