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Biden says he plans to talk to China’s Xi Jinping soon

"We are not looking for a new cold war," US President said

WASHINGTON, February 17. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden announced his plan to have a conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping soon.

"I expect to be speaking with President Xi, I hope we are going to get to the bottom of this," he said Thursday, speaking at the White House regarding the aircraft detected in US airspace recently.

"But I make no apologies for taking down that balloon," Biden added.

He added that the US does not seek a new Cold War with China, but it will continue to compete with it, and Washington stays in contact with Beijing over the recent balloon incident.

"We are not looking for a new cold war," Biden said.

He stated that the US will compete with China, but will responsibly manage that competition to prevent it from turning into a conflict.

US authorities believe that the three aircraft downed over North American last week were, most likely, balloons belonging to private companies or research institutions, not intelligence aircraft, Biden said.

"We don't yet know exactly what these three objects were, but nothing right now suggests they were related to the Chinese spy balloon program, or they were surveillance vehicles from other any other country," he said. According to the assessments of the intelligence community the three objects were "most likely balloons tied to private companies, recreation or research institutions," he stated.

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China United States Joseph Biden Xi Jinping

UN secretary general urges Azerbaijan, Armenia to normalize relations

Stephane Dujarric noted that the secretary general "encourages the parties to continue the delimitation and demarcation of the remaining sections of the border and tackle all outstanding bilateral issues toward achieving full normalization of relations."

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

American Abrams tanks vulnerable even to Soviet-era weapons, says expert

US President Joe Biden announced on January 25 that Washington would hand over 31 M1 Abrams tanks to the Kiev regime

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

No plans for pauses in fighting if talks on Ukraine begin, Lavrov says

The Russian foreign minister emphasized that the situation on the ground had changed significantly

Grossi ignores ‘elephant in the room’ in Zaporozhye nuke plant situation — Russian envoy

Dmitry Polyansky noted that the IAEA chief is being very cautious about the issue of attacks on the nuclear facility

CIA chief says Ukraine could lose by end of this year — Politico

William Burns said "there is a very real risk that the Ukrainians could at least put Putin in a position where he could essentially dictate the terms of a political settlement"

Ukrainian drones continue to fly over Zaporozhye NPP — press service

On April 19, the Ukrainian military attacked the training center of Zaporozhye NPP again, but the drone was neutralized over the roof of the building

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

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

Russian economy proves resilience amid large-scale sanctions — IMF

The IMF states that the restrictions led to the need to rebuild the economy

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

Switzerland does not suit Russia for negotiations on Ukraine — Lavrov

The Foreign Minister pointed to the fact that Switzerland is on board with all Western sanctions

US agrees to withdraw troops from Niger — Washington Post

The decision was sealed in a meeting between US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Niger’s prime minister, Ali Lamine Zeine

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

Ukrainian drone damages energy infrastructure in Russia’s Kaluga Region

There are no casualties, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said

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

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

NATO discussing transfer of ‘deep precision strike capabilities’ to Ukraine — Stoltenberg

Stoltenberg said NATO believes Ukraine has the right to strike "legitimate military targets" inside Russia

US gives nod to Israeli operation in Rafah in exchange for canceling major attack on Iran

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Iran has no plans to immediately retaliate to attack on its soil — agency

"We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack," a senior Iranian official reported

Russian military base may appear in CAR’s eastern region — President Touadera

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Ukrainian trace obvious in Crocus City Hall attack — Russian prosecutor general

The law enforcement employees exert efforts to identify the instigators of this crime, Igor Krasnov said

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Israeli troops continue raids in West Bank — TV

According to Al Jazeera, Israeli security forces have killed at least five people over the past 24 hours

Russia's revenues from oil exports remain high despite price ceiling — IMF

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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"

Russian investigators start inquiry into financing of terrorism by US, NATO officials

Investigators have established that the funds that were received through commercial organizations, such as the oil and gas company Burisma Holdings operating in Ukraine, have been used to carry out terrorist acts in Russia and abroad

North Korea conducts new anti-aircraft missile test — KCNA

A power test of a super-large warhead designed for "Hwasal-1 Ra-3" strategic cruise missile was held as well

Water level of Ishim River in Russia’s Tyumen Region surpasses dangerous mark

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

Russian economy positively influences neighboring countries — Deputy PM

In 2023 the Russian economy has demonstrated remarkable resilience and growth, Alexey Overchuk said

Moscow International Film Festival kicks off

MIFF President Nikita Mikhalkov, a celebrated Russian film director, declared the festival open, praising the bravery of foreign cultural figures who are visiting Russia at this time

