Contents tagged with Kremlin

  • Russian senator arrested on double murder charges

    During a plenary session of Russia’s Federation Council on Wednesday, Rauf Arashukov, the youngest senator in Russian history, was arrested on charges of organizing contract killings and other serious crimes.

    Law enforcement blocked the entrance to the hall and made the press leave, after which Prosecutor General Yury Chaika and Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee, entered the hall and read out the order to remove Arashukov’s parliamentary immunity.

    Arashukov attempted to …

  • Russian delegation arrives in Israel to discuss Syrian-Iranian issue

    A delegation from Moscow headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin and Russian President's Special Envoy Alexander Lavrentiev arrived in Israel.

    They were received at the Israeli Foreign Ministry by the General Director of the diplomatic department Yuval Rotem. The Kremlin envoys are expected to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Defense Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Israeli sources, the parties will discuss "Syrian issues”.

    As reported on the …

  • Kremlin denies sending Russian military to protect Maduro

    The Russian Press Secretary for the President Dmitry Peskov stated on the “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” television program that Russians were not sent to Venezuela to protect the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.

    He responded, “of course not,” to the corresponding question from a journalist, as quoted by Interfax quote.

    When the host of the program reminded that media is reporting more than 400 militants in Russia, sent to protect Maduro, Peskov said: “fear has a vivid imagination.”

    Earlier, …

  • Kremlin confirms that Russian private security companies operate in Sudan

    There are Russian private security companies independent of the Russian government that are active in Sudan, admitted Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova in a press conference on Wednesday.

    Zakharova complained that the western media are still heavily engaged in an anti-Russian campaign based on what she calls “misinformation”, referring specifically to an article in the Times which reported that Russian mercenaries had been involved in suppressing protests in Sudan. The …

  • Russia begins revision of Union treaty with Belarus

    Moscow has started to revise its treaty from 1999 which established the Union State with Belarus. The work is being done as part of the bilateral integration work group, said Russian Ambassador to Belarus Mikhail Babich on 23 January, as reported by Interfax.

    “The Russian part of the group has started working. They are currently making an inventory of all the terms of the union treaty according to the blocks: economic, social, on the state governance organs, on matters of security and military …

  • Chechnya’s gas debts baffle Kremlin

    Russia’s senior leaders are still unsure how to respond publicly to the incident in Chechnya where the Grozny District Court ruled to write off the population’s gas debts to the amount of 9 billion rubles, provoking a wave of similar proposals in at least seven other regions, reports finanz.ru.

    This is a “very complex matter” and the Kremlin “has not taken a stance”, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said during a press conference on Monday.

    “In this case, the commodity has been supplied to …

  • Kremlin prepares to block Twitter and Facebook

    Roskomnadzor, the Russian federal executive body responsible for media and telecommunication censorship, has begun an administrative procedure against Facebook and Twitter, which do not abide by Russia’s law on personal data.

    The social networks, which are legally obligated to store users’ personal data in Russia, have not proposed any specific plans or deadlines to localize this information, Roskomnadzor director Alexander Zharov told Interfax.

    According to him, the companies have one month, …

  • The Kremlin accuses Japan for complicating the Kuril Islands negotiations

    Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov commented on the statement made by Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe on before the talks with Vladimir Putin. According to RIA Novosti news agency, it is the speech in which the Prime Minister spoke about the fate of the residents of the Kuril Islands after their transition to Japanese jurisdiction. “They have complicated the negotiation process, that's for sure,” stated Ushakov on Russia TV. 

    A few days ago, the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry drew …

  • Putin promises Vucic $1.4 billion to help extend TurkStream pipeline through Serbia

    Russia is ready to invest $1.4 billion into Serbia’s economy in order to construct the TurkStream gas pipeline through the country, RBC news agency reports. 

    “We are ready to invest the necessary resources, which are approximately $ 1.4 billion,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference with his Serbian colleague, Aleksandar Vucic. Putin added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has supported the idea to extend the pipeline to Europe. 

    Earlier, in an interview with …

  • Kremlin: Russia showing 'goodwill' by discussing Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with US

    Russia is demonstrating “goodwill” by going to the negotiating table with the US on the missile issue, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov ahead of the consultations with the US in Geneva, TASS reports. 

    The deputy foreign minister stated that Russia is “by no means more interested than the US” in furthering the dialog. “Under conditions in which they have tried and continue to issue all kinds of ultimatums, preconditions and demands, we are demonstrating significant goodwill. …