Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed a decree which once again authorizes the Aerospace Forces to shoot down civilian aircraft that violate the country’s airspace.

The ban on using lethal force against passenger planes was introduced after the international scandal of 1983, when the Soviet Union Air Force shot down a South Korean Boeing 747 with 269 people on board.

In post-Soviet Russia, this ban has been enshrined in a government decree from 1994 titled “On the manner of …

The Kremlin’s press service said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the situation in Syria's Idlib province, despite the Turkish leader's claims that such a meeting is likely.

Turkey's president said earlier that he is likely to meet Putin in Istanbul for talks on Idlib next week.

"At the moment, there is no such a meeting in President Putin's schedule for March 5. President Putin has other working …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that a new summit in the Normandy Format can only take place after the decisions made at the previous summit have been implemented, especially the enshrinement of the “special status of the Donbas” in Ukrainian law, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

“I have not heard about a meeting of ministers in the Normandy Format being planned for one month’s time. Our colleagues are saying that another Normandy Format summit should be scheduled for as early as …