Contents tagged with Russia
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Media: Russia is trying to include China in the negotiations on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Russia has asked China to take part in negotiations on Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, reported Nikkei, citing sources familiar with the situation.
According to the news agency, the proposal was given in October, and “apparently, Beijing did not reject this idea.”
A source close to the Russian government told the agency that Russian president Vladimir Putin might have touched on the topic of inviting China to the negotiations in a short conversation with US President Donald Trump in …
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Lukashenko suspects that Kremlin is trying to incorporate Belarus into Russia
At a press conference with reporters in Minsk, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that it is important for him to maintain independence from other countries, BelTA reported.
Lukashenko noted that there are no absolutely independent states in the world. Russia itself, according to Lukashenko, is rather sovereign than independent.
“If they want to divide us into regions and incorporate into Russia, as the LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky suggested, it will never happen. And if the …
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Putin promises to get things straight with Cirque du Soleil in Moscow
Vladimir Putin has promised to investigate the opening of a new venue of the Canadian circus, Cirque du Soleil, in the Skolkovo Center in Moscow.
While speaking at a council session, Edgard Zapashny, director of the Great Moscow Circus, drew the president’s attention to the fact that a stationary venue of the Cirque du Soleil is to be opened in the Skolkovo Center in 2019. The artist considers this “unacceptable” because he fears it will negatively affect the Russian circus and Russian sport. …
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Four countries asked to exclude Russia from the Biathlon World Cup
During a meeting of the International Biathlon Union or IBU leadership in Hochfilzen, Austria, the Biathlon Federations of the Czech Republic, Canada, the USA and Sweden started talks on the possible temporary suspension of the Russian biathlon team, stated Russian Channel Match TV commentator Dmitry Guberniev. The talks came after a case initiated by the Austrian police on violation of anti-doping rules.
However, the Executive Committee of IBU decided not to exclude Russian biathletes from …
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Kremlin: creation of Kosovo army is a threat to stability in the region
The decision of the Kosovo’s Parliament to transform Security Forces of the partially recognized Republic into a fully-fledged army is a violation of the Resolution of the UN Security Council and can lead to armed conflict, stated the Russian Foreign Ministry.
“This step has become a blatant violation of Resolution 1224 of the UN Security Council aimed at a serious escalation of the situation in the Balkans, fraught with armed conflict in the region,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry. …
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Captain of ship captured by Russia tells investigators he is a prisoner of war
Bohdan Nebylytsya, captain of the Ukrainian armored boat the Nikopol, which was captured several weeks ago near the Kerch Strait, told Russia’s FSB that he considers himself a prisoner of war, reported attorney Mykola Polozov.
“As with the other sailors, Nebylytsya was investigated, we have been informed of several orders to set up expert assessments. They have also interrogated him. During the interrogation, he said that he is a prisoner of war,” Polozov noted.
“Emil Kurbedinov, the defense …
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Ukraine establishes autocephalous orthodox church
On Saturday, December 15, the Unifying Assembly of Ukrainian Orthodox Confessions, under the auspices of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, ruled to establish an autocephalous (independent) local Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU). The assembly also confirmed the church charter, and elected Metropolitan Epiphany, patriarchal vicar of the former Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC KP), as primate of the new church. Ukrainian religious scholars and political experts believe that this …
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Russia prepares to disconnect from the internet
Russian TASS news agency reports that the State Duma of the Russian Federation introduced a bill that, according to the authors of the document, will ensure proper operation of the Russian internet segment in case it is disconnected from the World Wide Web.
The group of deputies proposes in part to create a specialized infrastructure capable of replacing foreign root web servers with the further rerouting of the internet traffic.
The deputies claim that this bill will also reduce the amount …
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European Commission invites Russia and Ukraine to gas negotiations
Moscow and Kyiv have been invited to Brussels for trilateral negotiations on gas transit, Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič stated on Twitter. “I expect that commercial entities will also attend. It is important to build on the positive momentum created in July,” he added.
Earlier, Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak stated that the meeting of experts from Russia, the European Commission and Ukraine for trilateral negotiations on gas would take place by the end of …
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Lavrov claims that Russian agent Butina was tortured in the US
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the Russian spy Maria Butina, who was arrested in the US and later agreed to cooperate with the investigation, was subjected to “special methods of torture,” TASS reports.
“As far as I understand, the whole point of this deal with justice, which is a common practice in the US, is to bargain for an opportunity for freedom and to return home as soon as possible,” he said.
Lavrov said he “understands this woman,” because she “is in the most …