The Russia-Belarus joint military drills do not pose a threat to anyone and are of a purely defensive nature, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in the Kremlin on Friday.
"We jointly commended the Union Resolve 2022 drills whose active phase will last in Belarus until February 20. I must state that these exercises are of a purely defensive nature and pose no threat to anyone," the Russian leader emphasized.
The defense ministries of both countries announced the concept and goals of all these scheduled maneuvers in advance, Putin pointed out.
"These events are attended by a large number of representatives, attaches of foreign countries who themselves observe these exercises," the Russian leader said.
Russia and Belarus will continue collectively taking measures to ensure their security in light of NATO’s activity, Putin said.
"In the course of today’s negotiations, we discussed in detail the issue of strengthening the integrated defense space of Russia and Belarus. We agreed that we would continue collectively taking all necessary measures for providing security of both countries in the wake of NATO’s mounting military activity at the external borders of the Union State," the Russian leader said.
Putin said he was grateful to his Belarusian counterpart for the productive joint work. "I am convinced that the negotiations held today will help further bolster the entire range of allied relations between Russia and Belarus. Tomorrow, as we have agreed, we will take part also in scheduled events related to our joint military activity," the Russian president said.
The United States and other NATO countries are yet unwilling to perceive Russia’s key security demands adequately, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko on Friday.
The Russian leader said that at the request of his Belarusian counterpart, he briefed him on the latest contacts with the leaders of Western states on long-term and legally binding security guarantees for Russia from the United States and NATO. Putin said that he considered "it quite natural that the Belarusian allies are also concerned over this issue."
"We discussed the situation developing with regard to Russia’s demands to the West whose key points stipulate that NATO should abandon its designs on eastward expansion, assume the commitment of not deploying strike weapons near the Russian borders and return to the alliance’s military potential and infrastructure in Europe as of 1997 when the Russia-NATO Founding Act was signed. As I have already spoken about, the United States and other members of the alliance are yet unwilling, unfortunately, to perceive these three core elements of our initiative adequately," the Russian president said.
At the same time, the Western counterparts formulated a whole number of ideas on European security, intermediate- and shorter-range missiles and military transparency as the issues that Russia also favors discussing, Putin pointed out.
"And we are ready to move along the negotiating track on condition that all the issues will be discussed comprehensively, without being separated from the key Russian proposals whose implementation is a top priority for us," the Russian leader stressed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that what Kiev has to do is sit down at the negotiating table with Donbass, the sooner it happens, the better.
"The Belarusian president and I have ascertained that the key to restoring civil peace in Ukraine and to relieving tensions around that country is the implementation of the Minsk agreements. All Kiev has to do is sit down at the negotiating table with representatives of Donbass and agree on political, military, economic and humanitarian measures to end this conflict," Putin said after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday.
"The sooner it happens, the better," he added.
"Regrettably, right now we are watching, on the contrary, an escalation in Donbass," the Russian president said.
According to the Russian president, the process aimed at resolving the intra-Ukrainian conflict "still treads water." In his opinion, all efforts and contacts between political advisers to the leaders of the Normandy Four group as well as negotiations with foreign counterparts do not help.
"Kiev does not implement the Minsk accords. In particular, it adamantly rejects direct dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk, thus sabotaging the implementation of the agreements on amending the constitution, on the special status of Donbass, on local elections and an amnesty - on all the key issues of the Minsk agreements," he stressed.
The Russian president pointed out that human rights are abused on a huge and systematic scale in Ukraine, and discrimination against the Russian-speaking population is being enshrined at the legislative level.
Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) announced on Friday they would organize the evacuation of civilians to Russia amid the escalation of the situation in Donbass.
Russia’s southern Rostov Region has reported that it is ready to receive Donbass residents. Meanwhile, the Kiev regime keeps denying reports of pending offensive operations in Donbass.
Bombardments Сontinue
The situation at the engagement line in the east of Ukraine escalated on Thursday morning. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics reported the most intensive bombardments by the Ukrainian military in recent months. There has been no data on casualties yet; however, it has been reported that the bombardments have damaged some civil infrastructure facilities.
According to the data of the DPR people’s militia, the Ukrainian military has opened fire at the republic’s territory 30 times since the beginning of February 18, leaving residents of the communities of Verkhnetoretskoye and Krasny Partizan without electric power. It was also reported that two sabotage acts were foiled at chemical facilities in the Gorlovka area.
The authorities of France and Germany that make part of the Normandy Four format along with Russia and Ukraine have also expressed their serious concern over the escalating situation.
Evacuation of Сivilians
DPR Head Denis Pushilin announced measures for the mass centralized evacuation of the republic’s residents to Russia in the wake of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s intentions "to give an order to the army shortly to switch to an offensive and implement the plan of invading the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics."
As Pushilin elaborated, under agreement with the Russian leadership, the Rostov Region is ready to receive and accommodate the republic’s citizens and they will be provided with the necessary. In the first place, women, children and the elderly will be evacuated, he said.
Following that, Lugansk has also announced the evacuation of its citizens: LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik has urged residents to move to Russia within the shortest time possible and called on all the men who can hold arms in their hands "to come to the defense of their land."
