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Conflict in Syria

Russian ambassador: Russia calls on West to lift unilateral sanctions off Syria

"There are sanction restrictions on normal economic exchange, restrictions on banking operations, Syrian assets are still frozen," he said

DAMASCUS, April 17. /TASS/. Europe is offering humanitarian aid to the Syrians to mitigate the migration crisis and concurrently is incurring economic damage to them by means of unilateral sanctions. Russia calls to stop such contradictory practices, Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak told TASS on Sunday.

"On the one hand, they are helping the Syrians, including through their own interest to prevent their massive flight from the country and coming to Europe, but, on the other hand, they are preserving the current sanctions," he said. "There are sanction restrictions on normal economic exchange, restrictions on banking operations, Syrian assets are still frozen. One can hardly be coupled with another from the point of view of common sense.".

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Foreign policy Syria Syrian conflict

Military operation in Ukraine

Russian troops destroy 89 Ukrainian UAVs, 5 boats in Kherson area over past day

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There is confirmed evidence of his connections with French secret services

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European Parliament urges EU states to regard Russian presidential vote as illegitimate

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Kremlin announces creation of blockchain-based payment system in BRICS

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Russia has "very constructive and friendly relations" with Turkey, Dmitry Peskov stressed

Russian troops wipe out Ukrainian UAV production workshop over past day

The Russian forces improved their frontline positions and inflicted casualties on five Ukrainian army brigades in the Donetsk area over the past day, the Defense Ministry reported

Ukrainian army strikes own surrendering soldiers — POW

Andrey Babenko said that after a crash course in Britain he had been sent to the frontline near Liman

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Serial production of missiles for S-500 air defense systems begins in Russia — source

State trials of S-500 are under way at a testing range in southern Russia

Transfer of US ATACMS missiles to Ukraine cannot be justified — Russian ambassador

"Neither these missiles nor other weapons can help defeat the Russian Federation," Anatoly Antonov said

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Industrial Development Fund will get additional capitalization of 300 bln rubles — Putin

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Kiev may use ATACMS missiles to hit Crimean Bridge — Russian defense ministry official

Russian military will do its utmost to repel such attacks, Apty Alaudinov said

North Korea to take part in SPIEF — Embassy in Russia

The 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held on June 5-8, 2024

Russian cosmonauts begin first spacewalk in 2024

Oleg Kononenko and Nikolay Chub are expected to spend 6 hours and 52 minutes outside the orbital outpost

Ukrainian opposition demands parliament speaker's resignation over pro-Hitler remarks

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West views Europe as potential theater of military operations — Lukashenko

The number of operational and combat training activities in Poland and the Baltic states increases every year, the Belarusian President noted

Swiss conference on Ukraine undermines European security — Russian diplomat

In Maxim Buyakevich words, neither the talks nor their outcome can change the existing political and territorial realities

Press review: NATO flexes muscles near Russian border and South China Sea runs hot

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Iran calls on BRICS states to facilitate ceasefire in Gaza Strip

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani called for a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza

Israel Defense Forces delivers more strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon

Apart from that, IDF fighter jets delivered strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in the area of Kfarchouba in southern Lebanon and in Markaba

Pelosi's remarks about US protesters undemocratic, Russian diplomat says

On April 25, US police said at least 127 people were arrested during large-scale protests on American university campuses against Israeli actions in the Palestinian enclave

Russia says its battlegroup West seized better positions

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Positive trends in Russian economy become stronger — Putin

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Good GDP growth results showed in first months of 2024 — Putin

GDP growth is 6% in average over the first two months, the Russian leader noted

TASS, SMI2 to launch positive content aggregator on Internet

Positive agenda promotion mechanisms should appear in Russia, SMI2 CEO Yury Belousov said

West again tried to obstruct international security meeting in Russia — security official

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West bends sanctions rules when it suits them — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov noted that, "according to some parameters, companies in Europe and other regions can hardly maintain their competitiveness if they completely abandon our products"

West’s unwillingness to give up hegemony escalates tensions in world — security official

According to Nikolay Patrushev, this creates conditions for the devaluation of international law and its institutions and the erosion of the UN's central role in resolving global and regional conflicts

Russian children’s commissioner holds first face-to-face talks with Ukrainian counterparts

Maria Lvova-Belova thanked Qatar for setting up a venue for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine regarding children’s interests

Venezuelan foreign ministry, Russian embassy hold joint conference in Caracas

The event brought together almost 200 diplomats, foreign ministry staffers and experts in international relations

Unemployment rate in Russia remains less than 3% — Putin

The unemployment rate went down in regions and settlements where it was historically high, the head of state stressed

US military advisers, if sent to Ukraine, won’t come close to frontlines — Pentagon

"United States has no intent of conducting combat operations inside of Ukraine, nor are these forces going to be anywhere near the frontlines," Patrick Ryder said

Top Chinese diplomat calls for creating conditions for talks on Ukraine

Wang Yi also called for "resolutely opposing attempts to take advantage of the chaos and add fuel to the fire"

FSB nabs Neo-Nazi group members in Volgograd Region plotting high-profile terror act

During the questioning, the detainees gave confessionary evidence that sharing the ideas of racial and religious supremacy, they established contact with the ringleaders of the pro-Ukrainian terrorist organization

ATACMS shipment proves ‘Zelensky’s formula’ needed in US as ‘smoke and mirrors’ — diplomat

"Washington’s plan is sickeningly simple, as it means dragging everyone under the pretext of ‘peace intentions’ to an empty gathering, while bolstering Zelensky’s terrorist potential," Maria Zakharova said

White House alleges that Russia working on satellite carrying nuclear device

"We have heard President Putin say publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. If that were the case, Russia would not have vetoed this resolution," Jake Sullivan stressed.

Crocus City Hall attack funded using cryptocurrency, Russian finance watchdog says

Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service head added that the act of terrorism was intricately planned and it took an international network of conspirators to carry it out

Bank of Russia keeps key rate to prevent inflation from being double-digit, Putin says

According to the head of state, such risks still exist

Potential nuclear facilities in Poland to be military target for Russia — senior diplomat

According to Sergey Ryabkov, discussions around the deployment of NATO nuclear facilities in Poland are an "unfolding story"

Radioactive cloud from Ukraine’s eliminated munitions drifts to Europe — Security Council

"An increase in radiation levels has already been registered in Poland," Nikolay Patrushev warned

Ukraine had to negotiate agreements with Russia with ‘three masters’ — Russian envoy

"It is very difficult to negotiate with those who are unable to make decisions, even if they want, they can’t, and only act as a side to a difficult conflict," Vladimir Medinsky explained

Russian diplomat accuses US of coordinating Ukraine’s terrorist attacks

Earlier, US President Joe Biden signed a package of bills approved by Congress, which total some $95 bln and include about $61 bln to help Ukraine and $26 bln to support Israel

Russian international reserves up $2.5 bln in one week exceeding $603.2 bln — Central Bank

Russia’s international reserves are highly liquid foreign assets available with the Bank of Russia and the Russian government