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Russia, Syria FMs to discuss Annan's six-point plan

Forty-eight hours after that is done, by seven a. m. on April 12, all sides involved in the conflict should fully cease resorting to violence in the country

MOSCOW, April 10 (Itar-Tass) — The implementation by Damascus of the Six-Point Plan, suggestrd by Kofi Annan, special envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States, for a peaceful settlement of the situation in Syria is to be discussed here on Tuesday by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Syria -- Sergei Lavrov and Walid Muallem.

The deadline, set in Mr. Annan's "roadmap", expires precisely on April 10 when the Syrian government is urged to withdraw troops and heavy armaments from cities and populated areas. Forty-eight hours after that is done, by seven a. m. on April 12, all sides involved in the conflict -- the authorities and the opposition -- should fully cease resorting to violence in the country.

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Crimea, Donbass to forever remain within Russia, Slovak PM tells national parliament

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

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Both main US parties threatened Telegram, co-founder says

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FSB declassifies documents revealing Ukrainian infiltration of Red Army units during WWII

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Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

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Ukrainian military under constant gunfire by Russian troops near Urozhainoye, says POW

Yevgeny Pogrebnyak said that he was treated well by Russian troops in his captivity

Israeli Air Force strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

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Russian diplomat challenges France to stop arming Kiev amid Olympic truce talk

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US deploying missiles in Philippines to endanger global security — Russian envoy

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Lavrov states West’s growing concern about BRICS plans to develop own financial tools

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Shoigu tests commando vehicle, calls for additional machineguns

The Russian defense minister "personally tested the special transportation vehicle and its running qualities"

G7 countries to continue examining possible ways of using frozen Russian assets

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Romania now hosts as many as 11 F-16 jets for training of Ukrainian pilots

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Putin points to high risk of new epidemic outbreaks

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West, Kiev indulge in nuclear blackmail by demanding control of ZNPP — Russian MFA

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VTB CEO calls for SWIFT to be fully abandoned in payments

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Ukrainian president signs law tightening mobilization rules

According to Rada Deputy Speaker Alexander Korniyenko, some of the law’s provisions will take effect after its publication, while most of them will enter into force in a month

US assured Israel that Iranian drones will be intercepted — US journalist Hersh

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West silent on Ukraine's threats to attack Crimean Bridge — MFA

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Russia to scrap moratorium on intermediate missiles if US deploys them anywhere — MFA

Sergey Ryabkov said the US seeks to maintain military superiority in a great variety of areas

China to act over possible US measures for alleged support of Russian defense sector

"China always opposes the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States and will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises," Liu Pengyu said

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Nikol Pashinyan said about it, replying to a question from a resident of the borderline village of Berkaber about the necessity to hold snap elections before delimiting the border with Azerbaijan

Russia bans 235 Australian local government officials from entering country — MFA

"Taking into account the fact that Canberra does not intend to give up its anti-Russian course and continues to introduce new sanctions, work on updating the Russian stop list will continue," the ministry said

Press review: US throws Russia New START curveball and Washington's aid balancing act

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, April 17th

Turkish foreign minister urges West to stop Israel, prevent war in region

"The US and Western countries should stop Israel, tell it "Stop!" and prevent the conflict from spilling over," Hakan Fidan said

Weather balloon neutralized in Russia’s central Kaluga Region — authorities

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G7 countries to prevent Iran from producing, purchasing weapons

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Industrial building damaged, civilian injured after drone crash in Russia’s Rostov Region

On Thursday night, air defenses destroyed three drones near Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in the Rostov Region

Ukraine turns from sovereign country into Western protectorate, Hungarian PM says

Viktor Orban noted that there should be a buffer zone between NATO and Russia and Ukraine could serve as one

Russian sovereignty over southern Kuril Islands indisputable, diplomat says

Maria Zakharova pointed out that the southern Kuril Islands were an integral part of Russia under international law based on the outcome of World War II

Number of people convicted of high treason in Russia last year revealed

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US asking UNSC members to reject resolution on Palestine, hoping to avoid veto — media

UNSC approval would mean neither "statehood nor self-determination" for the Palestinian people, the State Department argued

Ukrainian drone attack damages four houses in Russia’s Voronezh

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Over the past few weeks, local residents have found several dozen dead dolphins

Russia expects Armenia to clarify 'military, political accords' with US, EU — diplomat

Maria Zakharova noted that Moscow would not be surprised if it turned out that the US and the EU had imposed their plans on Yerevan

