Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order to expand the territory of the Russian naval base in the Syrian City of Tartus, the Kremlin announced in a statement on Friday.

"Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the signing of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic to expand the territory of the naval base of the Russian Federation in the area of the port of Tartus and also to allow the future visits of Russian military ships in the territorial sea, …

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the Syrian government’s victory in Aleppo, as stated by the Kremlin’s press service on Friday.

"This success was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of all those who rallied in the fight against international terrorism in Syria," the press release stated.

"Vladimir Putin emphasized that at the moment, the main task is to focus on issues relating to the promotion of the peaceful settlement, in particular, …

The US has imposed sanctions on ten senior managers of the Russian TempBank, including two Deputy Chairmen, the Chairman and four members of the Supervisory Board. The information was published on Friday, December 23th, on the web site of the U.S. Department of Treasury.

Sanction were also imposed on the top management of Technolab company, which is registered in Lebanon.

Washington also imposed restrictive measures on several Syrian government officials: the Minster of Finance, the Minister …