• 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 …

  • 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 …