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Russian, French foreign ministers start talks in Paris

On Sunday, the US Secretary of State John Kerry had talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Foreign Ministers of France and Russia, Laurent Fabius and Sergei Lavrov ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Metsel

Foreign Ministers of France and Russia, Laurent Fabius and Sergei Lavrov

© ITAR-TASS/Mikhail Metsel

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Lavrov: having recognized Maidan, West must recognize reunification of Crimea with Russia

PARIS, March 31./ITAR-TASS/. Foreign Ministers of Russia and France, Sergei Lavrov and Laurent Fabius, have started talks devoted to ways to stabilize the situation in Ukraine.

On Sunday, March 30, Lavrov met with US Secretary of State John Kerry. After the six-hour talks Lavrov said Russia and the United States had agreed “to search for common solutions to the crisis in Ukraine”.

“We agreed to work with the Ukrainian government, with the Ukrainian people in order to press for such priority measures as ensuring rights of ethnic minorities and language rights, disarming provocateurs, carrying out a constitutional reform and holding free and fair elections under unbiased international supervision,” Lavrov said.

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Terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall

Afghan Foreign Ministry condemns terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall outside Moscow

The ministry’s Spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi said, that considers it a blatant violation of all human standards

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

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Sergey Aksenov noted that the increase in budget revenues helped use a large amount of funds on the development of priority areas, including environmental protection, education, health care, and road construction

EU summit calls to continue work on duties on Russian, Belarusian agricultural produce

The European Commission suggested introducing duties on agricultural products from Russia and Belarus earlier

Sistema Holding posts 15% increase in IFRS revenues over 9M 2023

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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"

Energy prices help US economy to develop better than Europe — IMF

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Ukraine attacks ZNPP training center again, drone neutralized

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Humanitarian efforts in Gaza doomed without durable ceasefire — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya is convinced that the work of the UNRWA is indispensable under these circumstances

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Iran intends to bolster military cooperation with Russia — envoy to Moscow

Kazem Jalali noted that Iran had demonstrated its ability to ensure security and nudge the region toward a de-escalation

Ukrainian nationalists in Mariupol used maternity hospital as their base — Lavrov

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

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Kiev continues to openly announce terrorist attacks on Russia — diplomat

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Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian Prosecutor General

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Tokyo potentially joining US nuclear missions fraught with danger — Russian diplomat

Maria Zakharova also highlighted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent US visit, adding that "it was yet again accompanied by anti-Russian outbursts"

Russian MFA says Russia won’t invade Ukraine, blames US for ‘aggressive plans’

Maria Zakharova said it was "absurd" to say Russia nurtured any aggressive plans about Ukraine

Russian artillery thwarts Ukrainian army’s rotation near Kupyansk — underground resistance

The Ukrainian army used the outbuilding as an ammunition depot, which accommodated about 15 fighters at the time of the air strike, spokesman Sergey Lebedev specified

Chechen leader announces decision to add 3,000 ex-Wagner fighters to Akhmat commandos

Ramzan Kadyrov said the Russian Defense Ministry had already opened the necessary number of vacancies to recruit soldiers

Vologda Region to present its stand at SPIEF first time

The organizers will present multimedia and interactive materials on main sectors of the regional economy

Kazakhstan to sign new agreement with Russia on border checkpoints

The previous intergovernmental agreement dated December 23, 1998 on checkpoints through the Kazakh-Russian state border will cease to have effect on the effective date of the new document

Russian government approves draft agreement on military cooperation with DRC

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Putin points to high risk of new epidemic outbreaks

The Russian president pointed out that Moscow’s "program of assistance to the African countries in sanitary and epidemiological well-being provides for the delivery of ten mobile high-containment biological laboratories"

Nord Stream AG's refusal to pay compensation destroys Western insurance system — diplomat

"The West is not only taking state assets and private property, but also threatening to destroy the major civilian infrastructure facilities, which were built with investments and then miraculously blown up, and they have now threatened insurance," Maria Zakharova said

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Russia, Iran maintain contacts on nuclear security - deputy foreign minister

Sergey Ryabkov said that "very soon, Russia and Iran will have new additional opportunities to discuss the situation in the Middle East in general, as well as details of what is going on there at this point"

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

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"The Israeli forces carry out strikes at humanitarian forces, block their access, slow down the cargo clearance," Vasily Nebenzya said

