• Kremlin: relations between Manafort and oligarch Deripaska were of ‘commercial nature’

    The former head Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters, Paul Manafort, had connections with Russian businessman, Oleg Deripaska, however they were of an "exclusively commercial nature," said Russian Presidential Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, as reported by RIA Novosti. "They were not somehow connected with the Kremlin or with officials in Moscow. We even heard that Manafort and Deripaska had disputes that were resolved in court, but we in the Kremlin do not know any details, and President Putin …

  • Serbia files 45 cases against Serbs who fought in eastern Ukraine and Syria

    The Serbian Prosecutor’s Office filed 45 cases against mercenaries who fought in eastern Ukraine and Syria, reported the Serbian newspaper Politika, citing as a source Tatiana Sekulich, who works in the Belgrade prosecutor’s office.

    Last year the Prosecutor's Office filed charges against 24 persons, and rulings were made by the High Court of Belgrade in 28 other cases.

    According to media reports, several dozen Serbs are still in Ukraine and Syria. Under Serbian law, mercenaries and their …

  • Turkey completes the purchase of Russian S-400 anti-air missile systems

    Turkey has completed the procedure of purchasing S-400 anti-air missile systems from Russia, Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli announced, as reported by Anadolu.

    “The S-400 systems have been purchased. All that’s left to deal with are a few minor details,” the Minister noted.

    According to him, Turkey does not intend to stop there, but rather aims to develop its domestic capabilities.

    “Anti-air defense systems need to be developed in Turkey itself, by domestic enterprises,” he …

  • Russia blames 'inflexible Americans' for failure of Trump Putin meeting

    The presidents of the US and Russia did not have a formal meeting on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam due to a lack of flexibility on the part of Trump’s security protocol, as stated by Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, TASS reports.

    “We tried to coordinate a separate formal meeting, and this was done through protocol and other channels,” Peskov said, explaining why Putin and Trump had exchanged a few words while “on the move” instead of …

  • Dozens of civilians die in Assad attack on Abu Kamal

    Dozens of civilians were wounded and killed as a result of air and ground strikes carried out by the Syrian army and its allies, who have begun the offensive against the strategically important ISIS-captured city of Abu Kamal, on the border with Iraq, reported DW with reference to the London-based opposition organization Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

    As reported, on November 12 the Syrian state forces intensified the attack on Abu Kamal several hours after Islamic State militants had  …

  • ISIS recaptures strategic city of Abu Kamal from Syrian Army

    According to Iranian news agency Fars, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights as a source, troops loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s regime were forced to retreat from the city of Abu Kamal because of strong pressure from ISIS militants.

    The news agency indicates that fighting continues in the vicinity of Abu Kamal, where the government army and military groups from Hezbollah are attempting to organize a counteroffensive.

    The Russian media reported that Abu Kamal, which was considered the …

  • Crimean authorities are preparing to allow Chinese tourists to visit the peninsula without visas

    The Crimean Ministry of Resorts and Tourism reports on the preparation of a list of local tour operators which will be able to accept tourists from China as part of "visa-free travel regime”,  reported the Ministry’s press service.

    The Ministry noted that Crimean tour companies"willing to carry out activities on travel-related services and reception of Chinese tourists in 2018" have until December 15, 2017 to submit their applications.

    The Crimean Ministry of Resorts said that this is their …

  • Spanish Government: Catalan crisis was instigated by Russian hackers

    Russian hackers worked to exacerbate relations between Spain and Catalonia by spreading messages on social networks, as stated by two Ministers from the Spanish government, DW reports.

    Spain's Minister of Defense, María Dolores de Cospedal, noted that many messages on social networks on the topic of Catalonia came from the Russian segment of the Internet, however it is unknown whether the Russian government is involved.

    The presence of evidence of an intervention by hackers from "Russian …

  • Ukrainian MP: Severing diplomatic ties with Russia at this stage not beneficial for Ukraine

    In an interview with LB.ua, Head of the Verkohvna Rada Committee on matters of National Security and Defense Serhiy Pashynsky believes that breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia would not be beneficial for Ukraine at this stage. 

    “Such [an amendment to sever diplomatic ties with Russia] cannot be included. In order to do this, the law on the Cabinet of Ministers needs to be revoked. An executive organ can be created in the Verkhovna Rada. Do you know that we have masses of MPs who don’ …

  • Putin threatens the US with retaliation over pressure on RT and Sputnik

    The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, called actions by United States authorities against RT and Sputnik Russian TV-channels “an attack on freedom of speech” and threatened retaliatory measures from Moscow, at a press conference following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, RIA reports.

    “Without a freedom of speech there is no democracy. Clamping down on our mass media in the United States without any doubt is an attack on freedom of speech,” Putin said.

    Currently, members …