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Conflict in Syria

Moscow, Damascus discuss coordination in UN amid Western accusation campaign — MFA

Russia and Syria agreed to continue cooperation and possible coordination of moves, the statement says

MOSCOW, February 2. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin met with Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Ayman Susan and Syrian Ambassador to Russia Bashar Jaafari to discuss cooperation of the two countries in the UN, including in the context of the West’s campaign to accuse Moscow and Damascus of non-compliance with human rights treaties, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Thursday following the January 31 meeting.

"A wide range of key issues of interaction between Russian and Syrian representatives at various platforms within the UN were discussed, including in the context of the campaign unleashed by countries of the collective West to accuse Moscow and Damascus of violating obligations under international human rights treaties," it said.

"A number of international and regional problems on the agenda of the UN platforms were also discussed," the ministry said. Russia and Syria agreed to continue cooperation and possible coordination of moves, it added.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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Earlier, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the European Union intends to invest the first 2.5-3 billion euros of profits raised from seized Russian assets in military assistance for Ukraine

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A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces declined to comment on the reports of the strike

Ukrainians abroad storming embassies to avoid mobilization, Russian diplomat says

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Founder of neo-Nazi cell in Crimea flees to Georgia — source

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Argentina’s NATO partnership bid to let US tighten its grip — expert

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Iran intends to bolster military cooperation with Russia — envoy to Moscow

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Kremlin condemns 'illegal' seizure of villa from Russian businessman

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

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Final statement by G7 top diplomats to call for supplying more air defenses to Kiev

Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister said Kiev required US-made Patriot systems and Italian-French Samp-T theatre antimissile systems

Press review: Ukraine, Israel vie for EU’s attention and Georgia passes controversial bill

Top stories from the Russian press on Thursday, April 18th

Russia’s defense chief inspects production of tanks, flamethrowers at Siberian enterprise

Sergey Shoigu handed down an instruction for the defense enterprise to ramp up the production of T-80BVM tanks, the Defense Ministry said

Syrian ministry says Israeli jets struck air defense facilities in country’s south

Earlier, the media reported that one of the strikes hit Tha'lah Military Airbase, with several explosions going off there

Nearly half of those present in UN Security Council hall walk out before Israel’s address

israeli Permanent Representative Gilad Erdan was to address the council after Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour

Russia, Iran maintain contacts on nuclear security - deputy foreign minister

Sergey Ryabkov said that "very soon, Russia and Iran will have new additional opportunities to discuss the situation in the Middle East in general, as well as details of what is going on there at this point"

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

Russia’s advanced radar in Kaliningrad to monitor entire territory of Europe — source

The first Konteiner radar went on combat duty in the Volga area region of Mordovia on December 1, 2019

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"

Hezbollah warns Israel it will fight back if attacks on Lebanon continue

The Lebanese Shiite organization "would not accept that the Israelis transgress the rules of engagement that are currently set in the south" of Lebanon

MiG-31I fighters receive air refueling system

Another source said MiG-31I differs from previous MiG-K option by "different engines, avionics and missiles"

Lavrov describes Georgia’s bill on foreign agents as 'mildest of all'

The top Russian diplomat stressed that the Georgian bill on foreign agents suggested only the need to declare funds, if the organization in question received more than 20% of its funding from abroad

Water in Kurgan above dam, breaking records

More than 100 employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies are fencing the shores and filling the least reliable dam segments

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Fox News said the Jewish state delivered a limited strike on Iran

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Israel to not take responsibility for attack on Iran — newspaper

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The minister also inspected the training process in Omsk Armor Engineering Institute

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"The UN history has precedents when states were not admitted on their first try. The number of attempts is not limited," Nadezhda Sokolova said

Russia knows French military instructors working in Ukraine — Lavrov

At the same time, the top Russian diplomat pointed out that "there is information that not only French mercenaries, but also instructors, maybe even together, but along with some other representatives of military and special services of European countries are working there [in Ukraine]"

French president says creating Israeli-type air defense network for Ukraine impossible

Emmanuel Macron added that Europe’s resources are limited, and the European Union will continue helping Kiev keeping in mind its own reserves

Russia ready for Ukraine talks, but not with Zelensky — Lavrov

The first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the start of the special military operation took place in early March 2022 in Belarus, but they did not bring tangible results

Major Western investor accuses Zelensky's office of extorting millions of euros

Arnulf Damerau said that he provided details of the meeting, along with evidence and a list of names of those involved, to US and European intelligence agencies

US blocks Security Council resolution granting full UN membership to Palestine

A total of 12 countries, including Russia and China, voted in favor of the document

Israeli Air Force attacks airfield in southern Syria during strike on Iran

According to local sources, a radar station located at a military site along a highway connecting the towns of Qarfa and Izraa was disabled in the attack

Military base near Iran’s Isfahan hit following attack — newspaper

The sources said that Iranian forces managed to destroy several small drones near the city of Tabriz, about 800 kilometers from Isfahan

No foreign state attacks Iran — TV

Earlier, the media reported, citing a US official, that Israel had launched a missile strike on a site in Iranian territory

