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☆ Ukrainian Drone Struck Russian Nuclear Waste Facility, Ministry Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Ukrainian drone crashed into a nuclear waste storage facility at the Kursk nuclear power plant in western Russia on Thursday, damaging its walls, Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday. The ministry said in a statement that Kyiv must have known that its actions could have caused a full-scale nuclear catastrophe. Moscow said on Friday that it had thwarted the drone attack in the country's south, where two news outlets said an explosion had damaged the facade of a warehouse storing nuclear waste. (Reporting by Reuters; writing by Andrew Osborn; editing by Jason Neely)

Persons: Andrew Osborn, Jason Neely Organizations: Reuters Locations: MOSCOW, Ukrainian, Russia, Moscow

☆ In the ultimate irony, Russia's obsession with Ukraine may have weakened its power over its other neighbors
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference at the Commonwealth of Independent States' head of states meeting on Oct. 13, 2023, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. This pool photograph distributed by Russian state owned agency Sputnik shows Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov attending a welcoming ceremony prior to their talks in Bishkek on October 12, 2023. In fact, she said, Kyiv's resistance highlighted to Russia's neighbors and partners that "Russian power is a bubble with only a nuclear button in its center." Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the hall during Russian-Uzbek talks at the Grand Kremlin Palace on Oct. 6, 2023. So it's fair to say that if you do not control Ukraine, you do not control the post-Soviet space," he told CNBC.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, —, Georgia —, It's, Emmanuel Dunand, Sadyr Japarov, Sergei Karpukhin, Vladimir Putin's, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Vira Konstantinova, Vladimir Milov, Putin, Milov, Milov —, — Putin, Igor Semivolos, Ilham Aliyev Organizations: Commonwealth of Independent States, Getty, Afp, Azerbaijan, Sputnik, Kyrgyz, AFP, CNBC, Russian, West, Center for Middle East Studies, Anadolu Agency Locations: Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet Union, South Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Karabakh, Lachin, Nagorno, Kyiv, Transnistria, Moldova, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, USA, Turkey, Baku

☆ Russia, Iran strengthen ties in 'trusting' atmosphere -Russian foreign ministry
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a meeting in Tehran, Iran October 23, 2023. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsOct 24 (Reuters) - Russia and Iran are firming up bilateral relations in a 'trusting' atmosphere, Russia's foreign ministry said early on Tuesday after its chief, Sergei Lavrov, was received by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Tehran. "In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership," the foreign ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Lavrov, who went to Tehran shortly after an Asia trip to China and North Korea, discussed energy and logistics projects with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. Iran initially denied supplying the Shahed kamikaze drones to Russia but later said it had provided a small number before Moscow launched the war.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Ebrahim Raisi, Lavrov, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Lidia Kelly Organizations: Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Iranian, Kyiv, Moscow, United, Thomson Locations: Tehran, Iran, Russia, Asia, China, North Korea, Russian, South Caucasus, Nagorno, Karabakh, Ukraine, Moscow, United States, Melbourne

☆ American journalist detained and charged in Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Yuliya Talmazan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A U.S. journalist has been detained in Russia, her employer said, the second such case since the war in Ukraine started. RFE/RL said Kurmasheva, who is based in Prague, has been charged with failure to register as a foreign agent, a designation Russia requires of any organizations or individuals that it perceives as receiving foreign funding. The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, said RFE/RL, which is a U.S. government-funded media company. Kurmasheva was waiting for her passports to be returned when the new charge was announced on Wednesday, RFE/RL said. Gershkovich and his employer deny all charges against him and is considered "wrongfully detained" by the U.S. government.

