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Military operation in Ukraine

Russia presented draft document with clear wording to Ukraine, expects response — Kremlin

Russian-Ukrainian talks have been going on since February 28

© Maxim Churusov/TASS

MOSCOW, April 20. /TASS/. Russia handed over a document with concrete wording to Ukraine and is waiting for a response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

"The president [Vladimir Putin] said that the Ukrainian side always backs out from previously achieved agreements, backs out from their own words. This has very bad consequences in terms of efficiency of negotiations. Currently, the Ukrainian side was presented with our draft document that includes perfectly clear wording. The ball is on their side, we are waiting for an answer," he said, adding that the timeframe for the response depends on the Ukrainian side.

"We’ve said it repeatedly that the rate of work of the Ukrainian side leaves a lot to be desired, and the Ukrainian do not display great willingness to intensify the negotiations process," the spokesman said.

Russian-Ukrainian talks have been going on since February 28; Russian delegation is led by Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. Several in-person meetings took place in Belarus, after which the sides continued their communication via video conference. On March 29, an in-person round took place in Istanbul. Last Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters that Kiev backed out of agreements, achieved in Turkey, and led this process into a dead end.

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Foreign policy Military operation in Ukraine

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Russia-China military-technical cooperation not directed against other states — diplomat

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Polish premier refuses to hand over his country’s Patriot systems to Ukraine

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Protesters give Georgian government one hour to revoke foreign agents bill

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

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Georgian protests against foreign agent bill reek of US influence — Medvedev

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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

Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

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

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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

Both main US parties threatened Telegram, co-founder says

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Crimea, Donbass to forever remain within Russia, Slovak PM tells national parliament

Robert Fico believes Moscow will win in its confrontation with Kiev

Investigation into Crocus terrorist attack underway, traces lead to Ukraine — diplomat

Maria Zakharova noted the need to "wait for official information from the investigation"

Iran done with retaliation, calls for efforts to stop Israel from reckless steps — MFA

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US blocks Security Council resolution granting full UN membership to Palestine

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Germany moves to exclude Russia from concentration camp liberation celebrations

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US blackmails other countries at United Nations — Russian mission

Dmitry Polyansky said "this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War"

Russia can join top three countries by lithium reserves — governor

Infrastructure is required to implement the investment project, both power transmission lines and the railroad, Andrey Chibis noted

Court arrests man accused of blowing up car of former SBU officer in Moscow

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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"

Press review: US throws Russia New START curveball and Washington's aid balancing act

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, April 17th

US 'not forgetting' to help itself with aid to Ukraine — Kremlin

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Kazakhstan to sign new agreement with Russia on border checkpoints

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Putin points to high risk of new epidemic outbreaks

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

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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

German prosecutors confirm they have two suspected Russian agents in custody

According to prosecutors, Dieter S. asserted his readiness to carry out attacks, above all, against military infrastructure, but also industrial facilities

Kiev continues to openly announce terrorist attacks on Russia — diplomat

Maria Zakharova also pointed to the fact that Ukraine's special services do not give up attempts to "massacre their former compatriots"

Putin may hold meeting of Council on Interethnic Relations on April 24 — Council’s member

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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

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"

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

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

France-Russia relations hit rock bottom — ex-envoy to Paris

Alexander Orlov noted that recently French President Emmanuel Macron "has made a number of questionable moves that have increased the divide" between both countries

Over 40 nations want to join BRICS — Russian lawmaker

According to Grigory Karasin, many BRICS members share the opinion that the association should be in no hurry to adopt a strict charter, "seeing how counterproductively and even provocatively the European Union is acting"