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Drafting of comprehensive Russia-Iran agreement nears completion — Russian envoy

Earlier, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said that Iran expects the comprehensive cooperation agreement between Tehran and Moscow to be signed this year

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. The process of drafting the text of a comprehensive cooperation agreement between Russia and Iran is now at the final amendment stage, Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and director of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department, told TASS on Friday.

"Both sides are determined to sign it as soon as [it] is ready. The Iranian partners have sent us their amendments; we have been exchanging [them] for the past year, [and] we have sent our revisions and considerations [to them]. Now we are waiting for them to put it down on paper. After that, we will compile everything into a single document, then we will report to the leadership and the president will decide when and how [it will be signed]," the diplomat said.

There has been no delay in the process, the diplomat stressed. "What’s happening is the routine legal process of agreeing on [the content of] a serious document, [which will be] a 20-year strategic agreement," Kabulov noted.

Earlier, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said that Iran expects the comprehensive cooperation agreement between Tehran and Moscow to be signed this year.

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Russian, North Korean ministers of sport agree on exchanges in 2025 — KCNA

The Russian delegation has toured sports facilities and memorials in Pyongyang and viewed a Taekwondo demonstration

Weapons supplied to Ukraine cannot reach Russian territory, Spanish defense minister says

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Cooperation with Russia will play important role in upgrade of Indian armed forces — MFA

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Putin, Turkish president hold phone talks — Kremlin

The leaders also discussed some international issues

Strike with Oreshnik missile was a timely and effective response to the West — Kremlin

Dmitry Peskov added that by authorizing strikes deep into Russia with its missiles, the US administration ignored Russian President Vladimir Putin's warnings about the possible consequences

Moscow not ruling out Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader

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Romanian presidential candidate vows to end military aid to Ukraine

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

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Russia acted responsibly in warning US about Oreshnik missile launch, Kremlin says

The US was notified automatically 30 minutes before the launch by Russia's Nuclear Risk Reduction Center

US, Europe openly side with Kiev by supplying it with weapons — top Turkish diplomat

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Comprehensive partnership agreement between Russia, Iran to cover defense sphere

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Russian armed forces defeat Ukrainian assault Battalion Shkval in DPR

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Progress cargo spaceship docks to ISS

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France, UK will have to pay for their helping Ukraine strike inside Russia — diplomat

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov said that what has been done by the White House is very dangerous

Russian military to warn Ukrainian civilians of future Oreshnik attacks — Kremlin

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Russia’s Oreshnik has no analogues worldwide — Putin

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

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Russia to view F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine as threat in nuclear sphere — Lavrov

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Putin congratulates Serbian film director Kusturica with seventieth birthday

Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Serbia Natalia Klischenkova read the text of the telegram to Kusturica

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Over the day, the enemy lost 150 troops, four motor vehicles, an artillery piece and two mortars

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Zakharova said earlier that no attempts by "French warmongers" would change the outcome of the conflict

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Kremlin doesn’t see Trump’s future term through ‘rose-colored glasses’ — spokesman

Trump is scheduled to be sworn in as president on January 20, 2025

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

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Ciolacu, Lasconi to face off in presidential runoff in Romania next month — exit polls

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Europe unable to wage war attrition on Russia — Ukraine’s ex-commander-in-chief

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Russia to toughly respond to Japan’s steps against it — Deputy Foreign Minister

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State Department says US-India relations hit some headwinds due to Russia, BRICS

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

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Russia will respond ‘in every way’ to Seoul’s arms supply to Kiev — MFA

Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko called on South Korean to soberly assess the situation and refrain from "reckless steps"

Senior envoy sees Putin’s statement as signal of Russia’s readiness for military responses

Sergey Ryabkov stressed that Russia has its underlying security interests "that will be ensured by every means that we have at our disposal"

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According to the Russian foreign minister, this represents the "confrontational logic" of the West

Press review: US lets Kiev use anti-personnel mines and Iran may halt uranium enrichment

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Cyprus submits NATO accession plan to US — report

Nicosia reportedly asked to buy some military equipment from Washington as part of a three or five-year agreement, and sought help in bringing Cyprus’ military capabilities to NATO standards

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Doctors, including psychologists, are working with the Kursk Region residents that returned from Ukraine

NATO enters conflict, Russia has every right to attack its targets now — expert

Col. (Ret.) Lawrence Wilkerson confirmed to TASS that the launch of ATACMS missiles would be impossible without "US/NATO satellite feeds and/or personnel"

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

Kremlin clarifies notification process for Oreshnik missile launch

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

Kremlin spokesman says missiles like Oreshnik are developed in secrecy

Dmitry Peskov said that he himself did not know about this work before Russian President Vladimir Putin announced it

Lukashenko grants asylum to Schmidt persecuted on political grounds by Poland

The head of state also approved citizenship applications from foreign nationals and stateless persons residing in the country

Kremlin sees US-led West ready to do anything to suppress Russia

The situation is "unprecedented," the spokesman told the reporter from the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company

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

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Russia’s Medvedev warns Europe could face ‘catastrophic damage’ from Oreshnik missile

Medvedev also commented on Vladimir Zelensky’s "resilience plan."

