Russian President Vladimir Putin is not against the United States of America joining the Normandy format of talks on settling the conflict in the Donbas along with Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia, he stated at a press conference.

"The United States, in fact, is a full-fledged participant in the settlement process, regardless of whether it is within the framework of the Normandy format or not, the US is still very deeply involved and aware of events taking place there. Should they formally …

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sent the names of 300 Russian athletes suspected of doping to the international sports federations, Deutsche Welle reports.

On Thursday, December 14th, the sports British edition, Inside the Games, reported that the names of 300 athletes, including the representatives of both summer and winter sports and those who want to participate in the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, had been selected from a list of 10,000 names available to informant Grigory Rodchenkov. …

The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized US and Canadian authorities for supplying weapons to Ukraine, and has urged them to think about "personal responsibility".

"Washington and Ottawa keep on distorting facts and accusing the Donbas militias of shelling actually conducted by Ukrainian troops... The feeling is growing that these attempts to shift responsibility are not accidental. Washington and Ottawa appear to be seeking a pretext to begin large-scale supplies of lethal weapons to …

A Moscow Arbitration Court refused to rule in favor of the claim of the German company Siemens against LLC Tekhnopromexport and JSC Tekhnopromexport (structures of Rostec) for the illegal transport of turbines to the annexed Crimea, reported Interfax.

The court also denied Technopromexport’s counterclaim against Siemens.

Siemens accuses the two Tekhnopromexport companies of illegally moving four turbines to the Crimea, which were supplied for the construction of power plants in Taman. …

During a press conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that U.S. authorities put Russia on par with North Korea and Iran.

“We try to work constructively with everyone, not to take offense, not to pout. As for North Korea, our position is known; we do not recognize the status of North Korea as a nuclear power,” Putin said.

According to him, at the same time, the U.S. “is asking us to solve the problems of North Korea and Iran’s nuclear program.” “You guys are interesting. It just …

Russia is concealing key witnesses, and is not giving Poland the wreckage of the Polish government’s Tu-154M, thereby preventing progress in establishing the truth about the circumstances of the Smolensk aviation catastrophe, and causing Warsaw to wonder about Russia’s real intentions.

A statement to this effect was made by Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Bartosz Cichocki when commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that there was no explosion on board President Lech Kaczyń …

At a press conference, on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukrainian nationalists would carry out a massacre “worse than in Srebrenica” if the DPR and LPR militia laid down their arms.

“There is no Russian army in the Donbas. But there are certainly established military militia groups that are self-sufficient and ready to repel any large-scale military actions against the Donbas. We believe that this is in the interests of the people who live in this territory. Because if …

President Petro Poroshenko announced that the EU has decided to extend the economic sanctions against Russia.

“It is an important political decision by the leaders of the EU to continue the economic sanctions against Russia for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine and being unwilling to stop the hybrid aggression against our country. It is a suitable response to Moscow for not meeting her obligations and a clear call for changes in the Kremlin’s policy,” Poroshenko wrote on Facebook. …