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Chinese leader Xi Jinping welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin as an old friend as the two began a series of meetings Tuesday at a time when their countries face both overlapping and differing challenges from the United States. Relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years, particularly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Putin addressed Xi as dear friend and said that Moscow's ties with Beijing are at an unprecedentedly high level. Following their formal talks, they planned to have another meeting over tea with some of their top aides. The talks come the day after both attended a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the nearby Chinese city of Tianjin, and the day before a grand Chinese military parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Soviet Union was neutral for much of the war in Asia, but provided assistance to China in earlier fighting against invading Japanese forces in the 1930s. It
Speaking at the summit, Putin said the West had tried to bring Ukraine into the West's orbit and then sought to entice the former Soviet republic into the US-led NATO military alliance
EU chief's flight lost navigation signals near Bulgaria's Plovdiv airport, highlighting rising GPS jamming across Europe since Russia's invasion of Ukraine
At SCO Summit in Tianjin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hails ties with Moscow and calls for dialogue for peace in Ukraine
Putin further said that the understandings reached at the Alaska summit with US President Trump opened the way to peace in Ukraine
Zelenskyy also highlighted the ongoing strikes by Russia, stressing that Moscow has shown no willingness to engage in diplomacy, continuing its attacks on civilians
American Jewish Committee defends India over Russian oil purchases, urging Washington to reset ties after Trump's tariffs and Peter Navarro's "Modi's war" remarks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said that Ukrainian officials want to meet with US President Donald Trump and European leaders next week to discuss recent developments in efforts to end the three-year war with Russia. The proposed meetings appeared designed to add momentum to the push for peace, as Zelenskyy expressed frustration with what he called Russia's lack of constructive engagement in the process while it continues to launch devastating aerial attacks on civilian areas. Trump has bristled at Russian leader Vladimir Putin's stalling on an US proposal for direct peace talks with Zelenskyy, and said a week ago he expected to decide on next steps in two weeks if direct talks aren't scheduled. Trump complained last month that Putin talks nice and then he bombs everybody. But he has also chided Ukraine for its attacks, and a major Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that killed at least 23 people drew no public ...
European defence ministers are meeting in Copenhagen to discuss the war in Ukraine, the day after a Russian air assault on Kyiv killed 23 people and badly damaged a European diplomatic compound. Outrage over the attack propelled the political leaders of Europe's armed forces to condemn Russia even before Friday's meeting and call for stronger measures on Moscow like seizing frozen assets, further sanctions and increasing support for Ukraine's military and membership in the European Union. They will also discuss European troops' deployment in Ukraine to guarantee security and monitor a peace that seems distant as American efforts to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia appear stalled. Everybody understands that, considering how (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is mocking the peace efforts, the only thing that works is pressure, said Kaja Kallas, foreign policy chief for the European Union. Two missiles landed about 50 metres from an EU diplomatic mission in Kyiv, shattering the
White House adviser Peter Navarro has accused India of funding Moscow's war through Russian oil buys, defending Trump's 50% tariffs and warning that 'the road to peace in Ukraine runs through New Del
Russia carried out long-range strikes on Ukrainian military targets on Thursday, deploying a range of weapons including hypersonic air-launched Kinzhal missiles
Russia launched a major air attack early Thursday on Kyiv that included a rare strike on the city center, killing at least 21 people, wounding 48 and damaging European Union diplomatic offices, authorities said. The bombardment of drones and missiles was the first major Russian attack on Kyiv in weeks as US-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Britain said the attack sabotaged peace efforts, while top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas summoned Russia's EU envoy to Brussels over the strikes that damaged EU offices. The UN Security Council scheduled an emergency meeting on airstrikes against Ukraine on Friday afternoon at the request of Ukraine and the five European council members -- Britain, France, Slovenia, Denmark and Greece. Two of Ukraine's top envoys were set to meet Friday with the Trump administration regarding mediation. The Kremlin said Russia remained interested in continuing peace talks despite Thursday's air attack, which was one of the war's ..
Picture that emerges from interviews is that Trump willing to move quickly on some foreign policy decisions, relying more on confidants and instinct than the traditional diplomatic channels
Russia said its attack had hit military industrial facilities and air bases, and that Ukraine had also attacked Russian targets. The Kremlin said it was still interested in pursuing peace talks
US economic advisor Kevin Hassett said India-US trade talks remain "complicated", linking them to US pressure on Russia for peace and India's reluctance to open its markets to American goods
A mass Russian drone and missile attack on Ukraine's capital, including a rare strike in the centre of the city, early Thursday killed at least eight people and wounded 45, local authorities said. It was the first major Russian combined attack on Kyiv in weeks as US-led peace efforts to end the three-year war struggled to gain traction. Among the dead were two children, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said, citing preliminary information. The numbers are expected to rise. Rescue teams were on site to pull people trapped underneath the rubble. Russia chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X following the attack. We expect a response from everyone in the world who has called for peace but now more often stays silent rather than taking principled positions. Russia launched decoy drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of Kyiv's city administration. At least 20 locations acros
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro said India's purchases of Russian crude were funding Moscow's war in Ukraine and had to stop
White House adviser Peter Navarro blamed India for fuelling Russia's war, saying it could get 25% tariff relief if it halts discounted crude imports from Moscow
Russia's invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said Wednesday, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as US-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction. Some Russian troops have entered the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial centre next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place, Victor Trehubov, spokesman for local ground forces, told The Associated Press by phone. Russia's Defence Ministry claimed earlier this month that its forces had taken the two villages. But the Russians have not entrenched or built fortifications there, and fighting is continuing in the villages, Trehubov said. Ukrainian troops are under severe strain as they try to hold back Russia's bigger army. Military analysts say there is no sign of a looming collapse of Ukrainian defences and note that Russian forces have been unable to take
Gas stations have run dry in some regions of Russia after Ukrainian drones struck refineries and other oil infrastructure in recent weeks, with motorists waiting in long lines and officials resorting to rationing or cutting off sales altogether. Wholesale prices on the St Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange for A-95 gas the highest octane spiked to record highs last week, soaring to about 50 per cent higher than in January, as demand soared from farmers seeking to bring in the harvest and Russians hitting the roads for their last big vacation of the summer. Russian media outlets reported fuel shortages are hitting consumers in several regions in the Far East and on the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed from Ukraine by Moscow in 2014. Media outlets in the Primorye region, which borders North Korea, reported long lines and prices of about 78 rubles per litre (approximately USD 3.58 per gallon) at gas stations in the area, where the average monthly wage is about