Commenting on the evacuation of Donbass residents, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed out that he did not know whether these actions were agreed with Moscow. Meanwhile, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky said that the Rostov Region would cope with the task of receiving Donbass residents. The Crimean authorities have also stated their readiness to receive civilians being evacuated from the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Stance by Russia and Ukraine
The Ukrainian authorities claim that they are not conducting offensive operations in the east of the country and have no relation to attempted subversive acts at Donbass chemical enterprises. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba assured that Kiev was fully committed "solely to diplomatic settlement."
Russian President Vladimir Putin who commented on the Donbass developments said that he regretted the escalation of the situation in the region and called on Kiev again to sit down at the negotiating table with Donbass representatives and agree upon measures of ending the conflict. "The sooner this happens, the better," the Russian leader emphasized.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin held a meeting with President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko at the Kremlin on Friday.
The discussion focused on the further development of Russian-Belarusian relations of strategic partnership and alliance, as well as topical problems of European security.
"at least just a bit, ‘dilute’ the western elite with our presence," Lukashenko said.
The Russian Armed Forces will conduct scheduled strategic deterrence force drills on February 19 under the direction of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry reported on Friday.
"On February 19, 2022, a scheduled exercise of the strategic deterrence force will take place under the direction of Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin, during which ballistic and cruise missiles will be launched," the ministry said in a statement.
As the Russian Defense Ministry emphasized, "the strategic deterrence force drills have been planned in advance to inspect the preparedness of military command centers, launch combat teams, the crews of combat ships and strategic missile carriers for accomplishing assigned missions and the reliability of the strategic nuclear and conventional forces’ weapons."
Russia’s scheduled strategic deference force drills will bring together the forces and capabilities of the Aerospace Force, the Southern Military District, the Strategic Missile Force and the Northern and Black Sea Fleets, the ministry specified.
Russia’s strategic command and staff drills involving all the three components of the strategic nuclear forces are conducted annually, normally at the end of the troops’ regular combat training year.
As the practice of these drills suggests, during these maneuvers a strategic missile-carrying submarine of the Northern Fleet fires an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards the Kura proving ground in Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East and a nuclear-powered submarine of the Pacific Fleet launches an ICBM against a target at the Chizha firing range in the north of Russia. Also, the Russian Strategic Missile Force test-launches an ICBM and long-range aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Force fire cruise missiles.
In accordance with the training plan for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formations and military units that have completed training tasks at the training grounds make marches to permanent deployment points in a combined way, Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson, Major General Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.
Loading of heavy armored vehicles is carried out on railway platforms. Separate units make marches in column, escorted by military police.
The commanders of formations and military units, which have completed combat training measures at the training grounds, were tasked with developing schedules for the return of units to their permanent deployment points.
The first units that marched arrive at their military garrisons.
Combat service support units of the Western Military District, which practiced tasks at the training grounds in Kursk region, having marched over a distance of more than 700 km, arrived at the permanent deployment point in Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod region, tonight.
Also today, military trains with heavy military equipment of the units of the Southern Military District, which completed tasks at the training grounds in the Crimea, were transferred by rail over a distance of more than 1.5 thousand kilometers to permanent deployment points in the Chechen Republic and the Republic of Dagestan.
Trains with armored vehicles of units of the 1st Tank Army of the Western Military District, which performed combat training tasks at training grounds in the Kursk and Bryansk regions, arrive at their military garrisons in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Military units and subunits practicing tasks as part of the reaction forces of the Union State as part of the ongoing Russian-Belarusian exercise Union Courage 2022 on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, today and on Saturday, February 19, will hold practical actions with live firing at the training grounds of the Republic.
After the completion of the exercise, the formations and military units of the Russian Federation will return, as always, to their points of permanent deployment.
Russia notes that the US is willing to work on certain arms control and risk reduction measures, but will discuss them only together with the issues that are fundamental for Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said in a written reaction to the US reply to security guarantee proposals.
Russia stressed the need to de-escalate the situation around Ukraine by forcing Kiev to comply with the Minsk agreements, urging the West to refuse from military cooperation with this country. Also, Moscow demanded to withdraw the US troops from Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, warning that it will take military-technical measures if Washington is unready to negotiate.
Stable foundation
The US side has failed to provide a constructive response to the basic points of the draft treaty on security guarantees, deliberately choosing the issues that it feels comfortable to discuss, the foreign ministry noted.
That package nature of the Russian proposals has been ignored and ‘convenient’ issues have deliberately been picked up and then twisted to create advantages for the US and its allies," the statement said. "This approach and the accompanying narrative by US officials are reinforcing substantiated doubts that Washington is really committed to rectifying the European security situation, the Russian foreign ministry emphasized.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out to Washington that Russia "proposed following the path of settling the unacceptable situation, which keeps developing in the Euro-Atlantic region, comprehensively and for the long term." "This implies, first and foremost, creating a stable foundation of the security architecture in the form of an agreement, under which NATO will give up further actions damaging Russia’s security," the statement reads.
"In the absence of readiness of the US side to negotiate solid, legally binding guarantees of our security by the US and its allies, Russia will have to react, including via implementation of measures of military-technical nature," the Foreign Ministry said.
Ukrainian issue
"There is no "Russian invasion" of Ukraine, which the US and its allies have been announcing officially since last fall, and it is not planned, therefore, statements about "Russia’s responsibility for escalation" can be regarded as an attempt to exert pressure and devalue Russia’s proposals for security guarantees," the document reads.