Diplomat mocks US Senator for talking about invading Netherlands

Maria Zakharova quoted the US Senator, who called the ICC a "Kangaroo court" and ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan a "deranged fanatic"

Gas supply by Gazprom for Europe through Ukraine totals 42 mcm via Sudzha

The volume of supplies remains the same, despite the failure of Austrian company OMV to pay for Russian gas supplies

Zelensky begs ‘for his country to be flattened’ — US journalist

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Press review: Uranium costs soar as Moscow updates nuclear doctrine and US OKs attacks

Top stories from the Russian press on Wednesday, November 20th

Trump ‘incredibly concerned’ about escalation in Ukraine, his NSA pick Waltz says

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Russian servicemen control 30% of Chasov Yar in DPR — expert

According to military expert Andrey Marochko, 10% of the territory is the so-called grey zone

West irrational, fails to understand it cannot intercept Russia's new missiles — Kneissl

The former Austrian foreign minister stressed that she "counted on rational Western decision-makers, but irrationality is unfortunately on the rise among them"

Russia to export up to 60 mln metric tons of grain this season, senior official forecasts

According to Dmitry Patrushev, Russian farmers faced challenging weather this year

Independent candidate Georgescu leading first round of presidential election in Romania

Georgescu is reserved about Romania’s NATO membership and he has been cautiously pushing for normalization with Russia

Conflict in Ukraine no longer regional war — German defense minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that strikes on Russian territory with Western long-range missiles had made the conflict in Ukraine a global one

Gazprombank’s UnionPay cards no longer serviced in several countries

Kiev been pushed by West toward aggression against own population for 8 years — diplomat

According to Oleg Gavrilov, these actions are geared to form a source of threats to Moscow at the Russian borders

Topol ICBMs to come out of service in Russia in 2024

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Ukrainian army admits loss of 40% of territories it controlled in Kursk Region — agency

"At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometers, now of course this territory is smaller," the source said

Any escalation scenario possible in Ukraine conflict — Medvedev

According to the politician, Western nations need to understand that they are fighting on Ukraine’s side

Kiev forces lost over 260 troops in Kursk direction in 24 hours — Russian Defense Ministry

During the fighting in the Kursk direction, the enemy lost more than 35,310 servicemen

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

According to the Russian foreign minister, the West is directly involved in the use of long-range weapons against Russia, as not a single missile could be launched without its involvement

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

Signal to West and 'red card': experts weigh in on Putin’s missile launch statements

The important message in Vladimir Putin’s speech was that "Russia does believe that the West has shifted from a proxy-war to direct war" and that the parties find themselves in "a global conflict" now, Dmitry Suslov said

UK mercenary taken prisoner in Russia’s Kursk area — source

"A mercenary from Britain has been taken prisoner in the Kursk area," the person said

Russian troops mopping up enemy positions in Yelizavetovka in Donbass region — politician

On November 20, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the liberation of Ilyinka in the DPR

US, European officials suggest returning nukes to Ukraine — NYT

US officials believe that ramping up weapons supplies to Ukraine is unlikely to change the situation in the combat zone short term, but it may help Kiev strengthen its stance in case a truce is reached

Opposition holds rally in Georgian capital to protest election outcome

The rally is attended by people that came from the country’s regions by car

Most of Russian weapons manufactured inside Russia — Medvedev

Warehouse with containers of flammable liquids on fire in Barnaul — Emergencies ministry

As the ministry’s the regional headquarters reported, the area of the fire is 6,000 square meters

Shooting took place near Israeli embassy in Jordan — TV

Adjacent streets are blocked by security forces

NATO pours with weapons prohibited by INF Treaty to Asia — Russian Foreign Ministry

"This vector highlighted as early as by the Republicans was legally formalized under the Democrats administration and resulted in the dramatic surge of militarization in Asia," Andrey Rudenko said

West’s trying to turn Seoul into accomplice of Zelensky regime — Russian Foreign Ministry

Andrey Rudenko stressed that bilateral cooperation between Russia and the DPRK "is built in accordance with the generally recognized norms of international law and is not directed against any third countries"