Page 164 - Russia

US suggests EU consider using export controls to target China: Report

The conversations came up as European Union and US officials are negotiating the agenda for their next high-level trade forum in early December.

The world's food security is at stake as Russia exits Ukraine grain deal

The sudden move by Russia has left leaders scrambling to rescue the UN-and-Turkey-brokered agreement credited with saving vulnerable populations from risk of starvation.

China reaffirms support for Putin after Xi's 3rd term victory at Congress

China has reaffirmed its firm support to Russian President Vladimir Putin, playing down reports that it may recalibrate its strategy towards Moscow after the key Communist Party Congress which endorsed President Xi Jinping for a record third five-year term. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephonic conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday. Wang, who was elected to the 24-member Politburo, a high-power body of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), is emerging as Xi's top official on foreign policy issues. He will take over his new position in March next year. Wang chose to make his first phone call to Lavrov after the party congress to highlight the continued importance Beijing attached to Moscow. China is willing to deepen exchanges with Russia at all levels and promote bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields to a higher level, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. In his interaction with Lavrov, Wang sa

Russian President Putin praises PM Modi for 'independent foreign policy'

Russia has special ties with India and they have always supported each other and will remain so in the future, President Vladimir Putin has said, as he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for pursuing an "independent foreign policy" in the interest of his country. Putin's remarks came at a plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think-tank on Thursday. He said Russia and India continue to cooperate in the military and technical areas. We have special ties with India that are built on the foundation of really close allied relations for decades. We never had any outstanding issues with India, we have always supported each other and I'm positive that's how it will remain in the future as well, Russian state media RT quoted Putin as saying. Putin's comments came more than a month after Prime Minister Modi told him that today's era is not of war as they met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in

US, allies say no biological weapons in Ukraine; Russia disagrees

The US and its Western allies on Thursday dismissed Russia's claims that banned biological weapons activities are taking place in Ukraine with American support, calling the allegation disinformation and fabrications. Russia's UN ambassador said Moscow will pursue a UN investigation of its allegations that both countries are violating the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons. The dispute came in the third UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine-related issues that Russia has called since Tuesday. This one focused on a 310-page document that Russia circulated to council members this week alleging there is military biological activity in Ukraine with support of the US Defence Department. The document includes an official complaint to the council, allowed under Article VI of the 1972 biological weapons convention, and a draft resolution that would authorize the Security Council to set up a commission to address Russia's claims. Russia's allegation of secret American ...

World faces most dangerous decade since WWII: Russian President Putin

Ultimately, Putin said, the West would have to talk to Russia and other major powers about the future of the world.

EU, China remain Russia's largest fossil fuel customers: CREA data

Criticism of recent Indian purchases ignore the fact that traditional buyers still dominate this market

Russian Prez Putin claims West seeks global domination by using Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday sought to cast the conflict in Ukraine as part of efforts by the West to secure its global domination. Speaking at a conference of international policy experts, Putin accused the US and its allies of trying to dictate their terms to other nations in a dangerous and bloody domination game. Putin, who sent his troops into Ukraine on February 24, has cast Western support for Ukraine as part of broad efforts by Washington and its allies to enforce what they call a rules-based world order that only foments chaos. The Russian leader warned that he who will sow the wind will reap the whirlwind. Putin claimed that humankind now faces a choice: accumulate a load of problems that will inevitably crush us all or try to find solutions that may not be ideal but working and could make the world more stable and secure. Putin said Russia isn't the enemy of the West but will continue to oppose the diktat of Western neo-liberal elites.

Ukraine battles intensify; Russia eyes space for retaliatory strike

Moscow-appointed authorities have fled the capital of southern Ukraine's Kherson region along with tens of thousands of residents as Ukrainian forces attacked Russia's hold on the city Thursday while fighting also intensified in the country's east. Amid the battles, a senior Russian official warned that Western commercial satellites used for military purposes in support of Ukraine were a legitimate target for a retaliatory strike. Ukraine has pushed ahead with an offensive to reclaim the Kherson region and its capital of the same name, which Russian forces captured during the first days of a war now in its ninth month. More than 70,000 residents from the Kherson city area have evacuated in recent days, the region's Kremlin-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, said Thursday. Members of the Russia-backed regional administration were included in the evacuation, the deputy governor, Kirill Stremousov said. Monuments to Russian heroes were moved, along with the remains of Grigory Potemki

US, West allies insist UN probe use of drone by Russia in Ukraine

The U.S. and its Western allies on the Security Council insisted Wednesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has the right to investigate if Russia has used Iranian drones to attack civilians and power plants in Ukraine. They dismissed Moscow's argument that the U.N. chief would be violating the U.N. Charter. Russia's U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, who called the council meeting, argued that only the Security Council can mandate an investigation. He cited Article 100 of the charter, which says the secretary-general shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or from any other authority external to the organisation. U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood called Russia's contention simply dumbfounding and an attempt to deflect attention from its own egregious wrongdoing in Ukraine. French Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere accused Russia of constantly violating the U.N. Charter and trampling on its principles by invading its neighbour and claiming to annex its ...