Germany moves to exclude Russia from concentration camp liberation celebrations

According to Maria Zakharova, Moscow "regards this provocative attack as the latest move by the German side aimed at further twisting history, painting the course and outcome of World War II in an anti-Russian manner"

Press TV reports all of Iran's hypersonic missiles hit intended targets in Israel

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Russian forces destroy Ukrainian command post, two S-300 missile launchers over day

Russian forces improved their frontline positions and repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack in the Donetsk area where the enemy lost roughly 590 troops over the past day, the ministry reported

West militarizes South Caucasus, buries hope for region’s peaceful future — Russian MFA

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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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German MFA summons Russian ambassador after detention of espionage suspects — newspaper

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Iran completed operation, to respond with greater force if needed — envoy to Russia

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Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

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Ukraine struggles to garner support for Swiss conference — Russian Foreign Ministry

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MiG-31I fighters receive air refueling system

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Argentina applies for status of NATO’s global partner

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Chinese car plant to start production at former Mercedes site in Moscow region in May

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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

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

Water in Kurgan above dam, breaking records

More than 100 employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies are fencing the shores and filling the least reliable dam segments

EU plans to invest first profits from Russian assets in military aid to Kiev

"I think that the decision has been taken by the member-states - all 27 have agreed that we use the windfall profits following our proposal," Ursula von der Leyen said

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

Anatoly Antonov has urged the US "not to open Pandora's Box" and follow Russia’s suit "by taking all necessary steps to ensure global stability and predictability"

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source

The first Konteiner radar went on combat duty in the Volga area region of Mordovia on December 1, 2019

Throughput capacity of railroads to Subarctic ports to be 110 mln tons — governor

The area for the terminal to transship Belarusian potash fertilizers, where the capacity of the port of Lavna under construction and railroad approaches to it, have already been selected, Andrey Chibis noted

EU border checkpoint closest to Russia’s St. Petersburg to cut its working hours

The changes were attributed to reconstruction works on the Russian side of the checkpoint Ivangorod

Cuba expects to welcome over 200,000 Russian tourists in 2024 — minister

Juan Carlos Garcia Granda expressed hope that in a short term the number could climb to half a million

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

According to Maria Zakharova, in order for Moscow to take Macron’s initiative seriously, "practical steps" are needed

Agents in Ukrainian, Poland foil attempt to kill Zelensky, security officials in Kiev say

The agency said it and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine informed their Polish counterparts about the alleged assassination attempt

No plans to ‘get involved in combat role’ in Ukraine, White House official says

Asked if it was because of Russia’s nuclear weapons, Kirby repeated that the circumstances were different

IMF estimates Kiev needs for this year at $42 bln — Managing Director

"The support for Ukraine remains steady. It is firm," Kristalina Georgieva noted

Colombian president displays interest in country’s entry into BRICS

Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Gustavo Petro’s initiative, "being committed to promotion of Colombia’s candidacy"

Ukrainian front may collapse this summer — newspaper

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Major Western investor accuses Zelensky's office of extorting millions of euros

Arnulf Damerau said that he provided details of the meeting, along with evidence and a list of names of those involved, to US and European intelligence agencies

G7 foreign ministers set to call on all sides to exercise restraint in Middle East

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Israel will "most likely" respond to the recent Iranian attack

CIA chief says Ukraine could lose by end of this year — Politico

William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

Russian-Turkish monitoring center in Karabakh ceases to operate — Ankara official

On November 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh

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

Russian prosecutor general accuses US of imposing illegitimate sanctions

According to Igor Krasnov, the trust-based relations between Russia and Venezuela create a basis for interaction and cooperation on various trajectories, including law enforcement

Russian Aerospace Forces strike five militant hideouts in Syria’s Homs

Yury Popov said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria

Russian Railways to triple tourist passenger flow to 3 mln people by 2030

The country faces the task of doubling the flow of passengers in excursion trains by 2030 compared with 2023, while Russian Railways sets tripling the number of passengers as a goal, Ivan Kolesnikov noted

Ukraine convicts 12th world chess champion for recognizing Donetsk, Lugansk republics

The two other State Duma members mentioned in the verdict alongside Karpov are Viktor Kazakov and Georgy Karlov

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

German Foreign Ministry confirms summoning of Russian ambassador

Earlier, the German Public Prosecutor’s Office said that two people had been detained on suspicion of spying for Russia

Press review: Iran fires back at Israel and Russia, West spar over AI rulebook

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, April 15th