On Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he plans to visit Russia early this year in order to reach a settlement on the contested Kuril Islands, TASS reported.

Speaking in the Yamaguchu Prefecture, Abe said, "Having the firm intention to settle [Kuril Islands] within this generation, we hope [to apply] every effort for negotiations.”

"For that, early this year I want to visit Russia,” Abe added.

The dispute over the four Kuril Islands, which Tokyo considers its “northern …

For three consecutive days, Gazprom has been reaching new records in volumes of gas transported through the Nord Stream pipeline, at a level of 165.5 million cubic meters per day, according to a statement from the company, Prime.ru reports.

"Under the conditions of an increased demand for gas in Europe, Gazprom, for three consecutive days – January 4, 5 and 6, has been reaching new record volumes of gas sent through the Nord Stream pipeline, at 165.2 million cubic meters per day," the …

The First Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, Franz Klintsevich, stated that the United States, by sending US forces and military equipment to Europe, are transforming Europe into a powder keg, Interfax reported.

On Saturday, Klintsevich said that, “the softest adjectives that come to mind characterizing this step are the words provocative, brash and demonstrative. The US and NATO deliberately run up against a tough response from our side. It is no …

The administration of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has hired the BGR Group to lobby on behalf of Kyiv’s interests in Washington, Deutsche Welle reported, citing information from the Foreign Agent Registration Unit (FARA) of the US Department of Justice.

The BGR Group was founded by Haley Barbour, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and Governor of Mississippi.

According to federal law, all individuals and firms that carry out foreign governments orders should report …

A Russian trace in December’s cyber-attack against the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was discovered by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Following the attack, OSCE representatives admitted that it is possible for hackers to have gained access to the organization’s secret documents.

Experts hired by the OSCE blamed the attack on the hacker groups ART 28 and ART 29. ART 28 is also known as Fancy Bear and the ART 29 as Cozy Bear. It is …

In 2017, Russia is expected to export arms and military equipment worth about $14 billion, Interfax reported.Last fall, Alexander Fomin, the head of the Federal Service for Russia’s Military-Technical Cooperation (FS MTC), reported that the expected weapon exports for 2017 are worth $14 billion. At the Army-2016 forum, when answering questions about military equipment, Fomin said that Russia had sold arms and military equipment to the tune of about $14 billion and "approximately the same …

 The head of the of State Security Department (SSD) of Ukraine, Valeriy Heletey, stated that there were no attempts made on the ex-President’s life.

"The investigation concluded that there was no evidence of attempts on the ex-President’s life,” Heletey said in an interview with Segodnya.

"All the servicemen from the State Security Department who were part of Yanukovych’s last cortege and refused to leave Ukraine with him, were interviewed; none of them identified any attempts,” he said.

At …

According to the Chief of Missile Forces and Artillery of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Matveyevsky, Russia plans to double the combat capabilities of the Russian Ground Forces’ Missile Troops and Artillery (MT & A) by 2021, RIA Novosti reported.

Matveyevsky also said that "as part of the Land Force’s MT & A upgrade, it is planned to have three types of highly mobile brigades, equipped with advanced and modern weapons, military and special equipment rocket, rocket …