Persons: Alsu, Kurmasheva, Evan Gershkovich, Gershkovich Organizations: Radio Free, Radio Liberty, RFE, Wednesday, Kremlin, Wall Street, Bashkir Service, NBC, NBC News, U.S, Protect Journalists, U.S . Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Radio Free Europe, Russian, Kazan, Prague, U.S, Bashkir, Moscow

☆ Russian Foreign Minister Thanks North Korea for Supporting Its War in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for supporting the country's war in Ukraine and pledged Moscow's "complete support and solidarity" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia's foreign ministry said. North Korean state media said Lavrov's visit will mark a "significant occasion" in further consolidating relations between the countries. Photos released by the Russian foreign ministry showed Lavrov greeted by people holding flowers and flags of the two countries upon arrival in North Korea. Lavrov's two-day visit comes a month after North Korean leader Kim made a rare trip to Russia, during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation. Russia's TASS news agency earlier said Lavrov may also brief North Koreans on the results of Putin's visit to China.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Moscow's, Kim Jong Un, Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Soo, hyang Choi, Jack Kim, Sandra Maler, Ed Davies Organizations: Russian, North, Russian Federation, Democratic People's, Russia's TASS Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Ukraine, Pyongyang, Moscow, Russian, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korean, Russia, Koreans, China

☆ Russian foreign minister thanks North Korea for supporting its war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov takes part in a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 18, 2023. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for supporting the country's war in Ukraine and pledged Moscow's "complete support and solidarity" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia's foreign ministry said. North Korean state media said Lavrov's visit will mark a "significant occasion" in further consolidating relations between the countries. Photos released by the Russian foreign ministry showed Lavrov greeted by people holding flowers and flags of the two countries upon arrival in North Korea. The White House last week said North Korea recently provided Russia with a shipment of weapons in what it called a troubling development.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Moscow's, Kim Jong Un, Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Soo, hyang Choi, Jack Kim, Sandra Maler, Ed Davies Organizations: Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, North, Russian Federation, Democratic People's, Russia's TASS, Thomson Locations: Pyongyang, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korean, Russia, Koreans, China

☆ Russia says strike on Gaza hospital is a shocking crime
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Children sit in the back of an ambulance at Shifa Hospital after hundreds of Palestinians were killed in a blast at Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza that Israeli and Palestinian officials blamed on each other in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Masri Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that a strike on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians was a shockingly dehumanising crime and said that Israel should provide satellite imagery if it was not involved. Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital while Israel blamed the blast at Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital on a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which denied responsibility. "We qualify such a felonious deed as a crime - as an act of dehumanisation," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Radio Sputnik. "Please be so kind as to provide satellite images, and it would be nice if American partners did it," Zakharova said.

Persons: Mohammed Al, Masri, Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Guy Faulconbridge Organizations: Shifa, REUTERS, Rights, Islamic, Foreign, Radio Sputnik, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Al, Ahli, Gaza, Gaza City, Israel, Israeli, United States

☆ Russia can gain from Middle East turmoil — but it could backfire if the war spirals out of control
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Putin likely wanted to show that Moscow is still important in the Middle East by visiting Iran, said John Drennan of the U.S. Institute of Peace. It could present an opportunity for them but also could present a very, very disastrous outcome for their influence in the Middle East too if the conflict spirals out of control," Ramani said. Analysts also believe Russia will use the war in Israel and Gaza to sow disinformation about Ukraine and discord among its allies. As such, the war between Israel and Hamas also provides Russia with an opportunity to flex its diplomatic muscles in the Middle East, after something of a hiatus from the global stage. So this shows that Russia is not isolated in the Middle East, and Russia still maintains the same array of diplomatic partnerships that it had before the war," he noted.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Ebrahim Raisi, Putin, John Drennan, Sergei Savostyanov, Samuel Ramani, Ramani, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden, Jim Watson, Volodymy Zelenskyy, Sergei Karpukhin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Maxim Shemetov, They've, they've, Bashar al, Assad Organizations: Getty, Palestinian, Hamas, U.S . Institute of Peace, AFP, Royal United Services Institute, CNBC, Kremlin, Ukraine, Analysts, White, U.S, Congress, NATO, Afp, International Energy Agency, Russia, Israeli, Iraqi Locations: Sochi, Russia, Israel, Gaza, Moscow, Iran, Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, U.S, Europe, Washington ,, Brussels, Russian, OPEC, Turkey, Egypt, Tehran

☆ Russia condemns Finland's plan to speed confiscation of Russian real estate
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ints Kalnins Acquire Licensing RightsHELSINKI, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday criticised a Finnish government plan to speed the confiscation of Russian-owned real estate in Finland, warning the Nordic country of countermeasures. Ousting Russian owners over unpaid bills is not currently legal if an official notification threatening confiscation cannot be delivered to them, Meri said. Meri said electronic notification would be sufficient once the rules change, but did not provide other details on Finland plans. "We will not leave without a proper response such actions of the so-called civilized Finnish state," Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement. Finland is also looking at ways to take control of Helsinki's biggest sports and events arena which has been shut since last year because of sanctions against its billionaire Russian owners.