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

Donald Tusk said that German Chancellor’s call to send more air defense systems to Kiev had no relation to Poland, provided the country's geographical position near the frontline

Zelensky's formula should be put aside for Ukraine talks, Lavrov says

"One should clearly support the need to seek solutions that take into account the balance of security interests and ensure the indivisibility of security," the top Russian diplomat underlined

Nuclear sites in Iran’s Isfahan province are safe — Tasnim agency

Tasnim refuted foreign media reports about an incident at a nuclear site in Isfahan

Tehran’s two major airports cancel international flights — Mehr

Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport suspended their operations until 10:30 a.m. local time

Situation in Iran’s Isfahan stabilizes after drone attack — media

According to the news agency, all reports about fires or explosions have nothing to do with reality

Russian Aerospace Forces strike five militant hideouts in Syria’s Homs

Yury Popov said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria

Kiev ordered mandatory evacuation from Kharkov Region to accommodate mercenaries

Evacuation campaigns are regularly organized by the Kiev government, under the pretext of security issues

Swiss parliament votes against joining task force on frozen Russian assets

The group contains US finance and justice ministers, representatives of Australia, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, Japan, as well as the European Commission

Chinese analyst sees US veto on Palestine as reflection of arrogance, double standards

Wang Wen stated that it’s still very hard to achieve a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

UN Security Council vote exposes practically full isolation of US — Russia’s UN mission

Vasily Nebenzya described the US veto as a "fruitless attempt to stop the inexorable course of history"

Security guarantees on Ukraine did not apply to Crimea, Donbass — Lavrov

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that "Ukrainian negotiators came and said that, for example, on the issue of maneuvers with the participation of third countries, let's replace the wording 'if all guarantor countries agree' with 'unless the majority agrees'"

Kiev lacks both troops and equipment near Chasov Yar in DPR, says retired general

Military commanders of Ukrainian army brigades "lack both personnel and the required amount of equipment" while Russian troops enjoy a considerable superiority, especially in artillery, Sergey Krivonos noted

Russian military closely monitors all Ukrainian 'novelties' — Kremlin on UAVs

Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine had developed a UAV with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers

Iran says drones downed over Isfahan launched from country's territory

"A failed attack with a few quadcopters that were shot down cannot be considered a real attack anywhere in the world," a spokesman for Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace said

Russia will not 'shake up' relations with Argentina due to its partnership with NATO — MFA

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Russia and Argentina maintain a good dialogue at various levels

Senior Chinese official to take part in conference on security in Russia — diplomat

The conference will take place from April 23 to 25 in St. Petersburg

Moscow-based embassies of NATO countries helped anti-government groups, Lavrov says

The top Russian diplomat also spoke about the detention in Germany of two people suspected of spying for Russia

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

Hungary to not intervene in Ukrainian conflict on any side, PM says

Viktor Orban believes the first phase of the conflict, which included proposals on sending troops to Ukraine, is over

Putin sees increasing life expectancy as key policy goal for Russia

The Russian leader stressed that "it’s crucial to continue paying great attention to the prevention and treatment of diseases, particularly through the most advanced and cutting-edge methods"

West frightens voters by 'Russian threat' to win elections — Lavrov

The top Russian diplomat pointed out that the anti-Russian rhetoric of Western politicians in power intensifies as the elections approach

West can’t comprehend Russia’s resilience — Lavrov

"They would have been scared had anyone come down on them with similar ferocity," the Russian foreign minister added

Vehicles, equipment participating in Victory Day parade depart for Moscow — ministry

The final rehearsal of the military parade will take place on May 5

Ukrainian president admits Russian troops’ advancement

Vladimir Zelensky asked his country’s supporters to provide "everything that helps to hold the frontline," including shells, military vehicles and drones

Ukraine convicts 12th world chess champion for recognizing Donetsk, Lugansk republics

The two other State Duma members mentioned in the verdict alongside Karpov are Viktor Kazakov and Georgy Karlov

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

Russian forces improved their frontline positions and repelled a Ukrainian army counterattack in the Donetsk area where the enemy lost roughly 590 troops over the past day, the ministry reported

Pipeline explodes in Kharkov Region

The exact location of the damaged pipeline or the causes of the incident is not reported

West wants to make Transnistria hotbed of tension — Lavrov

According to the top Russian diplomat, the leaders who rule countries where they claim to be from while holding foreign passports "will not enjoy support and authority for long"

Colombian president displays interest in country’s entry into BRICS

Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva welcomed Gustavo Petro’s initiative, "being committed to promotion of Colombia’s candidacy"

Russia won’t allow NATO to move closer in Ukraine — Lavrov

There is still no full clarity regarding the future of Ukraine's western regions, the Russian foreign minister went on to say

One crew member of jet crashed in Stavropol Region killed, search for another continues

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, an Aerospace Forces’ Tu-22M3 bomber crashed after completing a combat mission while returning to the airfield

EU border checkpoint closest to Russia’s St. Petersburg to cut its working hours

The changes were attributed to reconstruction works on the Russian side of the checkpoint Ivangorod