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Belarusian move to withdraw Polish, Lithuanian diplomats harms dialogue with EU - Borrell

EU foreign policy chief said that the EU continues to support the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their President through new free and fair elections

BRUSSELS, October 4. /TASS/. The Belarusian authorities’ decision to reduce diplomatic presence of Poland and Lithuania after the introduction of EU sanctions against the country is "against the logic" of dialogue with the European Union and further isolates Minsk, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on Sunday.

"The demand of the Belarusian authorities that Poland and Lithuania withdraw their ambassadors and significantly reduce their diplomatic representations in Minsk is unfounded and regrettable. It goes against the logic of dialogue and will only further isolate the authorities in Minsk," Borrell said.

"Attempts by the Belarusian authorities to target certain EU Member States will not succeed in weakening EU unity, which was clearly reaffirmed by the European Council on 1 October when all EU Member States called on the Belarusian authorities to end violence and repression, release all detainees and political prisoners, respect media freedom and civil society, and start an inclusive national dialogue," he noted.

On the same day, the EU leaders approved sanctions against 40 Belarusian officials.

"The EU continues to support the democratic right of the Belarusian people to elect their President through new free and fair elections, without external interference," Borrell said.

Earlier, Borrell explained that Brussels did not consider funding the opposition media and organizations, providing political and media support to the protests and receiving Belarusian opposition leaders in the EU countries as meddling in the country’s affairs and planned to continue this effort.

Belarusian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Anatoly Glaz said on Friday that the ambassadors of Belarus in Poland and Lithuania had been recalled to Minsk for consultations starting from October 5, and Warsaw and Vilnius had been advised to do the same. In addition, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry recommended that by October 9 Poland should reduce its diplomatic staff from 50 to 18 and Lithuania from 25 to 14 given the countries’ "destructive" activity. He also noted that Minsk would impose visa restrictions against the most biased EU representatives.

Trump’s transition team says Manhattan Case against president-elect discontinued

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Trump seeks to restore peace in entire world — transition team on Putin’s address

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Lukashenko tells Putin situation is "starting to get tense with Wagner"

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Russia’s Oreshnik has no analogues worldwide — Putin

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Russia uses aerial bombs to destroy Ukrainian positions near DPR’s Konstantinovka — source

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

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Putin’s recent statements reflect long-standing policy, expert says

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Russia fires ballistic, non-nuclear-tipped missile at Ukrainian aerospace plant — Putin

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West beginning to realize only part of Ukraine will remain — Lavrov

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Kremlin confident Putin's statement got through to US administration

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Trump to tap Richard Grenell as US special envoy on Ukraine — agency

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Earlier, Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army is unable to fire the latest Western-made long-range missiles on its own without support from NATO satellite feeds and the involvement of the bloc’s military

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Units of the Russian battlegroup East continue fulfilling military tasks in the area of the special military operation

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"Our friends are living in the Arab world," the politician noted

Western nations should take Putin's statement seriously, warns Hungarian PM

Viktor Orban recalled that Russia has "one of the most powerful armies in the world, which boasts the most advanced, most powerful weapons"

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

"Democratic institutions in the country have been destroyed, rendering dialogue between the government and the people impossible," Viktor Medvedchuk said

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

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Oreshnik can reach targets across entire Europe — missile troops commander

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Maria Zakharova noted that the Russian Embassy in Helsinki has sent requests to clarify the situation

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Here are the key statements, made during the meeting

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"An automated warning was sent 30 minutes before the launch," Dmitry Peskov said

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Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, November 22nd

Zelensky fine with conflict continuing due to Western help — Slovak PM

Robert Fico pointed out that "more and more evidence show that the West seeks to prolong the war in Ukraine for various reasons"

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

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Russia forced to roll out new weapons as West fuels conflict, Minsk says

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Lukashenko grants asylum to Schmidt persecuted on political grounds by Poland

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Oreshnik missile to change course of Ukrainian conflict, Medvedev believes

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said it in an interview

German politician slams Ukraine’s ‘irresponsible’ strike on Russia with UK-made missiles

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

The company stated it would seek damages amounting to 230 million euro for failing to receive the contracted volume of gas from the Russian company for delivery to Germany

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Russia hammers Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, energy sites over week

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Ex-German chancellor never expected Russia to tolerate Ukraine’s NATO membership — memoir

Angela Merkel added that another fallacy was the belief that the status "would act as a deterrent," and that Moscow "would accept these developments without taking action"

Defense ministers of five European nations to meet in Berlin on November 25

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Israel carries out four strikes on building in Beirut

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Zelensky to have no input if Russia, US negotiate, ex-Prime Minister says

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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

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

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State Department says Russia, China maintain forward momentum in bilateral relationship

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Russia encircles largest Ukrainian fortification in southern DPR — security services

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Enemy has no countermeasures for Russia’s Oreshnik missile — Putin

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Ukraine conflict entering decisive phase, Polish PM says

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

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Ukrainian defense line in Donbass may soon collapse — expert

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Japanese lawmaker praises Putin's restraint amid decision to strike deep into Russia

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Belarusian president believes humanity is on the brink of World War III

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Russian forces gain foothold in Chasov Yar’s industrial zone — expert

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Russian air defense deflects attacks with Western missiles — Putin

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Russia’s steel production plunged in October — WSA

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

Ukrainian frontline may 'collapse' under onslaught of Russian forces — BBC

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

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Western air defense systems unlikely to intercept Russian missiles — France’s Le Monde

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Biden’s actions on Ukraine meant to 'muck things up' for Trump — Lavrov

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