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The European Union is also poised to impose new sanctions on Iran, related to drones and missiles

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Alexander Orlov noted that recently French President Emmanuel Macron "has made a number of questionable moves that have increased the divide" between both countries

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MiG-31I fighters receive air refueling system

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Yerevan's refusal to delimit borders with Baku to escalate regional tensions — PM

Nikol Pashinyan pointed out that the demarcation process also involves risks, but they are manageable, after which "Armenia will become ten times stronger"

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Sergey Ryabkov stressed that the attacks on the nuclear facility "must be stopped"

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According to Wei Dongxu, Tehran's firepower can cover most of the Middle East region, representing a fierce and precise long-range retaliatory means

Georgian president says she will veto law on foreign agents

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Maria Zakharova described France’s decision to place its aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, directly under NATO control as a symbolic move marking the end of "the era of an independent Paris in the international arena"

Former Ukrainian PM points to motive behind mobilization exception for law enforcement

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Russia assumes that Security Council will soon return to Gaza ceasefire issue — diplomat

"Ramadan has passed, and the question of a long-term ceasefire is once again very acute," Vasily Nebenzya said

Ukrainians abroad storming embassies to avoid mobilization, Russian diplomat says

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the mobilization law passed by the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) in the second and final reading on April 11

Russia restores gasoline production after decline — Energy Ministry

The increase in motor gasoline production in mid-April is associated with production recovery after a local drop due to unscheduled repairs at refineries

Ukraine to lose at least 10 mln citizens over mobilization law — political scientist

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Georgian protests against foreign agent bill reek of US influence — Medvedev

"The experienced and all-too-familiar Hollywood touch can be seen behind these rallies," the politician pointed out

Russia says its forces repel four Ukrainian counterattacks in Kupyansk area

The Ukrainian army losses were up to 70 servicemen, three motor vehicles, a D-30 howitzer, 2 Plastun-3000 electronic reconnaissance stations and a Nota electronic warfare station

Ukraine attacks ZNPP training center again, drone neutralized

"No one was injured as a result of the attack," the news release said

Kremlin condemns 'illegal' seizure of villa from Russian businessman

Dmitry Peskov underscored that Moscow has already made its position clear on this matter

Ukrainian front may collapse this summer — newspaper

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Russia maintains constructive dialogue with both Iran, Israel — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov mentioned a recent phone call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Russian PM signs off on plan for regions to accommodate evacuees from Palestine

The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry is assigned to oversee the process of sending the evacuees to their respective regions in accordance with an annex to the directive

Former Ukrainian MP sees Zelensky turning into 'usurper' after his term expires

The legitimacy of the authorities is a hot button issue in Ukraine, where parliamentary and presidential elections are prohibited during martial law

Russian Aerospace Forces destroy three militant hideouts in Syria’s Homs

No shelling attacks on Syrian troops were registered over the past 24 hours

Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

The group contains US finance and justice ministers, representatives of Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, as well as the European Commission

Russian forces pummel Ukrainian army, equipment in 133 areas over past day

Russian troops took better frontline positions in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported

Russia-China military-technical cooperation not directed against other states — diplomat

Cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in the military-technical sphere contributes to enhancing security of Russia and China and "is not directed against third countries," Maria Zakharova stressed

EU summit urges to provide air defense systems and all necessary military aid to Kiev

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US believes that Russia tested 9M729 missile for range beyond 500 km

"All NATO allies agree that the 9M729 is not compliant with the INF Treaty," the US embassy’s spokesperson said

Russian, Turkish senior diplomats discuss situation in Gaza

"The meeting focused on the situation in the region," said in the statement

Shoigu visits presentation of over 30 promising weapons, including robotic vehicles

The Russian defense minister has given his instructions to speed up the introduction of promising weapons that have been tested in the special military operation zone into service with the Russian Army

Iran may break through Israel’s air defenses in major attack by drones, missiles — expert

Iran has the region’s largest arsenal of ballistic missiles, estimated to number in the low thousands, Behnam Ben Taleblu noted

Israel planned to strike back at Iran on April 15, but decided to postpone, Axios reports

Israel told the US administration about the decision to wait, according to a US official

New US bill calls for $26 bln in assistance to Israel

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EU isolated in its 'blossoming garden,' reluctant to let strangers in — Russian diplomat

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DPR leader reports heaviest fighting near Avdeyevka, Chasov Yar

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