Before the end of April, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to sign a contract to build the first two Russian amphibious assault ships, a source in the defense industry complex told the TASS news agency.

“We expect that, by the end of April, the military department will sign a contract for the construction of two amphibious assault ships, which will be built at the Zalyv Shipbuilding Yard in Crimea,” the source said. He added that “a technical design for these ships has been developed in …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Syria no later than March 5, Anadolu agency reports, citing Erdogan.

"We agreed to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at worst on March 5," Erdogan said. According to him, the meeting can take place either in Istanbul or in Ankara. The presidents will continue to discuss the road map on Syria's Idlib.

In addition, Erdogan said that on February 26, a Russian delegation …

Andrey Zakharov, a journalist for the Russian newspaper Izvestia, was denied entry to Latvia and, at Estonia’s request, his three year Schengen visa was also canceled, Izvestia reports.

Zakharov had flown to Riga as part of a film crew on the morning of February 24. However, the Latvian border authorities denied him entry.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said previously that, in recent times, Russian journalists are being subjected with increasing frequency to lengthy checks by police and …

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has summoned Serbian Ambassador Aca Jovanovic in connection with the placement of the name and symbols of the so-called (Russian) Republic of Crimea at Russia’s stand at the International Tourism Fair in Belgrade.

The Ukrainian foreign policy department expressed its profound concern to the ambassador, the ministry noted in a press release.

“The Serbian ambassador’s attention was drawn to the inadmissibility of the Russian Federation’s attempts to legitimize in …

A Turkish army checkpoint was attacked near the village of Kansafra in the southern province of Idlib. Syrian news agency SANA reported, citing The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), that the strike was carried out by the Russian and Syrian air forces.

According to the SOHR, ten people were killed and wounded in the attack and severalTurkish vehicles were destroyed. Russian news agency RIA Novosti reports, citing their source, about 13 dead servicemen.

According to Syrian media, the …

Two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group were killed in an overnight Israeli air strike in Damascus, the group itself said on Monday.

Israeli fighter jets carried out air strikes on suspected Islamic Jihad positions in Syria shortly before midnight on Sunday after clashes between the militant group and Israeli forces in Gaza earlier in the day.

The strikes on the outskirts of Damascus targeted the "Islamic Jihad activity center in Syria," as the Israeli military described it. The …

Poland has decided to consider the possibility of purchasing US-produced M1 Abrams tanks. Among other things, the country will need to determine the extent to which these tanks would improve the army’s capabilities in view of the current threats. Poland’s political elite still consider Russia the primary threat to the country.

Starting next year, Poland will commence with a 15-year program to upgrade the army and navy. As part of the program, the Polish command intends to replace the army’s “ …

Lenta, Russia’s third biggest retailer by profit, with a network of 249 hypermarkets in more than 130 Russian cities, has received permission from the Cypriot authorities to use Cyprus as its jurisdiction, and has changed its official name to Lenta PLC, the company announced.

“Today the Department of Registrar of Companies and Official Receiver (DRCOR) has issued the company a certificate of temporary registration in Cyprus. As a result of the company’s transition to another jurisdiction …