Persons: Ints, Leena Meri, Meri, Maria Zakharova, Anne Kauranen, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, YLE, Thomson Locations: Helsinki, Finland, Rights HELSINKI, Finnish, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Israel and Hamas at war: Latest News
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza; Israel says it has identified 97 of them. [1/6]Israeli soldiers patrol following a mass-infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, in southern Israel, October 11, 2023. * The war falls under a complex international system of justice that has emerged since World War Two. * International airlines have suspended hundreds of flights to and from Tel Aviv following the attack by Hamas militants on Israel. * Israel has raised $200 million in diaspora bonds since the war with Hamas began, Israel Bonds said.

Persons: Israel, Antony Blinken, Kan, Mahmoud Abbas, Wafa, Donald Trump, Netanyahu, Tayyip Erdogan, Violeta Santos Moura, Wang Yi, Mohammed Deif, upends, Kazuo Ueda, Frida, Israel Bonds, Kristalina Georgieva, Georgieva, Stephen Farrell Organizations: United Nations, Food, Palestinian, El Al Airlines, Britain, Royal Navy, U.S, REUTERS, Bank of Japan, * Airlines, Carriers, Dutch KLM, Air France, U.S . State Department, Cyprus Airways, Hamas, Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Washington, Israel, Egypt, Sinai, United States, Asia, Israeli, Palestinian, Sderot, Paris, Jerusalem, Saudi, Europe, Larnaca, Tel Aviv

☆ Moldovan president says Russia's Wagner head plotted coup against her -FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Moldova's President Maia Sandu addresses the 78th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2023. "Russia is going to increase its pressure on Moldova," Sandu told the FT. "They tried energy and they failed. Moldovans, she said, were entering the country with "bank cards that were issued in Dubai...they just distribute thousands of cards ...bank cards to people they wanted to bribe." Moldovan police on Friday said they had seized thousands of bank cards issued in Dubai due to be given to Shor's allies. "This is using bank cards instead of suitcases or black bags full of cash," Veronica Dragalin, head of Moldova's Anti-corruption prosecutors, told reporters.

Persons: Maia Sandu, Eduardo Munoz, Russia's Wagner, Sandu, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Ilan Shor, Shor, Veronica Dragalin, Ron Popeski, Alexander Tanas, Josie Kao Organizations: General Assembly, REUTERS, Financial Times, EU, Kremlin, Constitutional, PAS, Moldovan, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Spain, Moscow, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Russia, Russian, Transdniestria, Moldova's, Dubai ., Dubai, Chisinau

[1/3] Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev arrives for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Moscow, Russia May 25, 2023. "The stars aligned for certain reasons and President Aliyev saw the alignment," said Suleymanov, who previously worked in Aliyev's office. "President Aliyev is completing something that his father could not do because he ran out of time," said one of the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to give comments to the media. Aliyev's father, then President Heydar Aliyev, was forced to agree to a ceasefire that cemented Armenia's victory. "President Aliyev has delivered the testament of his father," said Suleymanov, the ambassador to Britain.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Ilya Pitalev, Aliyev, Elin Suleymanov, Suleymanov, Hikmet Hajiyev, Hajiyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Aliyev's, Heydar Aliyev, Ilham, Heydar, Vladimir Putin, Putin, David Babayan, Babayan, Andrew Osborn, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Economic Council, Sputnik, REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Kremlin, Russia, Karabakh, Baku, Armenian, European Commission, Armenia, West, Moscow, Karabakh Armenian, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, West, Britain, Baku, Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine, Russian, Washington, Soviet, Stepanakert

☆ Russia Tells Armenian PM: You Are Making a Big Mistake by Flirting With West
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

"We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a massive mistake by deliberately trying to destroy Armenia's multi-faceted and centuries-old ties with Russia while making the country hostage to the geopolitical games of the West," it said. Pashinyan's remarks about transforming alliances indicate that he is preparing to pivot away from Armenia's alliance with Moscow towards the West, the Russian foreign ministry said. Moscow denied suggestions that it had any hand in protests in Yerevan and cautioned Pashinyan that while Russia did not stoke revolutions, the West did. "The head of the Armenian government should be well aware that Moscow does not get involved in such things - unlike the West which is pretty adept at organizing 'colour revolutions'," Russia said. Russia blames the United States for stoking so-called colour revolutions in several post-Soviet republics including Ukraine.