"The repeated claims in the US answer that Russia allegedly triggered a conflict in Donbass are groundless. Its causes are purely intra-Ukrainian. A settlement will be possible only by means of implementation of the Minsk Agreements and the Package of Measures. Their sequence and the responsibilities for their implementation were clearly described and unanimously confirmed by the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2202, including by the United States, France and Britain. Paragraph 2 of this resolution states that the participating parties are Kiev, Donetsk and Lugansk. Not a single document mentions the responsibility of Russia for the conflict in Donbass. Russia together with the OSCE plays the role of a broker in the main format of negotiations - the Contact Group - and, together with Berlin and Paris, in the Normandy Quartet, which formulates recommendations to the parties of the conflict and monitors their implementation," the document reads.
Weapons and forces in Europe
"We insist on withdrawal of all US armed forces and weapons, deployed in Central Eastern, Southeastern Europe and the Baltics. We are certain that national potentials in these areas are quite enough. We are ready to discuss these issues based on Articles 4 and 5 of the Russian draft agreements," the document says.
"We are calling on the US and NATO to return to compliance with international commitments in the area of upholding peace and security," the statement said. "We expect concrete proposals from the alliance’s members about the form and substance of the legal confirmation that further eastward expansion by NATO will be abandoned."
"We note the persistent uncertainty in Washington’s approaches to the main parameters of potential measures of control over the abovementioned weapons, first and foremost - to the coverage of these measures, which must cover all means of the mentioned range in both nuclear and non-nuclear versions," the document says.
Equation of security
"Russia continues to advocate an integrated approach to the strategic issue. We propose to engage in a joint development of a new ‘equation of security’," the document reads.
"We take note of US attention toward the Russian idea about additional risk reduction measures regarding flights by heavy bombers near the national borders of both sides," the statement said. "We see it as a matter for discussion with potential for mutually acceptable agreements." "We remind of an equally important element of our package proposal, which concerns similar voyages by surface warships that also are associated with serious risks," the statement said.
"The measures on strengthening of trust and security within the framework of the 2011 Vienna Document are adequate to the contemporary situation. In order to begin the discussion of its potential update, necessary conditions must be created. And, to that extent, the US and its allies must abandon its policy of containment of Russia, and take concrete practical measures on de-escalation of the military and political situation," the foreign ministry noted.
The Russian economy showed good result last year even amid the challenging global situation, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.
"I would like to note the Russian economy demonstrated good results last year on the back of the challenging global situation. According to the estimate of the Ministry of Economic Development, domestic GDP gained 4.6% and the national economy did not merely compensate the drop in 2020 but was above the pre-crisis level," the head of state said.
Russia normalized its budgetary policy after the decline during the pandemic and performed the last-year budget with the surplus, Putin added.
To achieve a radical increase in the detection of crimes in Russia, Vladimir Putin demanded at a meeting of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on Thursday.
"I would like to once again note the task to radically improve the crime detection rate. According to last year’s results, there has not been any significant progress here so far. This means that we need consistent and more effective work on all types of crimes that pose a threat to our society," he said.
These threats include new challenges related to crime seeping into the sphere of information technologies and communications. The number of crimes in this sphere is growing annually. Domestic companies suffer damage from the actions of cybercriminals. And more of Russians are facing a loss of funds and savings, with irreparable moral damage, which evokes a strong public response. Pensioners, large families and people with disabilities fall victim to criminals.
"Nothing is sacred to these people; their only goal is to steal money," Putin stressed.
Putin dwelled separately on the prevention of delinquency among young people.
"Protecting the younger generation from crime is the most important task for the development of the country and for its future,"he said.
A serious signal that requires a comprehensive analysis is the growth of crimes related to extremism. In 2021, their number increased by more than a quarter.
"Particular attention should be paid to neutralizing the attempts of extremists and all kinds of radicals to use the Internet (we are aware of this and are constantly talking about it), to use modern means to incite ethnic, religious and social hatred," Putin said.
An effective fight against extremism is directly related to solving problems in the migration sphere.
"Of course, we are glad to everyone who comes to us to study, work, just live, who observe, meanwhile, the laws of Russia and respect our culture and traditions," Putin added.
Unfortunately, many people and many children still die in traffic accidents. Mortality is high in accidents caused by drunk drivers, as well as as a result of collisions with pedestrians.
According to the President, increased attention, as before, should be paid to the decriminalization of the economy and the fight against corruption.
"Finally, it is important to step up the fight against illicit drug trafficking, including taking additional measures to strengthen the interaction of Interior Ministry units with their colleagues from the FSB and the Federal Customs Service, and improve international anti-drug cooperation, primarily within the framework of BRICS, the CSTO and the SCO," Putin said at the end.
Moscow will no longer take seriously any statements by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg who has been named to head Norway’s central bank, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a news conference on Wednesday.
She made the comments in response to Stoltenberg’s statement that NATO’s doors will remain open for Ukraine.
"These statements made by Stoltenberg, who is the NATO secretary general - or a banker, I’m still confused - are no longer of interest for us," she said. "He’s not a person whose statements will be regarded in Moscow as serious arguments. He’s a NATO has been."
The diplomat said she was hoping constructive talks with the US and NATO on security guarantees will continue.
