Syria's Islamist rebel leader on Tuesday vowed to pursue former senior government officials responsible for torture and war crimes, a day after he began talks on the transfer of power following president Bashar al-Assad's ouster.

In a defiant address to the nation, Russia's president railed at Ukraine's allies granting permission for Kyiv to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets on Russian territory, warning of retaliation.

Aliyev and Putin will sign joint documents and make statements to the press, said Russian agency Ria Novosti. On Monday, Putin will also lay a wreath on the tomb of Heydar Aliyev, father of the current leader, who was president from 1993 to 2003.

Moscow, Russia - A NASA astronaut, a Russian cosmonaut and Belarus's first ever space traveler on Saturday returned to Earth safely after a fortnight aboard the International Space Station, Russia's Roscosmos agency reported."Today, at 10:17am Moscow time (0717 GMT), the descent vehicle of Sozuz MS-24 manned spacecraft landed near the Kazakh...

Moscow, Russia - The Kremlin on Friday blasted as "unacceptable" French President Emmanuel Macron's claims that Russia was trying to undermine the Paris Olympics through a disinformation campaign.Macron had said Thursday that Moscow was trying to promote the narrative that France was unable to host the Games and that the event...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said the country became the world’s fourth-biggest LNG producer last year.The Russian Prime Minister said this in an annual report at the State Duma (lower house of the parliament), TASS reported.“Energy is adjusting gradually as well. A serious adjustment of logistics was required...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russia said on Thursday it had evidence the perpetrators of last week's massacre at a concert hall outside Moscow were linked to "Ukrainian nationalists", a claim that the United States called nonsense.President Vladimir Putin and his security services continue to allege Kyiv and the West were involved somehow...

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to punish those behind a "barbaric terrorist attack" on a Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133, saying Russia had arrested four gunmen who were trying to flee to Ukraine. Kyiv has denied any connection, and Putin made no reference to the Islamic State...

Meanwhile, the fire at a Moscow concert hall has been "mostly eliminated", the Russian capital's governor said on Saturday. "There are still some pockets of fire, but the fire has been mostly eliminated. Rescuers were able to enter the auditorium," Moscow Governor Andrey Vorobyov said on Telegram.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Russia's central bank held interest rates unchanged on Friday as Moscow's military offensive on Ukraine has led to stubbornly high inflation and labor shortages.The central bank raised rates to 16 percent in a series of hikes last year to cool the pace of price rises.Analysts are waiting for...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – US will no longer be able to dictate oil prices in the Middle East, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Sergey Naryshkin said.The Russian official made the statement in the documentary "Oil" on the premier online platform.“The ‘hegemon’ has lost a step. It is no longer...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Russia does not see the risk of trading oil at a loss due to the redistribution of energy flows to the East - growing local markets will be able to "absorb" its supply, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.Lavrov said this in an interview for the documentary...

In 2023, the firm demonstrated strong financial results.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – The Telegram is valued by potential investors at more than US$30 billion, the co-founder of the social network Pavel Durov said.The US$30 billion valuation was made by global technology funds in particular, Durov said in an interview with The Financial Times.“Generally speaking, we see value in (an...

Ballots will also be cast in the four Ukrainian regions Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022, as well as the Crimean peninsula, seized in 2014. Moscow is no longer worried about trying to present the vote as a legitimate democratic exercise to the West, or even Russian society.

New Delhi, India - India's embassy in Moscow has confirmed the death of a citizen recruited by the Russian army, days after a relative told AFP he had been sent to fight in Ukraine.Two years after Russia's invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and...

An energy ministry source said Riyadh "will extend its voluntary cut of one million barrels per day, which was implemented in July 2023, until the end of the second quarter of 2024," the official Saudi Press Agency reported. "Afterwards, in order to support market stability, these additional cut volumes will...

New Delhi, India - India's foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that some of the country's citizens had signed up for "support jobs" with the Russian army and said it was working with Moscow to secure their discharge.The Hindu newspaper reported on Wednesday that around 18 Indians were stranded in various...

Asked by a journalist who Russia would like to see win in the likely contest between the Democratic incumbent and Republican frontrunner Trump, Putin said: "Biden, he's more experienced. He's predictable, he's an old-school politician."

"The current military-security situation heralds what is likely to be a more dangerous decade, characterized by the brazen application by some of military power to pursue claims," the report said.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the 13th Middle East Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club to be held on February 13-14, the club told TASS.“About 50 foreign and Russian experts and current political figures from 16 countries, including Algeria, the UK, Egypt, India,...

Indian refiners bought 1.45 million barrels per day of Russian oil last month, their lowest amount since last January and down nearly 16 percent from November, according to global energy trade intelligence platform Kpler.

HALEU fuel is needed to power many of the next generation of advanced nuclear reactors, including so-called small modular versions that the UK intends to use. The first plant of the uranium fuel will be in northwest England and is scheduled to be operational by the 2030s, the government said.

