• European Parliament calls on EU to intensify sanctions against Russia over repressions in Crimea

    The European Parliament (EP) has called on the European Union (EU) to expand the list of economic and personal sanctions against Russia and those involved in the persecution of the Crimean Tatars, as well as other Ukrainian hostages of the Kremlin.

    The corresponding item is included in drafts of five registered resolutions of the legislative body of the EU concerning the cases of Crimean Tatar leaders Akhtem Chiygoz, Ilmi Umerov and journalist Mykola Semena, Ukrinform reports.

    "The European …

  • Russian Ministry of Defense reports death of 12 Al-Nusra Front commanders in Syria

    In Syria, twelve field commanders of the Al-Nusra Front terrorist group have been killed, as reported by Interfax news agency, referring to a statement of the Russian Defense Ministry.

    According to the Ministry, the commanders were killed during a Russian air strike.

    One of the leaders of the group, Abu Mohammad al-Julani was seriously injured and is in critical condition. He lost his hand, said Igor Konashenkov, an official representative of the Defense Ministry, citing information from …

  • Putin says he knew about the existence of nuclear bomb in North Korea for a long time

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Kim Jong-Il had already told him about the North Korean nuclear bomb in early 2000, and that the situation had not changed in the ten-year existence of the country under Western sanctions, TASS news agency reported.

    "In 2001, when I was on my way to pay a visit to Japan, I made a stop in North Korea, where I had a meeting with the father of the country’s current leader. It was back then when he told me that they had a nuclear bomb. Moreover, (the …

  • Media: FSB tells family of Russian prisoner captured by ISIS in Syria not to cause stir

    FSB staff have forced the parents of the Russian soldier Gregory Tsurkanu, who was captured in Syria, not to “cause a stir”, Tsurkanu’s parents told Radio Liberty.

    The ISIS-controlled news agency Amaq released a video depicting two allegedly captured Russian citizens. One of them was Roman Zabolotny, the other was Grigory Tsurkanu.

    Tsurkanu supposedly fought in Syria as part of Russia’s private company Wagner Group, his brother Roman told Radio Liberty. He noted that Tsurkanu left for Syria …

  • Turkish Foreign Minister: Russian and Syrian airstrikes on Idlib should not be ignored

    Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, commenting on the situation in Syria and Idlib, said that it is necessary to ensure the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic, and one should not turn a blind eye to the airstrikes carried out by Syrian and Russian aircraft, reported Anadolu news agency.

    According to him, Idlib is a key region in terms of preventing armed conflicts in Syria. The minister also mentioned that during the Inter-Syrian talks in Astana, the decision was made to …