Former BP chief warns anti-Russian sanctions threaten to turn round against West

The Russain leader "stressed that he knew Ebrahim Raisi well and thought highly of him as a reliable partner who made an invaluable personal contribution to expansion of friendly relations between Russia and Iran"

The Peoples' Friendship Arch in Kiev was unveiled in 1982 to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Ukraine with Russia in 1654

Top stories from the Russian press on Tuesday, May 21st

The United States once again demonstrated "real priorities in space aimed not at keeping it free of any weapons but at placing weapons in outer space and turning it into an arena of a military confrontation," Maria Zakharova stressed

"The United States and its allies with their typical cynicism were loudly proclaiming their adherence to peaceful space," Vasily Nebenzya said

The IRGC Commander Lieutenant General Hossein Salami confirmed it

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the creation of a joint Indian-Russian venture to produce Kalashnikov assault rifles in the country in March 2019

It also emphasized that Russia had "a huge advantage in artillery shells," adding that "depleted Ukrainian air defenses" were unable to counter Russian air power

"Over the past two weeks, the Israel Defense Forces has been blocking the entry of 3,000 trucks with humanitarian aid for enclave residents through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom checkpoints," Vasily Nebenzya stressd

Denis Pushilin pointed out that it was Zelensky who gave criminal orders and took a position that seriously endangered both the residents of Donbass and the population of the rest of Ukraine

"It runs counter to common sense to discuss any issues, let alone sign any documents with leaders who have lost their legitimacy," Vasily Nebenzya said

According to Peter Kuznick, Professor of History and Director of the Nuclear Studies Institute at American University, Zelensky’s approval rating has dropped to approximately 60%, because "the Ukrainians are tired of war"

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that on instructions from President Vladimir Putin the General Staff had begun preparations for an exercise to be held in the near future involving missile units of the Southern Military District, aircraft and naval ships

The ministers will also consider candidates for new SCO secretary general and director of the executive committee of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Organization

The US carried out a subcritical nuclear test at the proving ground in Nevada

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia, unlike the Ukrainian side, had never rejected any negotiations

According to Vasily Nebenzya, the chances of moving the conflict into a diplomatic domain "look elusive"

"Only at the conclusion of the investigation can we determine whether what happened was because of poor weather, whether it was just an accident or something else entirely. Right now we must be patient," Kazem Jalali stressed

It is reported that several thousand people are taking part in the procession

Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that Russia and Iran would continue to develop their relationship gradually, including in terms of the tasks of "strengthening security"

According to Andrey Lazarkevich, in the current situation Ukrainian servicemen prefer to surrender as prisoners of war

On May 19, a helicopter carrying the Iranian president crashed in Iran's East Azerbaijan Province

The prosecutor also requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant

Israel Katz also noted that he plans to get in touch with his counterparts from leading countries to recruit their support against the ICC

Denis Pushilin emphasized that the regional authorities have tried to appeal to international human rights organizations, but to no avail

According to the top Russian diplomat, NATO and EU officials are seeking to introduce their institutions in Eurasia and make the countries of the region obey their rules

The association's member states were ready to do this back in December, but the decision was postponed amid Hungary's disagreement and fears that the issue of EU enlargement could muddy the waters in the European Parliament elections to be held on June 6-9

It is reported that the Ukrainian military uses the Ptakhi Madyara group of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) operators who try to remove discovered mines from rivers

Viktor Vodolatsky also said the liberation of Staritsa would make it possible to reduce to a minimum and later completely remove the threat of bombardments for the Belgorod Region

Dmitry Medvedev stressed that "subtle considerations about preventing existential threats do not work during bloody conflicts"

Volchansk is strategically important and that it why the Ukrainian army is bringing in "very serious forces" and "trying to counterattack," Vitaly Ganchev said

According to Mohsen Eslami, "The Guardian Council was asked to start registering [presidential] candidates before May 28"