Persons: Guy Faulconbridge MOSCOW, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Armenian, Karabakh, Reuters Locations: Russia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Moscow, Baku, Armenia, Yerevan, Azerbaijan, Russian, United States, Ukraine

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan gives a televised address to the nation in Yerevan, Armenia, in this picture released September 24, 2023. "We are convinced that the Yerevan leadership is making a massive mistake by deliberately trying to destroy Armenia's multi-faceted and centuries-old ties with Russia while making the country hostage to the geopolitical games of the West," it said. Moscow denied suggestions that it had any hand in protests in Yerevan and cautioned Pashinyan that while Russia did not stoke revolutions, the West did. "The head of the Armenian government should be well aware that Moscow does not get involved in such things - unlike the West which is pretty adept at organizing 'colour revolutions'," Russia said. Russia blames the United States for stoking so-called colour revolutions in several post-Soviet republics including Ukraine.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones Organizations: Armenian, REUTERS, Rights, Karabakh, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Yerevan, Armenia, Handout, Russia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Moscow, Baku, Azerbaijan, Russian, United States, Ukraine

☆ Russia 'closely monitoring' tense situation in Kosovo, blames local authorities
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Kosovo police officers stand guard on the road to Banjska monastery, in the aftermath of a shooting incident, near Zvecan, Kosovo September 25, 2023. Russia does not recognise Kosovo, which has a majority ethnic Albanian population, as an independent country and traditionally supports Serbia, with which it has close religious and cultural ties. The situation is very, very tense and potentially dangerous, we are monitoring it very closely," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular news briefing. Ethnic Albanians form the vast majority of the 1.8 million population of Kosovo, a former province of Serbia. The ministry said Kurti was trying to escalate the situation in order to increase pressure on Serbs to recognise Kosovo's independence.

Persons: Ognen, Dmitry Peskov, Albin Kurti, Kurti, Gareth Jones, Maxim Rodionov, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Kosovar, Kosovo, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Banjska, Zvecan, Kosovo, Russia, Serbia, Belgrade, Kosovo Albanian, Serbian, Serbs

"This shift, towards the courts, prosecutors and law enforcement units, shows that hackers are gathering evidence about Russian war crimes in Ukraine" with a view to following Ukraine's investigations, he added. Russian hackers have prioritised targeting government bodies and trying to gain access to their e-mail servers, Shchyhol said, without elaborating. An attempt by a Russian intelligence hacking group dubbed "Sandworm" to launch a destructive cyberattack against Ukraine's electricity grid was thwarted in April, 2022. Shchyhol said his department saw evidence that Russian hackers were accessing private security cameras within Ukraine to monitor the outcome of long-range missile and drone strikes. "You need to understand that the cyber war will not end even after Ukraine wins on the battlefield," Shchyhol said.

Persons: Ivan Lyubysh, Yurii Shchyhol, There's, Shchyhol, Vladimir Putin, Tom Balmforth, James Pearson, Mike Collett, White, Gareth Jones Organizations: State Service of, Reuters, REUTERS, Ukrainian, State Service of Special Communications, Foreign Ministry, Federal Security Service, Court, ICC, Kremlin, Russia, Ukraine, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, LONDON, Russia, Netherlands, Russian, Ukrainian, London

JPMorgan had handled some Russian grain export payments for a few months with reassurances from Washington. However, that cooperation stopped in early August, said Russia's Foreign Ministry, after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal in July. UNDERMINING U.N. EFFORTSU.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday that Russia's bombardment was undermining U.N. efforts to help facilitate Russian food and fertilizer exports. To convince Russia to agree to the Black Sea deal, U.N. officials agreed to help Russian exports reach global markets. "It has led many of those whose goodwill is needed, notably in the private sector, to question whether there is any real interest in re-joining the Black Sea Initiative."