"These issues require an in-depth, substantive conversation," she said. "Or it will be like what happened between us and the British foreign minister in Moscow: a conversation between a mute person and a deaf person."
"We’d like the sides to hear each other, rather than lecture each other or make empty statements that are just a waste of breath, rather than being aimed at respecting each other’s concerns," Zakharova said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova believes that UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss must apologize for her statements regarding the alleged potential Russian aggression against Ukraine.
"The head of the British Foreign Office [Liz Truss] must apologize for dissemination of lies, and she must apologize before the people of Russia, the people of Ukraine and the people of Britain, as well as before the mass media that decided that her statements are true," Zakharova said at a briefing Wednesday.
She claimed that Truss personally became the face of the "disinformation campaign" initiated in the West regarding the alleged potential Russian aggression against Ukraine.
"All statements made by her completely fall in line with the information campaign, carried out by NATO member states, led by Washington and London, and, in many ways, she became its face," Zakharova said.
According to Zakharova, the UK must prove the lack of its own intention to attack anyone, Russia in particular, considering a British destroyer entered Russia’s territorial waters last year.
"This is not the first time we are saying that Russia has not attacked anyone and is not going to. NATO states, however, must explain themselves; things are not all that clear about them. Let the UK now prove that it has no intention to attack anyone, that it has no such intentions," the spokeswoman said.
During the last few months, Western media repeatedly reported an allegedly possible Russian invasion of the Ukrainian territory, naming "exact date" and even time, and postponing it repeatedly. Russia repeatedly debunked such statements. President Vladimir Putin underscored that Moscow does not want war, and Russia initiated negotiations on guarantees of security in order to prevent it.
"As for this continuing hysteria [over Russia’s alleged invasion of Ukraine], I cannot say we find it amusing, but we are truly perplexed. No matter what we do on our territory, the West considers it its right to lecture us on how to behave. This is simply a lack of good manners," Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
This can be seen in the recent calls to “check on what Russia is doing there.” It’s as if we announced an end to the exercises but they “don’t believe us.” Supposedly, they will have an opportunity to verify it with satellites and other information from their intelligence agencies. There is no end to the threats: “We dare you to invade Ukraine; we will promptly announce sanctions the likes of which the world has never seen.” Yesterday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen spoke with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. After this conversation, it was announced that London and the EU would act together to “punish” Russia when they deem it necessary.
Britain is ready to act as the initiator, both with and without an excuse. A few days ago they approved a supplement to the Regulations they adopted in 2019 to announce sanctions against Russia as “punishment” for our actions on the Ukrainian problem. This “supplement” has nothing to do with Ukraine. It gives the British authorities the right to impose sanctions on any organisation, individual or legal entity that is linked with the Russian state, are of significant economic importance to our authorities or conduct activities as individuals or legal entities in industries that are strategically vital to the Russian Government (transport, the chemical industry and many other sectors).
"To make it clearer and more succinct: now the British authorities can impose sanctions on any individual or company just because they belong to Russia or are Russian citizens or organisations. This is unprecedented in history. If these regulations (still subject to certain procedures) finally enter into force, I have no doubt that our parliament will have every reason (it will be necessary) to adopt similar laws as regards those who are trying to build a career, increase public ratings or become more popular through Russophobic declarations," Lavrov stressed.
Moscow know how much London is used to playing its favourite role as provocateur in relations between Russia and the West.
"I hope other Western countries are more responsible than this, that they will see this as another attempt to trigger a new wave in the sanctions war and will not support it. I must emphasise that in any event, the Russian Government and our Parliament will not remain indifferent to what the West is trying to do," Lavrov added.
Emergencies Ministry has proven in practice that it is an essential and highly needed link in Russia’s security system, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the expanded Board meeting of the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief on on Wednesday.
"It has become a flawless, mobile, and well-equipped organisation responsible for protecting our citizens in emergencies, as well as preventing and extinguishing fires and developing the civil defence system," he added.
Last year was difficult for the ministry. Floods in Siberia, in the Far East and in the south of Russia were an important test for rescue crews. They fought natural and man-made fires that threatened people and property.
A major effort was carried out in response to the Listvyazhnaya Mine accident. This tragedy, which unfortunately killed several people – miners and rescuers – was the pain and misfortune of Kuzbass and the rest of Russia.
"Russians are grateful for the substantive aid you have provided in countering the coronavirus," President noted.
Ministry also fulfilled an important mission abroad during these difficult months. During the general lockdown when the borders were closed, Emergency Ministry planes helped evacuate Russians who were abroad on business trips or holidays. Over 1,400 tonnes of medical equipment and medicines, 120 tonnes of food and over 380,000 doses of Sputnik V and Sputnik Light vaccines were delivered to the countries that suffered most from the coronavirus.
Putin expressed gratitude the managers, the military personnel, the employees and civilian specialists at the Emergencies Ministry for their dutiful work and their courage and selflessness in performing their duties, for their readiness to immediately help others, often at the risk of their own lives.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivers remarks at a joint news conference with Foreign Minister of Brazil Carlos Franca following talks in the 2 + 2 formaton Wednesday.
Relations between Russia and Brazil are valuable in themselves. In recent years, they have developed progressively and cover virtually all areas of interstate cooperation, and are gaining momentum in such spheres as trade, economy and investment, as well as military and military-technical cooperation, humanitarian, cultural and education exchange, and foreign policy coordination.
