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Middle East conflict

Israeli construction in West Bank derails peace process — Moscow

Moscow confirmed its position on Israel’s illegal practice of settlement construction in the Palestinian territories

MOSCOW, January 13. /TASS/. Construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank cannot help broker peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website on Saturday.

"We think that this policy of Israel cannot help create conditions for a restart of direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, as solutions to all issues of the final status need to be found during them," the ministry said.

Moscow has confirmed its position on Israel’s illegal practice of settlement construction in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

"Along with this, it is also evident that Israel’s ongoing settlement activity derails prospects for the two states’ solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and diminishes chances for achieving a fair and lasting peace in the Middle East," the statement reads.

On January 11, Israel’s Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) movement said that the Civil Administration Higher Planning Committee, the military body that enforces Israeli policy in the West Bank, had approved plans for construction of 1,122 apartments and houses in 20 settlements and published bids for 651 housing units in the West Bank.

Continuous construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is believed to be one of the main obstacles in the path of the decades-long conflict. On 23 December 2016, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2334 demanding that Israel immediately halt their settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In response, Israel refused to implement the resolution. Last August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed his country would continue building and developing settlements in the West Bank.

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

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Ukraine should consider territorial concessions to Russia in return for peace — magazine

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Here are the key statements, made during the meeting

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

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US not seeking confrontation with Russia, but will continue assistance to Kiev — Pentagon

Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also claimed that Washington, while helping Ukraine, is not attempting to turn the conflict into a large-scale regional confrontation that spills beyond the country’s borders

Ukrainian defense line in Donbass may soon collapse — expert

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Soyuz rocket carrying Progress MS-29 cargo spaceship blasts off from Baikonur spaceport

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

US, European officials suggest returning nukes to Ukraine — NYT

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

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

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

The Belarusian leader noted that they want to go to Warsaw

Russian air defense deflects attacks with Western missiles — Putin

"As a result, the goals that the enemy apparently set have not been achieved," the Russian leader said

India, Russia discuss defense industry within military cooperation commission

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US administration chooses to escalate Ukraine conflict — Kremlin

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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

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

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Captives, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

Over the day, the enemy lost more than 150 people, while five Ukrainian servicemen surrendered

Zelensky shook up by Russia’s response to permission to attack it — Lavrov

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Kremlin clarifies notification process for Oreshnik missile launch

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

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"

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

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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-led coalition aircraft violate Syrian airspace ten times in past day

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

Putin’s position can be traced back to his 2007 address at the Munich Security Conference, Tiberio Graziani says

Good relations between Moscow, Riyadh helping oil market stability — Medvedev

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

Russian embassy warns UK about dangers of calling for Moscow’s ‘defeat’

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

US, West have no capabilities to intercept new Russian hypersonic missile — expert

"There is more in the Russian arsenal than many believe," said Karin Kneissl, the former Foreign Minister of Austria

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 journalist calls US President Joe Biden’s government 'the fascist state'

Earlier, Tucker Carlson said that Joe Biden's approval of long-range missile strikes by the Ukrainian army deep inside Russia could threaten US people

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

The French interior ministry said earlier that an emergency meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council will be held on November 26 following Russia using its new missile against a Ukrainian defense sector facility

North Korean leader warns of growing risk of nuclear war — KCNA

Kim Jong Un added that negotiations with the US only confirmed the North Korean view that Washington’s hostile policy remains unchanged

Russian stock market indices mixed on Friday — market data

The MOEX Russia Index surged by 0.48% to 2,581.05 points

Russia encircles largest Ukrainian fortification in southern DPR — security services

"The enemy positioned in the fortified area in Velikaya Novoselka in the south of the DPR is already trapped in a kill zone," the source said

Russian forces successfully advancing in all areas in special military op zone — Putin

The Russian president said that "all the goals we set for ourselves are being achieved"

Internet shutdown possible in Belarus if events of August 2020 recur, Lukashenko says

Belarus faced widespread disruptions to mobile Internet access in 2020 due to the protests that erupted across the country

Oreshnik can reach targets across entire Europe — missile troops commander

"Based on the tasks and the range of this weapon, it can hit targets across entire Europe, which sets it apart from other high-precision long-range weapons," Sergey Karakayev said