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Georgia not holding secret talks with Russia — deputy prime minister

The Georgian opposition became interested in the Belt and Road Forum after the media circulated footage of a gala dinner at the event attended by heads of delegations from many countries, including Levan Davitashvili and Russian President Vladimir Putin

TBILISI, December 18. /TASS/. The Georgian authorities do not conduct secret negotiations with the Russian leadership, Georgian Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili said.

"As for our participation in the Belt and Road Forum, it is an initiative in which many EU countries are members, along with Georgia. Georgia has been physically participating in this forum since the day it was founded, and Russia has almost always participated as well. If someone wants to imagine that the Georgian authorities today are harming the interests of the country in any way and are conducting some kind of secret dialogue [with Russia], as has been falsely spread in society, I can say unequivocally and directly - this is not the case," Davitashvili said, speaking at parliament.

The Georgian opposition became interested in the forum after the media circulated footage of a gala dinner at the event attended by heads of delegations from many countries, including Davitashvili and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The deputy prime minister was summoned to parliament by the Eurooptimists opposition group.

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Here are the key statements, made during the meeting

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Illegal decisions on Russian property in Finland will not go unanswered — diplomat

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Energy facilities backing Ukrainian defense industry extensively attacked

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

Lukashenko grants asylum to Schmidt persecuted on political grounds by Poland

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Eliminating best enemy units: Defense Minister visits special op area

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US decision to allow missile strikes deep into Russia fuels global escalation — Slovak PM

Robert Fico also rejected the belief that this escalation would not impact "those living far away, in Spain, England, or America"

Zelensky fine with conflict continuing due to Western help — Slovak PM

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Soyuz rocket carrying Progress MS-29 cargo spaceship blasts off from Baikonur spaceport

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Tehran to launch new centrifuges in response to IAEA anti-Iran resolution — statement

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Belarusian president believes humanity is on the brink of World War III

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Press review: Russia fires missile at Ukraine plant and Biden forgives Kiev $4.65 bln debt

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, November 22nd

Ukraine should consider territorial concessions to Russia in return for peace — magazine

Foreign Policy pointed out that Western officials should stop insisting in public speeches on the need to achieve a strategic defeat for Russia

Zelensky to have no input if Russia, US negotiate, ex-Prime Minister says

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Zelensky’s actions make Ukraine vulnerable to coup, says politician

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

US administration chooses to escalate Ukraine conflict — Kremlin

Earlier, Putin stressed that the Ukrainian army is unable to fire the latest Western-made long-range missiles on its own without support from NATO satellite feeds and the involvement of the bloc’s military

Russia’s steel production plunged in October — WSA

China produced 81.9 mln metric tons in October, up 2.9% on an annualized basis

Kremlin confident Putin's statement got through to US administration

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that the United States and its NATO allies had earlier announced that they would authorize Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons to hit inside Russia, after which American and British missiles struck Russian military facilities in the Kursk and Bryansk regions

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

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

"There is more in the Russian arsenal than many believe," said Karin Kneissl, the former Foreign Minister of Austria

Ukrainian frontline may 'collapse' under onslaught of Russian forces — BBC

According to the experts, Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s borderline Kursk Region turned out to be a "strategic catastrophe" amid "manpower shortages"

Russia entitled to use weapons against military sites of states attacking it — Duma

"Russia has repeatedly stated that such actions will receive a response – and it will be a stronger one," Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin stressed

China against double standards in international law — Foreign Ministry

Spokesman Lin Jian highlighted Washington's use of double standards in handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within the United Nations

Bundeswehr prepares plan for Operation Germany in case of war with Russia — newspaper

According to it, the 1,000-page "Operation Germany" plan lists all infrastructure facilities that deserve special protection, and also contains a procedure for defense or "measures to deter Russia on NATO’s eastern flank"

IN BRIEF: What Putin said about Russia’s new missile, and Moscow’s response to the West

Moscow used its new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile in response to the West’s decision to authorize strategic-depth strikes on Russia

US admiral says Washington should be ready for talks with Russia, China

The Department of State and other US agencies "should continue to engage our competitors in real and substantive dialogue," Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan said

Oreshnik missile to go into serial production, Putin says

The president stressed that given the weapon’s special power, it "will be provided precisely to the Strategic Missile Forces"

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

The Belarusian leader noted that they want to go to Warsaw

US not seeking confrontation with Russia, but will continue assistance to Kiev — Pentagon

Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh also claimed that Washington, while helping Ukraine, is not attempting to turn the conflict into a large-scale regional confrontation that spills beyond the country’s borders

Defense ministers of five European nations to meet in Berlin on November 25

The French interior ministry said earlier that an emergency meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council will be held on November 26 following Russia using its new missile against a Ukrainian defense sector facility

Captives, Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

Over the day, the enemy lost more than 150 people, while five Ukrainian servicemen surrendered