Russia confirms its support for Brazil’s candidacy for a seat in the Security Council as a permanent member in the context of expanding this body by giving additional seats to the developing countries of Asia and Africa.
The two countries are working closely in diverse areas at the UN including strengthening international security, settling regional conflicts, ensuring security in space activities, and preventing the deployment of weapons in space. They, also cooperate on promoting the Chemical Weapons Convention without attempts to undermine its key provisions.
Ministers agreed to coordinate their approaches in preparations for the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Russia and Brazil share an approach in favour of the earliest possible enactment of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Lavrov shared with our Brazilian friends a detailed assessments of the United States' policy of substituting international law with some “rules-based order.” This policy implies and is already putting in practice an attempt to split the world into “democracies” and “non-democracies,” the former enjoying a privileged position, and the latter who need to be restrained. In Europe, this policy is manifested in a so-called open-door policy, which, in violation of all legal norms and political obligations, has led to NATO’s reckless eastward expansion, creating a direct threat to Russia’s national security. He have substantively informed the other party of the steps that Russia are taking in our dialogue with the United States and NATO.
"We are interested in a regular exchange of information, assessments of what is happening in our respective regions, in Latin America and around Russia. This demonstrates the special trusting nature of our relations," Lavrov noted.
The representatives of the respective Ministries of Defence who were participating in "2+2" meeting exchanged detailed assessments of military and military-technical cooperation and the prospects for its expansion. They agreed to continue discussing these matters in the follow-up expert consultations.
A special train carrying tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery mounts has crossed the Crimean Bridge on the way back to permanent military bases after drills in Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
"A train carrying military equipment belonging to the units stationed in the Southern Military District has crossed the Crimean Bridge on its way to permanent bases after completing routing drills," the statement reads.
According to the ministry, the Southern Military District’s troops that took part in tactical drills at training grounds on the Crimean Peninsula are now heading to their permanent bases by train. "Troops have loaded tracked armored vehicles (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and self-propelled artillery mounts) onto flat cars at loading points," the statement added.
Once back at the permanent bases, the military equipment will be maintained and prepared for the next round of combat training, the Defense Ministry noted.
The Russian Armed Forces continue a series of large-scale military drills involving all military districts, fleets and airborne troops. The tactical drills took place at 15 combined-arms training grounds. The exercises involved reinforced companies of battalion tactical groups.
Talks between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil have concluded in Moscow. The meeting lasted about three hours.
The two leaders appeared before the press for a final statement.
Putin said at the meeting that although bilateral relations had been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, trade between the two countries continued to grow. He hailed Brazil as one of Russia’s key trade and economic partners in Latin America and expressed hope that the meeting would be useful.
Russia is interested in the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean on the international stage, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a meeting of the defense and foreign ministers of Russia and Brazil in the ‘two plus two’ format, that takes place in Moscow for the first time.
Moscow sees Brazil’s central role in the development of that region, the top diplomat added. "We are interested in the independent role of Latin America and the Caribbean on the world stage, and we see a leading, central role that Brazil plays in ensuring the development of that major region of the world," Lavrov stressed.
Russia values cooperation with Brazil in various formats - regional, as well as within the framework of BRICS, the United Nations and G20.
Also on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin holds talks with President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro https://youtu.be/JW-PCZUqQhs
Sergey Lavrov opened meeting by conveying condolences to his Brazilian colleagues about the floods in the city of Petropolis.
He noted that today for the first time "Russian-Brazilian relations are enriched by a new format, the "two plus two" format of foreign ministers and defense ministers," which starts against the background of tragic events in Brazil itself.
"First of all, on behalf of our delegation, I would like to express our condolences over the tragic events that occurred as a result of the flood and the landslides in the Brazilian city of Petropolis, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and ask you to convey our condolences to the families of the victims," the top diplomat said.
Brazil's Regional Development Minister Rogerio Marinho said on his Twitter page that at least six people were killed Tuesday as a result of heavy rainfall-induced floods in Petropolis.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has greeted his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro in the Kremlin.
The conversation is taking place without additional social distance - the two leaders are sitting next to each other and shook hands before the talks.
As the Kremlin press service reported earlier, during the meeting it is planned to review the issues of strengthening the Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership, the development of cooperation in the trade and economic, scientific and technical and cultural and humanitarian spheres as well as discuss the international agenda.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that such a meeting is a "good opportunity to exchange opinions on the most pressing issues on the global agenda today."
Statements for the media are planned following the conclusion of the talks.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has positively assessed his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
"We had a very intense and very frank conversation," he told journalists, adding that the talks were held in a "friendly atmosphere."
According to the German chancellor, the sides raised disputable issues.
"We have a clear strategy - if military aggression is staged against Ukraine, it will have serious consequences," he stressed. The West, in his words, has drafted sanctions and will be ready to react to the changing situation. "It is necessary to spare no effort to avoid escalation," he added.
Olaf Scholz told reporters that European security is possible only with Russia’s participation.
"It is absolutely clear for us, Germans, and to all Europeans as well, that [a] lasting security [system] cannot be created against Russia, only with Russia. We share this opinion both in NATO and the European Union," Scholz said, calling for a solution that would be acceptable for everyone.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has promised to submit to the Trilateral Contact Group the three political bills envisaged by the Minsk agreements, namely on Donbass’ status, on amendments to the Ukrainian constitution, and on elections in the region, German Chancellor said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that his memories are still fresh of the war that the North Atlantic Alliance started in Europe against Yugoslavia and of the bombardments of Belgrade. Putin remarked it was a sad example, but at the same time remained a hard fact.