Persons: Morgan, Sarah Meyssonnier, Moscow, James O'Brien, ”, O'Brien, Antonio Guterres, Guterres, Sergei Lavrov, Daphne Psaledakis, Humeyra Pamuk, Michelle Nichols, Michael Perry Organizations: JPMorgan, REUTERS, Washington, State Department, Reuters, Wednesday, Foreign Ministry, State Department's Office, United Nations, Security, Black Sea Initiative, United, Russia's, Russian Foreign Ministry, Guterres, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, U.S, Moscow, Ukraine, Washington, Russia, New York, United Nations, Turkey, United

☆ Azerbaijan pounds Karabakh as Russia and US call for calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ethnic Armenians in Karabakh said Azerbaijan had triggered a new war against the 120,000 people living in an area they consider their homeland. Armenians in Karabakh, known by Armenians as Artsakh, said fighting was continuing with varying intensity. As the Soviet Union crumbled, what is known as the First Karabakh War erupted (1988-1994) between Armenians and their Azeri neighbours. RUSSIAIn 2020, after decades of skirmishes, energy-rich Azerbaijan began a military operation which became the Second Karabakh War, swiftly breaking through Armenian defences. Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, won a resounding victory in the 44-day war, taking back parts of Karabakh.

Persons: Nikol Pashinyan, Karabakh, Antony Blinken, Ilham Aliyev, Pashinyan, Aliyev, Blinken, Antonio Guterres, Baku's, Guy Faulconbridge, Lidia Kelly, Chris Reese, Lincoln, Gareth Jones Organizations: Azerbaijan's Ministry of Defence, Azerbaijan, Wednesday, Nagorno, Armenian, U.S, Washington, Residents, United Nations, European Union, TASS, Thomson Locations: Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Russia, U.S, Azerbaijan, YEREVAN, United States, Baku, Yerevan, Turkey, Ukraine, Soviet Union, South Caucasus, Iran, Artsakh, Russian, France, Germany, RUSSIA, Moscow, Melbourne

☆ Azerbaijan launches military action in Karabakh to disarm Armenians
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Azerbaijan launched "anti-terrorist activities" in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to restore constitutional order and drive out what it called Armenian military formations there, a move that could foreshadow a new war in the region. Loud shelling was audible from unverified social media footage filmed in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh, called Khankendi by Azerbaijan, on Tuesday. Internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, Karabakh has an overwhelmingly ethnic Armenian population and broke from Baku's control in the early 1990s after a war. Armenia had said that Baku's actions, which is said had caused a humanitarian catastrophe, something Azerbaijan denied, were illegal. Armenia's foreign ministry had said on Monday that Azerbaijan's diplomatic stance looked like it was preparing the ground for some kind of military action.

Persons: Ruben Vardanyan Organizations: Russian, Nagorno, Reuters, Baku Locations: Karabakh, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno, Stepanakert, Khankendi, Republic of Azerbaijan, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Nagorno Karabakh, Baku, Turkish, Russian

☆ China and Russia 'Close' in Views on US and Ukraine as Wang Yi Visits Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Sept. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - Moscow's and Beijing's top diplomats noted "closeness" in their positions on Washington's "anti-Russian and anti-Chinese" stance and agreed any bid to resolve the Ukraine crisis must include Moscow, Russia's foreign ministry said early on Tuesday. Wang Yi, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's point man for international dealings, is in Moscow for several days of security and foreign policy talks with Russian officials. Russia's foreign ministry said in a Telegram statement after the Moscow talks that "the closeness of the positions of the parties regarding U.S. actions in the international arena, including those of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature, was noted." The ministry added that Wang briefed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about "the content of negotiations" with Sullivan. Wang will hold "strategic security" talks later on Tuesday with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Russia's Interfax reported, before holding trilateral talks with Mongolian officials.