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

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

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Number of flooded residential buildings in Russia drops to 16,200

According to the official, flood waters receded from 1,117 homes and households in the Urals region of Orenburg in the past day, which is the highest number recorded in the flooded regions

China’s Russian oil imports rise by 13% in first quarter of 2024 — customs

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US House passes procedural vote on Ukraine aid bill

It cannot be ruled out that the House of Representatives may pass this package as early as Saturday

Iran may target Israeli nuclear center in Dimona in case of Israel’s attack — TV

Ahmad Haghtalab said on April 18 that Tehran has identified the location of Israel's "nuclear centers" and will be ready to destroy them in case the Jewish state responds to the recent Iranian attack on Israeli military facilities

Armenia has to define CSTO’s zone of responsibility on its territory, says Lavrov

On March 12, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan asked its CSTO partners to answer where the CSTO's zone of responsibility in the republic was

Lavrov says Borrell let it slip that Europe ‘fighting against Russia’

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Russian stock indices rising on Friday

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Putin signs law on holding World Friendship Games

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Ukrainian POW exposes poor battlefield performance of NATO-supplied Javelins, NLAWs

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Russia has significant amount of West’s funds in case of confiscation of its assets

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Ukraine’s military loses positions near Avdeyevka, says DPR

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan

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North Korean leader arrives at public event in Aurus luxury car gifted by Putin

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Shoigu orders additional tank protection sets for Ukraine operation

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Armenia’s relations with Russia not at their highest — top diplomat

Ararat Mirzoyan also said that Yerevan is currently making efforts to expand cooperation with the European Union and the United States

Iran suspends flights above several cities amid reports of air attack — IRNA

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

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The Ukrainian army lost more than 3,550 troops, four tanks and five armored combat vehicles in battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk area over the past week, the ministry reported

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

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Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has visited a testing ground in the Moscow Military District where new models of small arms developed with the participation of snipers who carried out missions in the special military operation zone were presented

Lavrov labels way West ramping up sanctions against Russia as mindless

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Israeli aviation strikes towns in Gaza Strip

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Blast rocks military base south of Baghdad — Reuters

According to the news agency, one PMF fighter was killed and six were wounded

BRICS’ expansion makes it much stronger — senior Russian diplomat

Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia, became full-fledged members of BRICS from January 1, 2024

Proposals on Russian assets confiscation undermine financial system — Finance Minister

Russia urges the International Monetary Fund to resume the effort of improving the global monetary and financial system, Anton Siluanov noted

Lavrov speaks of West’s agony, Russia’s approach to any future talks with Kiev

The Russian foreign minister also described Armenia and Russia as more than formal allies

Hungarians in western Ukraine should get their rights back, Budapest says

"The Hungarian community’s opportunities to use its native language in the fields of education, culture, media and self-governance have been significantly limited," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto specified

About 30 events in 26 countries to be held as part of Russian Film Festival — minister

The geography of work in the culture sphere was wider before but "all the horizontal ties are kept," Olga Lyubimova noted

Three Ukrainian soldiers swim across Dnieper to surrender to Russian troops — governor

Vladimir Saldo called on other Ukrainian servicemen to switch to the Russian side and request the corresponding assistance

West close to sending military to Ukraine, this would 'drag Europe to bottom' — Orban

"This military whirlpool can drag Europe to the bottom. Brussels is playing with fire and angering God," the Hungarian prime minister said

Russian defense chief checks implementation of orders to develop drones

All the presented drones and payload were created from domestic composite materials and elements

G7 leaders to decide on Russian assets use — Italian Deputy PM

Recommendations on opportunities of using frozen Russian assets in interests of Ukraine will be presented before the G7 summit in June 2024

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

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

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Press review: Biden backs aid to Israel, Ukraine and Russia assets giving West legal fits

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, April 19th

Unidentified man attempts suicide outside courthouse where Trump trial is underway

The man set himself on fire

Air defenses repel Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Smolensk Region — governor

Vasily Anokhin urged local residents to remain calm and refrain from filming air defenses in operation.

Global economy’s condition improving — Russian Deputy PM

The process is largely driven by increasing contribution of developing countries, Alexey Overchuk said

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

Ivan Paskar is charged with illegally transporting explosive substances, but he does not recognize his guilt

Ukraine’s new ethnic minorities law insufficient to protect Magyars — Hungarian president

According to Katalin Novak, Hungary’s call for the rights of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia to be respected should be viewed as a common European demand

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

Two pilots of jet that crashed in southern Russia hospitalized

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