Russia may again block Antarctic marine protections during Australia meet

Call it a cold war. Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are among those meeting in Australia this week to decide the future of Antarctica's pristine waters. Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress. Achieving the required consensus for action among this diverse group of 27, which also includes China, the United States and the European Union, has always been an immense challenge. And when two of the members are at war and relations between China and many Western nations have deteriorated consensus looms as an even bigger obstacle. Just this month, Russian bombing in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, partially destroyed Ukraine's Antarctic research center. Yet despite the enormous political hurdles, some remain hopeful that scientific arguments will win through. The U.S. is paying more attention to the region under President Joe Biden, and this year ha

Russia, NATO hold nuclear drills as more than 40 Ukraine villages pounded

NATO and Russia's military alike staged planned annual nuclear exercises Wednesday as the Russian president repeated the unfounded claim that Ukraine plans to set off a radioactive dirty bomb. On the battlefront, Russian forces pounded more than 40 Ukrainian villages over the past day. Russian President Vladimir Putin remotely monitored the drills of his strategic nuclear forces, which involved multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles in a show of force. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin that the exercise simulated a massive nuclear strike retaliating for a nuclear attack on Russia. The Biden administration said Russia provided advance notice of the annual drills. NATO is carrying out its own long-planned annual nuclear exercises in northwestern Europe. Without providing any evidence, in remarks carried by Russian TV, Putin said Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb' as a provocation and contended the United States was using Ukraine

Russia's VTB Bank opens 'vostro' account in India for rupee-based trade

Russia's No.2 lender VTB said it had opened a special "vostro" account at its Indian branch that would allow for the more active use of Indian rupees in payments under import and export contracts

Russia fires rockets at 40 Ukrainian villages, renews 'dirty bomb' claims

Russia targeted more than 40 villages around Ukraine over the past day, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, killing at least two people and sustaining the terror that forces people into air raid shelters each night. Russian forces launched five rockets, 30 air strikes and more than 100 multiple-launch rocket system attacks on Ukrainian targets, the Ukrainian armed forces general staff said. The attacks come as fears are growing that Russia, facing setbacks on the battlefield, could try to detonate a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste in an effort to sow terror. Russia's defence minister called his counterparts from India and China to convey Moscow's concern about a purported Ukrainian plan to use such a so-called dirty bomb, repeating an allegation that Ukraine and the West have strongly refuted. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu voiced Moscow's concern about possible Ukrainian provocations involving a dirty bomb in the calls with his Indian counterpart, Rajna

Russia recruiting Afghan soldiers trained by US to fight in Ukraine: Report

Afghan commandos who had been trained by Allied forces to fight the Taliban are now being recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine, a media report said

Kremlin: Putin monitors drills of Russia's nuclear forces amid hostilities

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday monitored drills of the country's strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, the Kremlin said. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Putin that the drills were intended to simulate a massive nuclear strike by Russia in retaliation for a nuclear attack on Russia. The exercise comes amid soaring Russia-West tensions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. The Kremlin said in a statement that all tasks set for the exercise were fulfilled and all the missiles that were test-fired reached their designated targets. Washington has said that Moscow informed it about the drills in advance. The Russian exercise comes amid Moscow's warnings of a purported Ukrainian plot to detonate a radioactive device commonly known as a dirty bomb in a false flag attack to blame Russia. Ukraine and its allies strongly reject the allegation.

Nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu that the Ukraine conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side. In telephonic talks, Shoigu briefed Singh on the evolving situation in Ukraine, including his concerns about possible "provocations through use of 'dirty bomb'", the defence ministry said. The conversation took place at the initiative of the Russian defence minister amid escalation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. "Singh reiterated India's position on the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy for an early resolution of the conflict," the ministry said. "He pointed out that the nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity," it said. It said the two ministers also discussed bilateral defence cooperation as well as the deteriorat

Russia, Belarus ambassadors barred from Nobel ceremony in Stockholm

The ambassadors of Russia and Belarus have been excluded from this year's Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm because of the war in Ukraine. The Nobel Foundation, a private foundation which administers the prestigious awards, normally invites ambassadors stationed in Sweden to the annual award ceremony on Dec. 10. But due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Nobel Foundation has chosen not to invite the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus to the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm, it said in a statement Tuesday. The foundation also said it would continue its practice of inviting the leaders of all parties in the Swedish Parliament, except the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats. The group, which has sought to distance itself from its far-right roots, won more than 20% of the vote in Sweden's Sept. 11 election to become the country's second biggest political party and a close partner of the new center-right government. The Nobel Foundation said it saw no reason to reconsider its previous

Moscow bans more EU figures from entering nation for anti-Russian actions

The Russian Foreign Ministry barred more persons of the European Union member states from entering Russia in response to their "anti-Russian" actions

Sunak speaks with Zelenskyy; Russia says 'no hopes' for better ties with UK

Newly appointed UK PM Rishi Sunak held a conversation with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and expressed UK's solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people