TEHRAN, IRAN - Iran has finalized a deal to buy Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets from Russia, state media reported, as defense cooperation between the two countries deepens.The air force of sanctions-hit Iran has an ageing fleet of aircraft and has struggled to acquire spare parts to keep its warplanes in...

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that extending a deal that allowed grain exports from Ukraine to resume was becoming "complicated" as he claimed it was not being properly implemented.Russia's military intervention last February saw Ukraine's Black Sea ports blocked by warships until a deal last summer...

Putin was speaking on the sidelines of a patriotic concert in Moscow on Thursday on the eve of the first anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale offensive in Ukraine.

Moscow, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will be deployed this year following US reports that the weapon failed a recent test.The Sarmat -- dubbed Satan 2 by Western analysts -- is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and is among Russia's next-generation...

A senior US official said last week that the United States and its G7 allies planned to unveil "a big new package of sanctions" around the February 24 anniversary, including measures to crack down on the evasion of existing sanctions.

Russian president said that he realized China has its own domestic political agenda and that the two countries were working to sort out all related issues.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey to show support to the earthquake-hit country and NATO ally which has had tumultuous ties with Washington. His visit comes after a 7.8-magnitude tremor hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria killing nearly 45,000 people but his trip had been planned before...

The company posted annual loss of $2.5 billion.

In the OPCW report, investigators said there were "reasonable grounds to believe" that at least one Syrian air force helicopter had dropped two cylinders of the toxic gas on the rebel-held town of Douma.

They have been routinely extended for six-month periods over the past eight years. The EU has imposed nine rounds of sanctions on Moscow since it launched a major cross-border offensive last year. Some eastern European nations had sought to extend the sanctions by one year this time.

Despite a Russian intervention to cool down tensions between Damascus and Ankara, a new Turkish ground offensive in Syria is "possible any time", according to a top aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Russia has been trying to end more than a decade of hostility between the neighbors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had unilaterally ordered his forces to pause attacks for 36 hours for the Orthodox Christmas.

Erdogan's call for a ceasefire followed a proposal earlier Thursday by Russia's spiritual leader Patriarch Kirill for an Orthodox Christmas truce this week.

Hundreds of Syrians in the rebel-held north protested against signs of a thaw between Ankara and Damascus after their defense ministers met in Moscow for the first time since 2011. Several hundred demonstrators gathered in Al-Bab, a town controlled by rebel factions long backed by Ankara. "We will not reconcile,...

The price ceiling of $60 per barrel agreed by the European Union, G7 and Australia came into force in early December and seeks to restrict Russia's revenue.

"At the core of it all is the policy of our geopolitical opponents aiming to tear apart Russia, the historical Russia," Putin said. "They have always tried to 'divide and conquer'... Our goal is something else -- to unite the Russian people," he said.

SHARJAH, UAE - The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) discussed business and investment opportunities in the UAE and Russia with the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The meeting that took place at Expo Center Sharjah (ECS) brought together Abdallah Sultan Al-Owais, SCCI's Chairman, and Vladimir Platonov, Chairman...

Vowing to work with allies in order to counter Tehran, Britain's foreign minister has blamed Iran for "spreading bloodshed. Ukraine and its allies have accused Tehran of supplying drones to Russia, which Kremlin has used in recent weeks to carry out attacks in Ukraine.

Russia suspended its participation in a pact that allowed grain exports from Ukraine, blaming alleged drone attacks on Russian ships in Crimea. Russia made the announcement after its army accused Kyiv earlier Saturday of a "massive" drone attack on its Black Sea fleet, while Britain rejected Moscow's claims its specialists...

The European Union has frozen Russian assets worth around $16.9 billion since Moscow invaded Ukraine, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said in an interview. The figure has risen from the roughly $13.7 billion from oligarchs and other entities that Reynders in July announced the EU had frozen, mainly in five...

In all three calls, Russian defense minister Shoigu conveyed "concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a 'dirty bomb'".

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - President Vladimir Putin does not plan to end a military mobilization in Russia "yet" but some of the country's regions completed the process, the Kremlin said Tuesday. "For the moment, there is no presidential decree (on ending mobilization)," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He spoke a day...

Berlin, Germany - Germany on Friday said it had filled its gas reserves to 95 percent of capacity faster than expected as it prepares for a winter deprived of Russian energy supplies. Europe's largest economy had been heavily dependent on Russian gas and has raced to bolster its reserves after...

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn blamed the travel disruptions on "sabotage", while Transport Minister Volker Wissing spoke of "a targeted and deliberate action".

The latest package -- the eighth since Russia's invasion in February -- is now going through a final approval procedure which, if no objections emerge, will be published and come into effect on Thursday, the Czech Republic's EU ambassador said.

