Russia

"The idea promoted by our American friends of ASEAN plus Quad is openly aimed at ruining East Asia Summits. In other words it means East Asia Summits minus China and Russia," Lavrov said

The risks to Indo-Russian oil trade escalate when Urals crude starts trading above the cap imposed by the European Union

A snub for Putin, a risk for Europe

Gershkovich is the first American journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the cold war

Lavrov added that Russia rejects a "unipolar world order led by 'one hegemon'."

Russia lost elections to three United Nations bodies this week, a sign that opposition to its invasion of Ukraine over a year ago remains strong. The votes in the 54-member UN Economic and Social Council follow approval of six non-binding resolutions against Russia by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. The latest on Feb. 23, the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion called for Moscow to end hostilities and withdraw its forces and was adopted by a vote of 141-7 with 32 abstentions. In the ECOSOC votes, Russia was overwhelmingly defeated by Romania for a seat on the Commission on the Status of Women. It lost to Estonia to be a member of the executive board of the U.N. children's agency UNICEF. And it was defeated by Armenia and the Czech Republic in secret ballot votes for membership on the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after Wednesday's votes, This is a clear signal from ECOSOC members that no country ...

Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been charged with espionage in Russia and has entered his official denial, Russian state news agency Tass reported Friday. Tass said a law enforcement source informed the news agency that Russia's Federal Security Service officially charged the American journalist with espionage. Tass did not specify if the action was taken during a court hearing. In the Russian legal system, the filing of charges means the formal start of a criminal probe. Tass quoted its source as saying: The FSB investigation charged Gershkovich with espionage in the interests of his country. He categorically denied all accusations and stated that he was engaged in journalistic activities in Russia. The source declined further comment because the case was considered secret. Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich last week and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory. The Wall Street Journal has denied the ...

Russia may pull out of a wartime deal that allows the export of Ukrainian grain to global markets if the West fails to remove obstacles to Russian agricultural exports, Moscow's top diplomat suggested Friday. The deal, which was brokered by the United Nations and Turkiye in July, unblocked shipments that were stuck in Ukraine's blockaded and mined ports, alleviating rising food prices and threat of hunger in some countries. A separate agreement aimed to facilitate the export of Russian fertilisers and grain. Moscow has repeatedly complained that the deal failed to work for Russian agricultural exports, which have had trouble reaching world markets due to Western sanctions. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Russia agreed last month to extend the deal for 60 days - instead of the 120 days set under a previous extension - to send a warning signal to the West. After we extended the deal for 120 .

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have vowed to push ahead the integration process between the two countries.

Access to cheap Russian crude has boosted output and profits at Indian refineries, enabling them to export refined products competitively to Europe and take bigger market share

NATO has established 8 multinational battle groups in Poland and the Baltic nations, and more recently in Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, to serve as a "tripwire" in case of Russian attack

In Russia's opinion, the expansion of NATO infringes on its security and national interests

The state-run lender told refiners last month that it would not settle payment from Russian barrels bought above the price cap, the three sources said

Industry executives said imports from Russia may rise further as talks are on to address difficulties in paying for Russian crude

The European Union's foreign policy chief on Tuesday lashed out at China for its support of Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine and called it a blatant violation of Beijing's United Nations commitments. There cannot be siding with the aggressor, Josep Borrell said. There is a clear expectation from a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council to stand up in defence of international rules-based order and China as a moral duty to contribute to a fair peace. Standing alongside visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Borrell was forceful in his condemnation of a nation that has increasingly moved from being a partner to being a rival on the global stage. The comments come just ahead of a visit of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen together with French President Emmanuel Macron to China, where both will press the point that EU-China relations will pivot on Beijing's friendship with Russia. Macron and von der Leyen are set to warn China against sending weapons to Russ

China responded positively on Monday to Russia's new foreign policy concept, saying Beijing, Moscow and New Delhi are emerging "major powers" with "notable influence" and it was ready to boost ties with them and send a "positive signal" to the world in view of the complex changes. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the new Foreign Policy Concept Friday last, which said strengthening and deepening relations with China and India is a diplomatic priority for Russia. Russia will focus on strengthening its strategic partnership and trade ties with India in Eurasia and ensure their resistance to "destructive actions" of unfriendly states and their alliances, according to an updated foreign policy doctrine approved by Putin. The ties between India and Russia remained strong notwithstanding Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. India's import of Russian crude oil has gone up significantly in the last few months despite increasing disquiet over it in many Western countries. Asked for China's .

The decision by the two state-controlled companies to abandon the Europe-dominated Brent benchmark is part of a shift of Russia's oil sales towards Asia after Europe shunned Russian oil

"Technically we have captured Bakhmut," Prigozhin added

Russian tactical nuclear weapons will be deployed close to Belarus' borders with NATO neighbors, the Russian ambassador to Belarus said Sunday amid simmering tensions between Russia and the West over Moscow's war in Ukraine. Ambassador Boris Gryzlov's comment followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent statement about plans to station tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Russia's neighbor and ally. The announcement marked another attempt by the Russian leader to dangle the nuclear threat to discourage the West from supporting Ukraine. Putin has said that construction of storage facilities for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will be complete by July 1 and added that Russia has helped modernize Belarusian warplanes to make them capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The two neighbors have an agreement envisioning close economic, political and military ties. Russia used Belarusian territory as a staging ground for invading Ukraine and has maintained a contingent of ...

"India is looking to evangelise its successes in digital public infrastructure through its G20 Presidency to all 133 nations that do not yet have fast digital payments"