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Putin calls Erdogan ahead of Zelensky’s visit to Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in eastern Ukraine by phone, reported Putin’s press service.
During the telephone conversation, Putin outlined to Erdogan "Russian approaches to resolving the internal Ukrainian crisis." The Russian side stressed that it considers the Minsk "Complex of Measures", which was adopted in 2015, as an alternative basis for resolving the conflict.
Putin in his usual manner accused Ukraine of evading …
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American warships heading to Black Sea as Russia amasses troops on Ukrainian borders
The U.S., in accordance with the Montreux Convention, notified Turkey that two warships would pass through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles in the direction of the Black Sea.
RIA Novosti reports, citing a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry, that the American warships will enter the Black Sea in a week and will stay there until May 4.
A Pentagon source told CNN the day before that the U.S. plans to send a naval flotilla to Russian shores.
According to him, at the moment, the navy …
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Kremlin postpones indefinitely return of Russian ambassador to U.S.
The return to the United States of Russian Ambassador Anatoly Antonov, who was recalled on March 21 after a series of harsh statements by President Joe Biden, is postponed indefinitely.
“Antonov will not return to Washington in the near future,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told RIA Novosti.
The decision will be made "depending on what steps will be taken by Washington on the bilateral track," he explained.
"We expect that they will still be able to demonstrate a desire for …
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Kremlin rejects possibility of U.S. joining Donbas talks
U.S. policy towards Ukraine precludes this country from joining the "Normandy format" negotiations to resolve the situation in the Donbas, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, RIA Novosti reports.
"With the approaches that Washington demonstrates and applies, it has no business in the Normandy format," Ryabkov said, commenting on the words of Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Reznikov that Kyiv is interested in involving the United States and Poland in the negotiations. …
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Chinese banks say 'no' to Russian SWIFT alternative
While the Russian Foreign Ministry urges countries in Asia to abandon dollar and calls on China to say "no" to Western payment systems, the Russian SWIFT alternative, which was established five years ago, still can not attract a significant number of banks from China.
The Financial Messaging System of the Bank of Russia (FMS), which was established in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea and the collapse of relations with the West, was designed to ensure uninterrupted payments in the event of a …