The Russian president noted that the US agency had achieved its goal of changing the government but failed to see what it would evolve into

All passengers and crew of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi were killed in the crash, according to Iranian Red Crescent Society head Pir Hossein Kolivand

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for joint efforts in the interests of "fairer and more reasonable global governance"

On May 17, Putin explained the Russian military's offensive in the direction of Kharkov by the Ukrainian military’s continued shelling of residential areas in the border regions, including Belgorod

The Russian president said Moscow stood "shoulder to shoulder" with Tehran, Kazem Jalali said

Vasily Nebenzya said that this was not the only example of lies or understatements by Western representatives

"In this case regulatory acts adopted by a criminal state cannot be considered law in its true sense," the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council explained

Rodion Miroshnik said that in total, the Ukrainian armed forces fired at least 2,109 rounds of ammunition at civilian targets in Russia’s frontline areas last week

The ministers discussed the results of Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to China

According to Miroshnik, the Russian foreign ministry calls for bringing Ukraine’s leadership to responsibility "for violating the norms and principles of humanitarian law"

Vladimir Sazhin noted that the struggle for the leverage of power in the country following Raisi's death could begin in the camp of conservatives, whom the late president represented

Top stories from the Russian press on Monday, May 20th

An armed attack on Robert Fico took place in the western Slovak town of Handlova on May 15

According to Sergey Ryabkov, Moscow has been registering "all public signals coming from the US administration regarding this"

An air raid alert has been in effect in the Kharkov Region for almost eight hours

The helicopter was piloted by Army pilots, not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

"On the one hand, we [Russia] do not support it, but on the other hand, of course, we are monitoring the situation," Dmitry Peskov highlighted

"Having demoralized the enemy with accurate strikes from grenade launchers and, having suppressed its firepower, the paratroopers under the cover of night entered the enemy stronghold," the Russian Defense Ministry said

Dmitry Medvedev believes that "the population of a broken Ukraine realizes this only too well," noting that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky canceled the country’s presidential election knowing that he would likely "lose spectacularly"

The press bureau drew attention to the fact that history has shown time and again that attempts to retain power using lies and intimidation do not work

As Mark Episkopos notes, sending NATO instructors to Ukraine "without a larger strategy for ending" the fighting would be "a recipe for disaster" and would "bring NATO and Russia within a hair’s breadth of open conflict"

Denis Pushilin noted that the exhibition presents only a small part of what has been destroyed by Russian troops

"Tanks delivered fire from a distance of 800 meters under constant enemy shelling," Russia’s Defense Ministry reported

The powers of the current Ukrainian president under the current Constitution expire on May 21

"The ICC has no authority over Israel or the United States, and today's baseless and illegitimate decision should face global condemnation," the speaker said

According to Sergey Overchenko, the US and NATO are trying to "entice" the Central Asian countries into so-called partnership programs and continuing unflagging attempts to bring their military infrastructure to the region

"This is yet another example of double standards and a parade of American hypocrisy," Anatoly Antonov said

"This concerns beatings, arson and attempted arson," Donald Tusk said

"However, it will change nothing either for the Ukrainians or for us," Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council stressed

The top Russian diplomat pointed to the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping "clearly articulated that the Chinese side will support the convention of an international conference, which will reflect the interests of both Russia and Ukraine equally and will be based on a large number of ideas and initiatives"

According to Vasily Nebenzya, the conference will be focused on "the [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky peace formula, which was supported by a representative of the Kiev regime during one of the Security Council meetings last week"

As Wang Yi clarified, Putin reaffirmed his commitment to the "One China" principle in a speech after his election victory

Russian force have advanced to about 1.5 kilometers and are now in Gulaypole’s suburb

"Any newly-minted Fuhrer' of the Ukrainian Reich is capable of tearing it up at any moment for opportunistic reasons," the politician noted

The Hungarian foreign minister believes that "everything must be done in order to avoid any kind of direct confrontation between NATO and Russia"

