Moscow is preparing a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Sergey Lavrov, stated this in an interview with TV channel “Mir”.

"You see, both we and the Americans need the meeting, as I understand it, not in order to manufacture an external effect on somebody and say: "Well, what a sensation, they talked for so long, and finally it was held," explained the foreign minister.

He noted that due to the influence …

Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Walid Muallem ruled out the participation of the United Nations observers in the de-escalation zones established by Russia, Turkey and Iran, RIA Novosti reports.

"There will be no international forces under the auspices of the United Nations. Russia, as the guarantor country, explained that military police forces and monitoring centers will be established in those zones. The United Nations or any international forces will have no role in these zones", said …

President Petro Poroshenko said that as of June 11th, Ukrainians will be able to travel to the EU without visas, according to a message on the website of the Presidential Administration.

In his speech at Eurovision 2017, he noted the symbolism of the fact that during the competition in Ukraine, the EU Council will make a final decision on the visa-free regime.

"Remember this date - June 11th. As of this date, citizens of Ukraine will have the opportunity to travel without visas to the …

Two explosions occurred on the road leading to the Saur-Mogila memorial complex which is currently in the separatist-held territory in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s RIA news agency reports.

The incident allegedly occurred minutes before the convoy of the leader of Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, was to travel on the road.

No one was injured as a result of the explosions but the stretch of the road was closed.

A source close to the DPR military told the agency that the …

Mikhail Nenashev, the Chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support public initiative, stated that the maritime parade in St. Petersburg will take place, although fewer ships will take part in it.

He denied media reports that it was decided to cancel the parade on Victory Day in the northern capital because of the USS Carney cruiser, which approached the inland waters of the Russian Federation at a distance of a potential missile strike.

"The maritime parade in St. Petersburg will certainly take …

Latvia stated that three Russian ships approached its borders. This was reported by the country’s national armed forces on its Twitter account.

“In the waters of Latvia’s exclusive economic zone, four miles from its territorial waters, were three corvettes – the Liven 551, the Serpukhov 603 and the Morshansk 824,” the report said.

In April, the Latvian National Armed Forces announced that a Russian Kilo-class submarine had been identified near the Latvian border.

In January, Latvia also …

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has sent written congratulations to Emmanuel Macron on his victory in the presidential election in France.

"The choice of the French people is a clear testament to the triumph of Europe's progressive program of freedom over European nationalism," Poroshenko's press service quotes him as saying.

The Ukrainian president assured his future French counterpart that Ukraine would remain a reliable partner.

Poroshenko also expressed his special gratitude to …

Deputy Prosecutor General Evgeniy Enin stated on Ukrainian Media Network TV that during Victor Yanukovych’s presidency, he and his associates stole 40 billion USD from the country.

"According to our estimates, about 40 billion US dollars were stolen during Viktor Yanukovych's rule. In just 2.5 years they managed to get away with an amount equal to the state budget of Ukraine," Enin said.

According to investigators, Yanukovych’s criminal organization consisted of seven criminal groups which …