The Belgorod attack came a day after Ukraine said a barrage of Russian missile strikes on several cities killed at least 40 people, wounding dozens more. Fresh strikes Saturday caused more casualties in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said. Belgorod lies about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The Russian government has extended the ban on the entry of trucks from the European Union, the UK, Norway and Ukraine to the country. “The restriction will remain in effect until the circumstances that served as the basis for its introduction are eliminated,” the Cabinet noted on...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered assistance in helping to deescalate the tense situation in the Gaza Strip, according to the Kremlin's press service.This offer was made during a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“The Russian side is ready to offer all possible assistance to...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The chief of Russia’s foreign intelligence service, or SVR, believes the Arab world will take center stage in the struggle for a new world order next year.Sergey Naryshkin believes that in the Arab countries "the globalist elites’ ambitions to play the role of an international hegemon, which...

Dubai, UAE – Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, ahead of his visit to Moscow, has emphasized the importance of the North-South transport corridor project as a key topic in his upcoming bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reported, citing Iran's IRNA news agency.Speaking at Tehran’s Mehrabad airport before departing...

Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022 provided Europe with a wake-up call that it needed to pump more into defense to be able to confront the threat of its bellicose eastern neighbor.

Antwerp, Belgium - As European capitals prepare to implement long-awaited sanctions on Russia's diamond exports, Belgian traders are bracing for new scrutiny of their industry.In Antwerp's renowned diamond district -- which handles an estimated 86 percent of the world's rough diamonds -- polishing "labs" are turning to blockchain technology to prove...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Indonesia, Palestine and the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have arrived here to discuss the Gaza Strip with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a diplomatic source told TASS."They have arrived, the meeting will start soon,"...

Johannesburg, South Africa--South Africa will Tuesday host a virtual summit of the BRICS group of nations, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, to discuss the Israel-Hamas war, Pretoria and Moscow said Monday.The BRICS --  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- are a group of major emerging economies seeking to reshape...

Russia called for "collective action" to end fighting between Israel and Hamas, including an international conference, almost a month into the war that has left thousands dead. Russia, which has been waging a large-scale military operation in Ukraine for over 20 months, has also repeatedly criticized Western policies in the...

Moscow, Russia - Moscow on Thursday reiterated the need to fully implement the provisions of the Russia-UN memorandum for the resumption of the grain deal, Alexey Polishchuk, head of the second department of the CIS countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry said in an interview with the Russian news agency...

During parliamentary hearings, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the move to revoke the treaty was a response to the United States' "cynicism" and "boorish attitudes" on nuclear weapons.

Moscow, Russia - Russia on Monday blamed "external interference" for an anti-Israel riot that closed an airport in the Muslim-majority region of Dagestan the previous day."Yesterday's events at Makhachkala airport are, to a large extent, the result of external interference," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.Russian police on Monday said they...

Moscow, Russia - Israeli authorities have summoned the Russian Ambassador to Israel, Anatoly Viktotov, in response to a recent visit by a Hamas delegation to Moscow, Israeli media reported. The Israeli Foreign Ministry expressed concern over Russia's failure to issue a clear and unequivocal condemnation of Hamas, and raised questions...

Hamas is trying to locate eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens among nearly 230 taken hostage during its members' attack on Israel after Moscow's request to free them, Russian news agencies reported. Russia has good relations with Hamas and has launched a diplomatic effort to try to free hostages held in Gaza.

TEHRAN, IRAN – The Iranian head of Solyanka Port in Russia said that the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a key element of the transportation network in Eurasia.Speaking in a specialized meeting of INSTC- New Concept, which was held in Astrakhan Port of Russia, Dariush Jamali pointed to the three...

Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Wednesday that the Israel-Palestine conflict could potentially extend beyond the Middle East, Reuters reported.Russian leader stressed the need to protect innocent civilians, during a meeting with religious leaders of various faiths in the Kremlin and called for an end to the...

Stora Enso registered a loss of $272m euros in Q2 2023.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Monday for "unhindered access" for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, in a telephone call with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Kremlin said.According to a readout of the call from the Kremlin, the two leaders "expressed serious concern about...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - The probability that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will launch a ground operation against Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip is over 50 percent, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi said.“A state of war has been declared. During the period of a state of war,...

"This is the largest trilateral energy project" between the three ex-Soviet countries, Putin said, after formally launching the shipment. He was hosting a meeting in Moscow with his Uzbek and Kazakh counterparts, Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Moscow, Russia - Russian Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced the start of gas supplies to Uzbekistan via Kazakhstan, a boost for Russia's industry hit by a flurry of Western sanctions over the offensive in Ukraine.Despite being home to a wealth of natural  resources including gas, the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan has faced energy shortages.Moscow meanwhile relies heavily...

Moscow, Russia - Russia will soon discuss revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the speaker of the lower house of parliament said Friday.Vyacheslav Volodin made the announcement a day after President Vladimir Putin evoked the possibility of such a move, which could further escalate tensions between Russia...

Moscow, Russia - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia's mission was to create a "new world" and blamed Western hegemony for Moscow's grinding offensive in Ukraine.Putin has portrayed Russia's full-scale military intervention in Ukraine -- launched in February 2022 -- as part of a long-standing confrontation with the West."We are...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – A senior Russian official said that they intend to move towards visa-free travel with all countries of Latin America.Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin American Department Alexander Shchetinin said that this is an achievable goal.Shchetinin told TASS about the to move towards visa-free travel on the...

Binance is likely to sell its Russian assets to CommEX.

Baghdad, Iraq -- Iraq is working to complete the necessary preparations for the visit of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to Moscow in the next few weeks, said Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein."Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fuad Hussein, met with Sergey Lavrov, on the sidelines...