• Russia plans to convert Khmeimim airbase in Syria into a full-fledged military base

    Russia’s First Deputy Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee in the Federation Council, Franz Klintsevich, said during an interview with Izvestiya that Russia plans to convert the Khmeimim airbase in Syria into a full-fledged military base.

    Klintsevich explained that the legal status of the base is currently being determined. "After agreeing on the legal status of Khmeimim, it will be a base for the Russian armed forces, and proper infrastructure will be built,” the senior Russian …

  • US State Department: We do not want to be distracted from Russia's annexation of the Crimea and aggression in eastern Ukraine

    Commenting on Russia’s accusation that Ukrainian military intelligence organized a terrorist attack in the Crimea, the US State Department said that it is currently requesting more detailed information, but it does not want to be distracted from the real problem of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and role in the war in eastern Ukraine.

    “We don’t want to be distracted from the real issue here, which is not only Russia’s occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, but their continued …

  • Putin accuses Ukraine of 'transitioning to terror' instead of seeking peace

    Commenting on Ukraine’s alleged involvement in a terrorist attack in the Crimea that was reportedly thwarted by the FSB, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he does not see the point of holding a meeting of the Normandy Four, Deutsche Welle reported.

    Putin accused Ukraine of "transitioning to terror" instead of dealing with conflict issues at the negotiating table.

    "There are losses from the Russian side, two soldiers were killed. We certainly will not ignore such things. I would like …

  • Linkevicius: Russia's accusations about Ukraine's involvement in terrorist plot in Crimea are 'bogus'

    Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius commented on the Federal Security Service's (FSB) statement about the alleged Ukrainian sabotage in Crimea. He called the Russian Federal Security Service’s statement a bogus accusation.

    “Aggressor accused the victim of an attack. Old KGB methods. False Russia's accusations towards Ukraine to justify future ‘retaliation’?” Linkevičius wrote on Twitter.

    On Wednesday, Russia claimed it had thwarted a terrorist attack in the Crimea, which was …

  • Trade turnover between Russia and China fell by 17 percent

    According to the report of China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC), the Russian-Chinese trade turnover decreased in July, 2016 by 15% in annual terms.

    The total amount of trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $5.67 billion, of which China's exports to Russia were valued at $3.3 billion while imports from Russia to China were pegged at $2.3 billion.

    These facts indicate that by the end of the first half of this year, total trade turnover declined by 0.9% relative to the …