Despite intensive strikes by the Russian Aerospace Forces and artillery, the Ukrainian military is still attempting to redeploy reserves to the town’s eastern part, according to the report

"The Ukrainians are losing this war," Rajmund Andrzejczak said, describing the situation as "very, very dramatic"

The ceremony was also attended by Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Yevtukhov, Northern fleet Commander Alexander Moiseyev, and representatives of the United Shipbuilding Corporation and the shipyard

The helicopter carried Governor of the East Azerbaijan Province Malek Rakhmati and Tabriz Imam of Friday Prayer Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem

The Chinese embassy in Seoul said the South Korean delegation’s visit to Taiwan "grossly violates the 'one China' principle and the spirit of the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea"

"Shortly after the accident, we managed to speak with Tabriz’s Friday Prayer Imam," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mahdi Safari said

"Taiwan's independence is a dead end. I want to emphasize that Taiwan's independence and separatism are doomed to failure no matter under what pretext or flag they are promoted," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said

Peter Szijjarto added that the sanctions have had a major impact on the European economy, and that Western European countries, which are "super proud that they got rid of Russian energy resources," are actually buying them indirectly

Isaac Herzog pointed out that he found it unacceptable to compare Israeli political leaders with leaders of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, whom the ICC prosecutor also wants to arrest

Ukrainian forces are now trying to destroy the settlement by occasionally shelling houses there with artillery, the Russian Defense Ministry said

"All states that have ratified the ICC statutes are bound to execute the Court’s decisions," the top EU diplomat said

According to Rodion Miroshnik, the operation to liberate the LPR would be brought to an end as soon as the operation in Lisichansk was finished

According to adviser to the DPR head Igor Kimakovsky, the Ukrainian military abandoned most of the bodies of dead soldiers in the combat area

Seven out of 15 UN Security Council members, including Russia and China, voted in favor of the resolution, while seven voted against and Switzerland abstained

According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, "the experiment does not contradict Russia’s understanding of a ‘subcritical’ test and therefore does not violate the provisions of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty or the US moratorium on nuclear tests"

Negotiations being held with several countries

The decision was made taking into account the saturation of the domestic market for motor fuel, preventing a decrease in refining volumes at individual oil refineries due to overstocking of motor gasoline

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emphasized that "much more US military assistance" is on its way to Ukraine

It is aimed against the Israel Defense Forces soldiers who are heroically fighting against vile Hamas, Netanyahu said

Russian Battlegroup North units kept advancing deep into the Ukrainian army’s defenses in the Kharkov area over the past day

The Mausoleum of Imam Reza is located in Mashhad, the hometown of Raisi, a center of pilgrimage and one of the main shrines of the Shiites

The document said that based on the evidence gathered, the prosecution has reasonable grounds to believe that both "bear criminal responsibility for the <…> war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine (in the Gaza Strip) from at least October 8, 2023"

According to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, the incident occurred close to the checkpoint of the settlement of Oktyabrsky in the Belgorodsky district

Dmitry Peskov stressed that the situation the Ukrainian soldiers find themselves in is "rather difficult"

The constitutional powers of the current Ukrainian president expire on the night of May 21

The intelligence sources insist that Russia is purportedly planning to create a 1.5 mln-strong regular army by 2026 because it expects a standoff with NATO

"They have not lived in a state of law before and now everything will stay as it is," the politician said

According to CEO of Laboratory PPSh Denis Oslomenko, the Baba Yaga drone flies through Starlink and cannot be supressed

In addition, Ukrainian forces were facing ammunition shortages due to a stalled US aid package

Nikolay Azarov pointed out that the Ukrainian constitution was crystal clear about the five-year presidential term

On May 19, a helicopter carrying the Iranian president crashed in Iran's Eastern Azerbaijan Province

The Venezuelan leader added that "BRICS is a new world, without hegemony, a new bloc of power"

Peter Szijjarto highlighted the need to search for a solution through a ceasefire and talks