"Mr. Federal Chancellor has just said that the people of his generation - and I certainly belong to that generation myself - find it difficult to imagine some war in Europe," Putin told a news conference following talks with Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He added that that was said regarding the situation involving Ukraine.
"But all of us were witnesses to the war in Europe that NATO unleashed against Yugoslavia," Putin said. He recalled that there was a major military operation involving bombing strikes against one of the European capitals: Belgrade.
"It did happen. Without any sanctions by the UN Security Council. It is a very sad example, but it is a hard fact," Putin said.
On March 24, 1999 NATO, without a UN Security Council’s resolution launched an air operation codenamed Allied Force against Yugoslavia. The operation lasted for 78 days. The alliance’s leadership claimed its purpose was to prevent genocide of Kosovo’s Albanians. According to NATO’s sources its aircraft flew 38,000 sorties and carried out 10,000 bombing strikes.
The bombardments killed, according to different estimates 3,500-4,000 and left about 10,000 others (two-thirds of them civilians) injured. The material damage totaled $100 billion. During the three months of bombardments NATO forces dropped on Serbia 15 tonnes of depleted uranium in bombs and shells. After that the country’s cancer rates surged to first place in Europe. In the first ten years following the bombardments about 30,000 developed cancer and an estimated 10,000-18,000 of them died.
Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu inspected the Russian Navy’s sweeping drills in the eastern Mediterranean, the Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.
"On February 15, Russia’s Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu inspected the Russian Navy’s drills in the eastern Mediterranean running as part of naval maneuvers in operationally important areas of the World Ocean and in the seas adjacent to Russian territory," the ministry said in a statement.
At the Russian Navy’s logistics facility in the port of Tartus in Syria, Shoigu heard a report by Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov on joint combat training exercises by Russian combat ships and aircraft for striking a hypothetical enemy’s naval groups and delivering fire against naval and aerial targets, employing artillery guns and anti-submarine weapons, the statement says.
The Russian Navy’s chief reported to the defense minister that the Mediterranean drills involved over 15 combat ships of the Pacific, Northern and Black Sea Fleets: the missile cruisers Varyag and Marshal Ustinov, the frigates Fleet Admiral Kasatonov, Admiral Grigorovich, the large anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and Vice-Admiral Kulakov, support vessels and also more than 30 aircraft of Russia’s Aerospace Force, the ministry said.
"The drills are focused on measures to hunt down foreign submarines, establish control of shipping in the Mediterranean Sea and on flights by aircraft over it," the ministry specified.
The naval maneuvers are focused on measures by the Navy and the Aerospace Force to protect Russia’s national interests in the World Ocean and counter military threats to Russia from the direction of seas and oceans, the ministry specified.
"Overall, the series of the ongoing naval drills, as reported by Admiral Yevmenov, has brought together over 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 items of military hardware and about 10,000 troops," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
As part of the active phase of the naval maneuvers, surface ships, submarines and naval aircraft of the Fleets operating under a single concept are practicing combat training tasks in the Okhotsk, Black and Barents Seas, the ministry informed.
Russian Defense Minister Shoigu inspected the naval maneuvers in Tartus jointly with his Syrian counterpart, General Ali Ayyoub, it said.
"At the Russian Navy’s Tartus logistics facility, Shoigu also inspected the Black Sea Fleet’s ship repair center where he set tasks for further improving the infrastructure of the base of Russian ships in Syria and also laid flowers at the monument to Admiral Fyodor Ushakov," the Defense Ministry informed.
On behalf of Russian President Putin, General Shoigu made a working trip to Damascus, where he was received by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The head of the Russian military department informed the Syrian president about the exercise of the Russian Navy in the eastern Mediterranean.
Moscow will do its best not to protract talks on European security and to prevent possible worsening of its position during this process, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday after talks with visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
"We have fears that the negotiating process on our security proposals and security issues that are important for us can be protracted by our partners without due reasons and that during this negotiating process certain decisions worsening, in the most serious way, our positions because it has been happening for years," he said.
"Naturally, it is what in focus for us, what we understand and what we will discuss with our partners and what we will not allow to happen," he stressed.
On January 26, the US and NATO handed over written responses to Russia on Moscow’s security guarantees that it was demanding from Washington and Brussels. The American side requested that the documents not be made public, although US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg enumerated their basic provisions. According to these statements, the West did not make concessions to Russia considered to be critical, but did indicate directions for further negotiations.
On Monday, Putin discussed with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the United States’ and NATO’s responses to Russia’s proposals on long-term legally binding guarantees of its security. Lavrov informed the president about these responses, noting that NATO and the US gave a negative answer on Russia’s key concerns. He stressed that Moscow cannot be satisfied with these responses. However, in his words, some of the responses are quite constructive. These are concrete measures concerning shorter-and medium-range missiles and a series of proposals on reducing military risks, building up trust and military transparency.
President of the Federative Republic of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro arrived in Moscow ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
On February 16, the President of Russia will hold talks with President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, who will be in Russia on an official visit.