"The toll of destruction, damage, and dislocation in Ukraine is staggering and continues to grow," Anna Bjerde, the bank's regional vice president for Europe and Central Asia, said in the statement.

Taliban officials have maintained that they are looking to strike trade deals with the international community, and have so far received oil and gas from neighboring Iran. The government has not yet been recognized by any country, but Russia has maintained bilateral ties with Taliban since before they seized power...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a "dignified way out" of the seven-month crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Berlin took control of the German operations of Russian oil firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow invaded Ukraine. Rosneft's German subsidiaries, which account for about 12 percent of oil refining capacity in the country, were placed under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, the...

The Group of Seven major industrial democracies vowed to move urgently to set a price cap on Russian oil imports, a crucial source of revenue for Moscow and its war in Ukraine. "Russia is benefitting economically from the uncertainty on energy markets caused by the war and is making big...

Investment in nuclear power declined after Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster, the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986, as fears over its safety increased and governments ran scared. But following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February, the subsequent squeeze on energy supplies and Europe's push to wean itself off...

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which 191 signatories review every five years, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and promote cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The nations have been gathered at UN headquarters in New York since August 1 participating in a...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of "nuclear blackmail" as he urged the international community to react immediately to chase out the occupiers from Zaporizhzhia. "Only the Russians' full withdrawal... would guarantee nuclear safety for all of Europe," Zelensky said in a video address to the nation.

Despite damaging Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia's economy appears to be weathering the storm better than expected as it benefits from high energy prices, the IMF said Tuesday. The sanctions were meant to sever Russia from the global financial system and...

The usage is reduced to counter the dependency on Russian gas supplies.

Russia on Thursday resumed critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany, reopening the Nord Stream gas pipeline after 10 days, but uncertainty lingered whether the continent could avert an energy crisis this winter. "It's working," a Nord Stream spokesman said, without specifying the amount of gas being delivered.

Russia on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended cross-border aid to Syria by one year without Damascus's backing. Western powers then voted down a competing resolution put forward by Moscow that proposed extending approval by just six months.

Moscow said Thursday that G7 plans to cap the price of Russian oil would lead to a shortfall on world markets and soaring prices for European consumers. "This is another attempt to interfere in market mechanisms, which can only lead to market imbalance," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, warning...

The United States vowed to reinforce Europe's defences in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as NATO declared Moscow the West's greatest threat -- prompting Vladimir Putin to lash out at the alliance's "imperial ambitions". Meeting in Madrid Wednesday, NATO leaders said Russia "is the most significant and direct...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Iran on Wednesday for talks on boosting trade and energy cooperation as the two countries grapple with Western economic sanctions. Tehran and Moscow both have huge oil and gas reserves but are constrained by sanctions that limit their ability to export their output....

Inflation is making an unwelcome comeback globally -- stoked by high energy and food prices, driven largely by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat producer, and by related sanctions on Moscow. But Iran has been wrestling with rampant price growth for years, exceeding 30 percent annually every year since...

The US fast-food giant announced on May 16 that it would exit Russia in the wake of its Ukraine offensive.

President Joe Biden has said the United States will send more advanced rocket systems to Ukraine, as Russian troops press their ferocious bid to complete the capture of a key eastern city.

Tehran and Moscow are seeking to expand cooperation in energy and trade, officials said Wednesday, as Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak visited Iran. Both countries have huge oil and gas reserves but are constrained by sanctions imposed by the West that limit their ability to export their resources. Novak...

Finland on Saturday sought to allay Moscow's fears about its bid to join NATO, as fierce fighting raged in Ukraine's east, slowing a Russian advance. One of Europe's fiercest conflicts since World War II has seen more than six million people flee for their lives, and according to Kyiv has...

Washington is "working to clarify Turkey's position" after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday. The idea of the two nations becoming members of the transatlantic alliance had received "broad support from NATO member countries," Psaki said.

Our sacred duty is to hold back the ideological successors of those who were defeated" in World War II, which Moscow dubs "the great patriotic war," said Putin, as he urged Russians to "take revenge"

The traditional parade of the Russian Black Sea fleet on May 9 this year will be held near Snake Island -- at the bottom of the sea," the Ukraine's defense ministry added

The Russian military had announced a three-day ceasefire at the site starting on Thursday, but a Ukrainian commander said there was still heavy fighting at the sprawling Azovstal complex, where hundreds of soldiers and civilians have been holed up for weeks under heavy bombardment.

State Department spokesman voiced skepticism about the ceasefire, saying that Moscow has repeatedly resumed shelling after announcing pauses.