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UN envoy invited to international meeting on Syria — Lavrov

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen has been invited to the Astana process meeting on Syria that will take place in Kazakhstan’s capital of Nur-Sultan on April 25-26, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following a ministerial session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum.

"Russia informed our Arab friends about the work that is being done within the Astana process in order to establish a Syrian constitutional committee as soon as possible and launch a political settlement process," he said. "Yesterday, I discussed the matter with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. I urged him to contribute to the success of the next Astana meeting that will take place in Nur-Sultan later in the month, noting that UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen has been invited to participate in it," the Russian top diplomat noted.

Lavrov pointed out that participants in the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum had agreed to continue facilitating efforts to resolve the Syria issue through political means based on the United Nations Security Council Resoluiton 2254 and decisions made at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress held in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi in January 2018.

"We [Russia], in turn, have welcomed the emerging understanding that Syria needs to return to the Arab family of countries, that is, the Arab League," the Russian foreign minister emphasized.

The Kazakh capital hosted the previous high-level meeting on Syria on November 28-29, 2018. The meeting involved the foreign ministers of Russia, Iran and Turkey. They focused on the situation in the Syrian province of Idlib and efforts to establish a Syrian constitutional committee.

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Russian forces cut off key Ukrainian supply route in Velikaya Novoselka, DPR

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West builds up military presence near Russia’s Arctic borders — presidential aide

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US, European officials suggest returning nukes to Ukraine — NYT

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Here are the key statements, made during the meeting

Russia entitled to use weapons against military sites of states attacking it — Duma

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Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed that the US administration had lifted restrictions for US-supplied missiles to be used for strikes up to 300 kilometers inside Russia

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Ukraine conflict entering decisive phase, Polish PM says

According to Donald Tusk, "no one knows how the conflict will end"

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Turkey’s desire to be gas hub important for energy security — Russian official

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Ukraine was warned about possible missile strike — Pentagon

Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh gave no answer to the question of how could Ukraine prepare for this kind of attack

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According to th statement, London is promoting new rounds of escalation

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China produced 81.9 mln metric tons in October, up 2.9% on an annualized basis

Western countries should 'be afraid, tremble' after Putin's statement — lawmaker

Andrey Kartapolov added that the special military operation in Ukraine "will continue its course until all tasks are completed"

Over 1,200 children from Dagestan remain in refugee camps in Middle East

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Kremlin confident Putin's statement got through to US administration

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that the United States and its NATO allies had earlier announced that they would authorize Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons to hit inside Russia, after which American and British missiles struck Russian military facilities in the Kursk and Bryansk regions

Bundeswehr prepares plan for Operation Germany in case of war with Russia — newspaper

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Tehran to launch new centrifuges in response to IAEA anti-Iran resolution — statement

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Russia’s re-election to UNCITRAL confirms its global reputation — Foreign Ministry

Russia got the support of 129 countries in a November 20 vote in New York at the 40th plenary session of the UN General Assembly

China against double standards in international law — Foreign Ministry

Spokesman Lin Jian highlighted Washington's use of double standards in handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the United Nations

Zelensky’s actions make Ukraine vulnerable to coup, says politician

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Russia’s reaction to Austrian OMV’s failure to pay for gas justified — MFA

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Russian air defense deflects attacks with Western missiles — Putin

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Diplomat mocks US Senator for talking about invading Netherlands

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Lin Jian also reaffirmed Beijing's position on the Ukrainian issue

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Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on November 21, announcing that in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia, Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile for the first time

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IN BRIEF: What Putin said about Russia’s new missile, and Moscow’s response to the West

Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia

US decision to allow missile strikes deep into Russia fuels global escalation — Slovak PM

Robert Fico also rejected the belief that this escalation would not impact "those living far away, in Spain, England, or America"

Russia not obliged to notify anyone about launch of intermediate-range missile — Kremlin

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Putin's speech shows West that Russia won’t waver, is ready for any scenario — expert

Dmitry Suslov pointed to a crucial message in the President's speech: "Russia firmly believes that the West has moved from a proxy war to a direct war" and that the sides are already "in a state of global conflict"