Persons: Wang Yi, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Wang, Sergei Lavrov, Sullivan, Vladimir Putin, Wang's, Lavrov, Putin, Nikolai Patrushev, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, Russian, White House, White, Forum, Security, Russia's Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Malta, U.S, China, Russia, Washington, Kyiv, Beijing, Russian

☆ China and Russia 'close' in views on US and Ukraine as Wang Yi visits Moscow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia September 18, 2023. Wang Yi, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's point man for international dealings, is in Moscow for several days of security and foreign policy talks with Russian officials. Russia's foreign ministry said in a Telegram statement after the Moscow talks that "the closeness of the positions of the parties regarding U.S. actions in the international arena, including those of an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese nature, was noted." The ministry added that Wang briefed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about "the content of negotiations" with Sullivan. Wang will hold "strategic security" talks later on Tuesday with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Russia's Interfax reported, before holding trilateral talks with Mongolian officials.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi, Wang Yi, Xi, Jake Sullivan, Wang, Sullivan, Vladimir Putin, Wang's, Lavrov, Putin, Nikolai Patrushev, Ron Popeski, Lidia Kelly, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Russia's, Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Russian, White House, White, Forum, Security, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Malta, U.S, China, Washington, Kyiv, Beijing, Russian

☆ Russia calls talks with North Korea 'important' amid geopolitical changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov upon arrival in Khasan, Russia, September 12, 2023, in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on September 13, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSept 13 (Reuters) - The upcoming talks between the leaders of Russia and North Korea are important against the backdrop of the geopolitical changes in the world, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman told RIA news agency in remarks published on Wednesday. "Of course, against this background, bilateral contacts are very important. And the situation on the Korean Peninsula is, of course, of utmost importance for security and stability in the region," RIA cited Zakharova as saying. Editing by Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Alexander Kozlov, Vladimir Putin, Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian Natural Resources, North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Khasan, Russia, North Korea, Washington, United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Melbourne

☆ Moldova puts its debt to Gazprom at $8.6 mln, Russian firm disagrees
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The former Soviet republic, nestled between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, used to buy Russian natural gas. But Gazprom and its Moldovan subsidiary said in late 2021 it had accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Prime Minister Dorin Recean added: "After clarifications regarding the debt for natural gas, Moldova and citizens are not obliged to pay the corresponding bills." Parlicov said the auditors had not received documents from Moldovagaz and Gazprom to cover $276 million of the alleged debt. She has previously said that Moldova has no debts to Gazprom for natural gas.

Persons: Victor Parlicov, Dorin Recean, Maria Zakharov, Parlicov, Maia Sandu, Alexander Tanas, Vladimir Soldatkin, Anna Pruchnicka, Alexander Smith, Kevin Liffey, Ron Popeski, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Gazprom PAO, Gazprom, European Union, Romania, Moldovan, Moldova Energy, Foreign Ministry, Moldovagaz, Thomson Locations: CHISINAU, Moldova, Russian, Soviet, Ukraine, Chisinau, Moldovagaz, Moscow

☆ Vladimir Putin is getting so desperate, he's 'scrambling for help' from Kim Jong Un, retired US general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A retired US general says resorting to asking Kim Jong Un for weapons shows how desperate Putin is. "It's showing that Mr. Putin is scrambling for help," retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told CNN. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. The New York Times reported on Monday that Kim is planning to travel to Russia later this month to discuss supplying weapons to Russia. It's showing that Mr. Putin is scrambling for help," said Hertling, who previously served as the commanding general of US Army Europe.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, Putin, Mr, Mark Hertling, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Hertling, CNN's Jim Acosta, Oryx, James, Spider, Marks Organizations: CNN, Service, New York Times, Times, US Army Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, North Korea, North

☆ Russian planes keep getting blown up in airfields hundreds of miles from the fighting, exposing embarrassing gaps in its defenses
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Multiple military aircraft have been damaged or destroyed in Russia this month. Military analysts told The Wall Street Journal that Ukraine has likely disabled more Russian aircraft while they were sitting in bases than it had in live combat. Russia's defense ministry blamed a Ukrainian drone for that attack too. Ukrainian drone attacks have also touched Moscow in recent weeks, in some cases prompting its airports to close down. Russian officials said on Wednesday that Ukrainian drones were fired at multiple Russian regions: Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow, Reuters reported.

Persons: Eliot Higgins, Russia's, recrimination, ISW Organizations: Service, Military, Wall Street Journal, Reuters Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Pskov, Ukrainian, Russia's Novgorod, Crimea, US, Russian, Moscow, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan

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