The agenda includes various aspects of strengthening the Russian-Brazilian strategic partnership, expanding cooperation in trade, the economy, science, technology, culture and humanitarian sphere. The leaders will also exchange opinions on key international issues.
The State Duma approved a resolution at its session on Tuesday to forward to the Russian president a draft appeal by the lower house of Russia’s parliament as proposed by the Communist faction on recognizing the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR).
The decision was supported by 351 lawmakers, with 16 votes against it and one abstention. The State Duma rejected a competing draft resolution on forwarding the appeal to the Foreign Ministry for consultations. This motion gained only 310 votes during the ranked voting.
As Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin pointed out, the resolution "will be signed immediately and forwarded to the head of state." The politician wrote on his Telegram channel that the motion would be forwarded to the Russian leader "to consider the issue of recognizing the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic as self-sustained, sovereign and independent states."
"Kiev is not fulfilling the Minsk Agreements. Our citizens and compatriots living in Donbass need assistance and support," the State Duma speaker insisted.
As Volodin pointed out, the lawmakers are certain that "the recognition of the DPR and the LPR will create grounds for ensuring security guarantees and protecting residents of the republics from external threats, and also for bolstering international peace and regional stability in compliance with the goals and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations Organization and will pave the way for the process of recognizing both states internationally."
The draft appeal was submitted to the State Duma on January 19 by the faction of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). Under the document, the State Duma turns to the head of state with a request to consider recognizing the self-proclaimed republics "as self-sustained, sovereign and independent states."
It follows from the text of the document that the lawmakers "deem as substantiated and morally justified the recognition" of the DPR and the LPR.
"Over recent years, democratic bodies and states with all the attributes of legitimate power have been built in the republics based on the people’s free will," the document says.
The lawmakers deem it necessary to propose that the Russian president consider the issue of holding negotiations with the leaderships of the DPR and the LPR as soon as possible "for the purpose of creating a legal framework of inter-state relations to provide for the regulation of all the aspects of cooperation and mutual assistance, including security issues."
The competing draft resolution worked out by the ruling United Russia party and rejected by the State Duma did not stipulate that the appeal would be forwarded to the head of state immediately after the completion of consultations with the Russian Foreign Ministry. This nuance caused disagreement among members of the KPRF faction. In particular, Faction First Deputy Head Nikolai Kolomeitsev argued that in this case the State Duma would have not given "the president additional trump cards." He further argued that such a resolution could have delayed the process of examining the appeal.
For his part, Head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots and one of the authors of the document Leonid Kalashnikov (KPRF) pointed out that the appeal itself did not mean recognizing the republics. "Recognition or non-recognition is implemented by the president and this is solely his competence," the lawmaker stressed. He also said that "the possibility of the DPR and LPR leaders themselves turning to the president is also not ruled out."
"With regard to the issue of recognizing the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, the parliamentarians of all the factions demonstrated their unanimity," Deputy Head of the United Russia faction Yevgeny Revenko was quoted by the faction’s press office as saying. He pointed out that today’s resolution "is an open position of the country’s parliament and people on what is taking place in the southeast of Ukraine."
Vladimir Putin said that a significant part of his talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz would cover security issues in Europe and the situation around Ukraine.
"We will devote a significant part of our time to discussing the situation in Europe, which is related to security and those discussions that are now so relevant on this issue, in particular in connection with the events around Ukraine," Putin said, opening the talks.
The Russian leader recalled that last week he had received French President Emmanuel Macron in the Kremlin and discussed the same topics with him.
"I know that he informed you about the essence of the issues that were raised during our discussion. Of course, it would be very interesting for me in this regard, it would be useful to hear your own assessments of what is happening," Putin said to Scholz.
Kamila Valieva is now allowed to skate in ladies’ singles competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China. The Court of Arbitration for Sport made such a decision. Now you have a unique opportunity to see these exclusive shots.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva said on Monday she has got very tired emotionally in recent days but is happy to continue to compete at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
"These days have been very difficult for me, emotionally. I am happy but emotionally fatigued. That is why these tears of joy and a little bit of sadness. But, of course, I am happy to take part in the Olympic Games. I will do mu utmost to represent our country. Apparently, this is a stage I have to live through," she said in an interview with Russia’s TV Channel One.
"I hear so many good wishes. I have seen outdoor banners in Moscow. It is very pleasing, this support is very important for me in this difficult time. I thought I was alone but my closest friends and family will never abandon me," she added.
Earlier in the day, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) turned down an appeal filed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) against the decision of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to lift a temporary suspension of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.
Valieva is now allowed to skate in ladies’ singles competitions at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China. The short program is scheduled for February 15 and the free skate program will take place on February 17.
The International Testing Agency announced on February 11 that Valieva’s doping sample, collected on December 25, 2022 during the Russian Figure Skating Championships in St. Petersburg, returned a positive result for a banned substance. This triggered the postponement of the awarding ceremony of the 2022 Olympic team competition, won by Russia.
RUSADA imposed a provisional suspension on Valieva on February 8, but the Russian athlete submitted an appeal and it was satisfied the following day. The previous decision on the provisional suspension was cancelled by the RUSADA Disciplinary Committee.
However, the ISU, IOC and WADA filed their appeals later with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in order to overturn the previous decision of the RUSADA Disciplinary Committee.
