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Senior Russian diplomat describes expanded G7 summit initiative as "flawed idea"

Sergei Ryabkov recalled Russia’s initiative to hold a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov Sergei Bobylev/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov

© Sergei Bobylev/TASS

MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. The idea to hold an expanded G7 summit is flawed, since it is impossible to discuss any issues in the modern world without China, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS on Saturday.

"The idea of the so-called expanded G7 summit is flawed, because it is unclear to us how the authors of that initiative plan to consider the Chinese factor. Without China, it is just impossible to discuss certain issues in the modern world," he stressed.

Ryabkov recalled Russia’s initiative to hold a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. "This is a completely different format. We believe that work in that format, including on the most pressing current issues, is optimal," he noted.

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Musk believes Germany’s Scholz should step down after car drives into crowd in Magdeburg

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Zelensky actually flips the bird to Trump by insulting Putin, Medvedev says

The politician emphasized that "the president of a major country should be extremely polite and amiable"

Assad allegedly hands list of military targets over to Israel before leaving Syria — media

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Russia’s international reserves up by $3.8 bln to $618.2 bln over week — Central Bank

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Putin agrees 'Russian world' now faces war

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All foreign personnel of international humanitarian organizations have also left, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said

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Putin grants Russian citizenship to Italian opera icon Giancarlo del Monaco

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Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko reported the fires in Solomensky and Shevchenkovsky districts

Putin sends greetings on Russia’s Energy Industry Worker’s Day

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Damage to Portuguese Embassy in Kiev caused by Ukrainian air defense — Russian diplomats

Reporters are ramping up Russophobia, distorting the facts while writing on this matter, the Russian Embassy in Portugal said

Kremlin spokesman clarifies Putin’s statement about Oreshnik 'duel'

"It is very important to talk about these statements by the president in the context of the question he was asked," Dmitry Peskov pointed out

Airborne troops from Russia’s Battlegroup Dnepr wipe out enemy position in Kherson region

A Russian airborne crew hit the target by firing a 120-mm mortar gun on a Ukrainian temporary position

West should consider Putin's words on Oreshnik missile duel — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that the rhetoric about "inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia" is firmly rooted in the mentality of the NATO regimes not at all as hypothetical assumptions

Russian sleeper agents open up about secret trip to 2018 World Cup

The married couple, Artyom Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, returned home as a result of an exchange

Russia to retaliate against Ukrainian strikes, just as Putin said — Kremlin

"Russia’s position is well known, it was voiced by Putin back in St. Petersburg," Dmitry Peskov stressed

Scholz, German Interior Minister booed during visit to terrorist attack site — newspaper

A protest broke out during the chancellor's and minister's visit, with demonstrators whistling and shouting "Get out!"

Three of eight drones that attacked Kazan targeted defense industry facilities — head

The Tatarstan head Rustam Minnikhanov also noted that all operational services worked well when dealing with the aftermath of the drone attack

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Magnitude 5.3 earthquake rocks South Africa

No injuries or damage were reported

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Series of explosions rock central Kiev — eyewitnesses

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported about explosions in the capital, and local authorities informed about the work of air defenses

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According to Alexander Stepanov, strikes are systematic efforts to gradually wipe out the military capabilities of Ukraine

Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Rylsk damages 12 buildings — governor

Three of them are not subject to restoration, Alexander Khinshtein said

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The US Senate and House of Representatives approved the bill a day before

Yemen’s Houthis announce hypersonic missile strike at military facility near Tel Aviv

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The range of the Oreshnik system is up to 5,500 kilometers

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NATO spies study damage from Oreshnik at Yuzhmash — expert

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Project 885M nuclear-powered submarines carry Oniks and Kalibr-PL cruise missiles as their basic strike weapons

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Russian missile cruiser Admiral Nakhimov to become world’s strongest warship after upgrade

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Almost 20 drones downed over four Russian regions, Black Sea last night

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Possible arrival of new Russian envoy before Trump’s inauguration depends on US — diplomat

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Ukrainian lawmaker slams Zelensky for trying to bribe Slovak PM

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Press review: South Korean president impeached as Ukraine turns to foreign mercenaries

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"Robert Fico will travel to visit Putin as a European countries leader," Aleksandar Vucic said

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The emblem is based on the kapok tree growing in the Amazon, painted in the colors of the national flags of the community's states

Russia-US dialogue on Ukraine can be conducted on different platforms — senior diplomat

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Drone attack triggers fire at fuel infrastructure facility in Russia’s Oryol Region

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Yemeni capital city subjected to massive airstrike - TV channel

According to the Al Hadath TV channel, at least three strikes hit Ansar Allah military facilities located in Sanaa, including rebel locations

US confirms strikes on Houthi command posts in Yemen

CENTCOM forces also shot down several Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles and an anti-ship cruise missile over the Red Sea

Hungarian PM highlights need to lift sanctions on Russia once Ukraine conflict is resolved

Viktor Obran added, however, that only a couple of EU countries shared Hungary’s position

Ukrainian troops struggling to escape being trapped in Lozovaya in Kharkov region — expert

In general, "quite active hostilities" are taking place near Dvurechnaya and Lozovaya in the Kupyansk sector of the line of engagement, Andrey Marochko noted

Response to Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Rylsk to come shortly — Russia’s UN envoy

Vasily Nebenzya warned as he denounced the attack as yet another unambiguous step by the Kiev regime toward escalation

Press review: Who benefits from Russian general's murder as Trump lacks Kremlin strategy

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, December 18th

Russian forces control more than half of Chasov Yar in DPR — expert

Andrey Marochko noted that Russian forces had "slightly advanced" in the northern and southern parts of Chasov Yar

Kiev takes out its anger for military defeats on Russian people — diplomat

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also emphasized that Moscow is outraged by the hypocritical silence of the West and its media on the terrorist attacks in Russia

Perm sub with Tsirkon hypersonic missiles to enter service with Russian Navy in 2026

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Russia’s first two helicopter carriers to be laid down in Crimea in spring 2020 — sources

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Key rate, inflation and criticism of Central Bank: statements by regulator’s chief

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US Navy cruiser mistakenly downs F/A-18 fighter over Red Sea

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Russian cancer vaccine to be free of charge — top oncologist

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Russia’s Battlegroup South liberates settlement of Ostrovskogo in DPR — Defense Ministry

"The enemy lost up to 285 troops, two armored combat vehicles, two motor vehicles, a D-30 122 mm howitzer, a US-made M119 105 mm howitzers and five field ammunition depots," the ministry added

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Putin challenges West to try to intercept Oreshnik missile in Kiev

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