• Erdogan accuses Assad of sabotaging the Russian-Turkish agreement

    In a conversation over the phone, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the escalating tensions in the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria. During the call, Erdogan stressed that countering terrorism cannot justify attacks on civilians, schools and hospitals, said Fahrettin Altun, director of the Turkish presidential administration’s communication department.

    Erdogan also expressed concern that ceasefire violations in the de-escalation zone …

  • Pompeo threatens Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov with new sanctions

    US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who for the first time traveled in this capacity to Sochi to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin, did not come empty-handed.

    After publicly announcing his desire to “improve relations with Russia”, “find common ground” and reach an agreement on Venezuela, Pompeo threatened the Russian leaders with new sanctions.

    A new sanction bill was put forward in the US House of Representatives on 10 May, only two days after …

  • U.S. Secretary of State urges Russia to release Ukrainian sailors

    Washington hopes that Moscow will be able to negotiate with the new government in Ukraine and release Ukrainian sailors who were detained in the Kerch Strait, stated U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sochi, Interfax reports.

    "We want Russia to reach out to the new Ukrainian government to find a way out of this situation. We also urge the Russian government to release the representatives of the crew that were captured in the Kerch …

  • Putin and Pompeo met for an hour and a half

    The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which took place on Tuesday, May 14, in Sochi, lasted 1.5 hours as reported by Interfax.

    Presidential Aide for International Affairs Yury Ushakov and Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation Sergey Naryshkin represented Russia at the meeting. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman, Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey and Acting Deputy Secretary of State Philip Reeker …

  • Putin demands breakthrough defense technologies following US withdrawal from INF Treaty

    On Monday 13 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin opened a new series of meetings on the defense industry. During his opening address, he stressed the need to develop new weapons systems based on “breakthrough technologies”, RBC reports.

    “We must take into account the change in the military and political situation in the world, which is negatively affecting regional and global security. I’m referring primarily, of course, to the US’s withdrawal from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) …