Major western banks have shown absolutely no interest in Russia’s alternative to the SWIFT payment system, which Russia created in 2016 after a sharp deterioration in its relations with the West, reports finanz.ru news outlet.

In the three years that the Bank of Russia’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS) has existed, only eight foreign entities have connected to it, said Alla Bakina, director of the Bank of Russia’s national payment system, on Wednesday.

Of these, only three …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club that some foreign partners tried to prevent the beginning of the Russian military operation in Syria.

"Some foreign partners, with whom we work in the international arena, tried to interfere, and to impede[the operations of the Russian Armed Forces]," said Putin.

The Russian President recalled that the decision to start the operation was made in 2015 and was discussed at the session of the Valdai Club. …

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia has been helping China to create a missile strike warning system,reports RBC news agency.

“Perhaps I won’t reveal to you the big secret, but it will still become clear. We are currently helping our Chinese partners to create a missile strike warning system. It’s a very serious thing, which will fundamentally enhance China’s defensive capability. Because at present, only the US and Russia have such a system,” the president said during a session …