NATO has rejected accusations by the German edition Der Spiegel on the inability of the Alliance forces to rapidly deploy or bring in reinforcements across Europe. NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said that "NATO forces are now more ready and capable of deployment than they have ever been in the last decade".

 “We do not comment on alleged leaks. NATO is the strongest alliance in the world because it's been able to adapt for almost 70 years," Lungescu said.

The media representative for the …

Russia is considering options for the possible withdrawal of the US from the Iranian nuclear program agreement, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

He noted that although Washington did not officially announce the withdrawal from the agreement, "the essence of the demands put forward by President Donald Trump puts many things into question."

According to Interfax, Ryabkov said that the Russians are now holding consultations and "considering various options," especially at the …

Russia will lift its restrictions on the import of tomatoes from Turkey beginning November 1, as announced by the Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, who is also the Co-Chairman of the Russian-Turkish Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation.

"The decision has been prepared. The possibility of supplying 50,000 tons of tomatoes to the Russian Federation starting November 1 has already been agreed upon by our authorities," said Novak to the reporters, TASS quotes.

He …

On October 7, a meeting between the US Department of State's Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, and Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov took place in Belgrade. However, the details of the meeting had remained unknown- until now.

The publication LB.ua, citing sources in diplomatic circles, has reported that the meeting itself consisted of three elements. First, lunch; further, a tête-à-tête, which lasted more than an hour; and, finally, communication with members of their …

Three Russian warships were sighted near the Latvian border, the National Armed Forces of the Republic stated on Twitter.

"In the Latvian exclusive economic zone, 18 nautical miles from territorial waters, on October 21, the Navy identified the Bira-class supply ship Irgiz of the Russian Armed Forces," the statement says.

It also notes that 13 nautical miles from the territorial waters of the republic, a Russian Sura-class buoy tender Kilektor 1 was seen, and at six nautical miles, a Smolny- …

Lawyers from the Russian Sberbank cannot find a legal mechanism that would allow them to operate in the Crimea while avoiding related sanctions, stated Herman Gref, the bank’s CEO, during a lecture at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi, reports RIA Novosti.

"You can imagine what the price of such an issue is for Sberbank. It is a question of the entire financial system of the country, the competitiveness of the country as a whole. Therefore, the speculators who raise these …

At Turkey’s request, Cologne resident Kemal K., who has both German and Turkish citizenship, was arrested in Ukraine on an Interpol arrest warrant.

As reported by Deutsche Welle, it came out on October 17 that Kemal had been arrested already at the middle of this year at a request made by Turkey through Interpol. He is free to move about, but he cannot leave Ukrainian territory until a decision is made regarding his extradition to the Turkish authorities.

Residing in Germany since 2017, Kemal …

US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker will visit Ukraine next Friday, on October 27, Zerkalo Nedeli (the Mirror Weekly) reported with reference to a source in the Ukrainian government.

According to the source, Volker will meet with the Ukrainian authorities before meeting with Putin’s advisor, Vladislav Surkov. The date of Volker and Surkov’s meeting has not yet been determined.

While in Ukraine, Volker intends to take stock of the current situation.

Ukrainian Ambassador to the …