Valieva is the youngest participant of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the age of 15. The figure skater is trained by Russia’s merited coach Eteri Tutberidze and is the reigning champion of Europe and Russia. She holds the World Records in ladies singles short program (90.45 points), in ladies’ free skate program (185.29 points) and in the combined result of two programs in ladies’ competitions (272.71 points).
Russia still has a chance to reach a consensus with its Western partners on issues of security guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday a a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
When asked by the president whether there is a change to reach an agreement with the Western partners on the key security issues of concerns of the Russian side, the minister answered in the affirmative. "After all, as a foreign minister, I should say that there always is a chance," he said.
Lavrov stressed the importance of "consistent explanatory work" on corresponding matters. Apart from that, in his words, Moscow is ready "to listen to serious counterarguments." "We - both you and other Russian representatives - have repeatedly said that we warn about the inadmissibility of endless talk on issues that need to be settled today," he noted. "I don’t think our possibilities have been exhausted, but, naturally, they should not last endlessly. However, I would suggest we continue these efforts at this stage."
On December 17, 2021, the Russian foreign ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States, and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. The proposed measures include guarantees that NATO will not advance eastward, including the accession of Ukraine and other countries into the alliance, as well as non-deployment of serious offensive weapons, including nuclear ones. The sides have had several rounds of consultations in various formats but no agreements have yet been announced.
A US submarine went more than 4 km into Russian waters and efforts to drive it away took about three hours, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with the country’s President Vladimir Putin.
"A Pacific Fleet group discovered during exercises near the Kuril Islands a submarine, most likely from the US," Shoigu said. "As a result of efforts that took almost three hours the sub was driven away from the Russian waters where it was more than 4 km inside, quite a lot for the islands."
A US Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine was spotted by Russia’s anti-submarine forces in the Russian territorial waters near Urup, an uninhabited island in the Kuril Islands chain at 10:40 am Moscow time on February 12. The submarine ignored the orders to the surface immediately and the Russian side used special means, after which the submarine left Russia’s territorial waters at the maximum speed.
Following the incident, a note was delivered to the US military attache in Moscow, saying that the Russian defense ministry reserves the right to take all appropriate measures security in Russia’s territorial waters to ensure Russia’s security.
Some of Russia’s military exercises are ending and others will be over in the near future, Sergey Shoigu said.
"Some exercises are ending and others will be over in the near future. Countermeasures against various enemy actions are being practiced on all tracks," he said.
The joint exercise with Belarus codenamed Union Resolve 2022 is being held on February 10-20 to practice measures to prevent and repel foreign aggression, as well as to resist terrorism and protect the interests of the Union State. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the forces involved will take measures to enhance the protection of the state border against penetration of groups of armed militants, plug loopholes and routes that might be used for the delivery of weapons and ammunition, and also to search for, seal off and eliminate illegal armed groups and enemy saboteurs.
The drills are being conducted at the Domanovsky, Gozhsky, Obuz-Lesnovsky, Brestsky and Osipovichsky proving grounds and the Baranovichi, Luninets, Lida and Machulishchi airdromes.
In accordance with the Russian armed forces’ January-February training schedule a series of naval exercises is being held under the general guidance of the Navy’s commander-in-chief, Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov. The main task is to test cooperation by the Navy and Aerospace Force in protecting Russia’s national interests in the World Ocean and countering military threats to Russia on the sea.
The Russian and US presidents, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden, did not discuss the incident with detecting a US submarine in Russia’s territorial waters near the Kuril Islands, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"The issue was not touched upon in the presidents’ conversation," Ushakov said.
The Kremlin is aware about the incident and the Russian Defense Ministry "is taking the respective demarches."
According to the Defense Ministry, the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarine was detected on February 12, 2022 at 10.40 (Moscow Time) in the area of the Pacific Fleet’s drills near Urup Island of the Kuril Chain. The submarine ignored the demand to leave Russia’s territorial waters and left only after the appropriate means were used.
The Pacific Fleet’s ships continue the scheduled drills, including to ensure control in the underwater environment and thwart violations of Russia’s state border.
Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Joe Biden had a balanced and business-like phone call on Saturday, Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"We can state that the conversation was rather balanced and business-like," Ushakov said.
According to the Kremlin aide, the conversation lasted slightly more than an hour and came as a follow-up to the Russian-US talks held on December 7, 2021 via a video link-up as well as the presidents’ phone call on December 30.
"It was then that the leaders of the two countries began discussing the most important topic for today, namely the issues of ensuring long-term, legally binding security guarantees for Russia," he recalled.
"Joe Biden predictably mentioned potential severe anti-Russian sanctions in the context of the thorny situation around Ukraine, but the emphasis was not placed on that issue during a quite lengthy conversation with the Russian leader," Ushakov said.
According to Ushakov, Putin "laid out in detail Russia’s approaches and explained why it is now high time to address the issues on which Russia’s national security really depends."
Putin and Biden had spoken over the phone at the end of 2021. On December 7, they also held talks via videoconference. The first face-to-face meeting between Putin and Biden as heads of state took place in Geneva in June 2021.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Moscow castigated these claims. However, the Kremlin did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.
Simultaneously, talks on pan-European security are underway. In December 2021, the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft agreement on security guarantees between Russia and the United States, and a draft agreement on ensuring the security of Russia and NATO member states. On January 26, the US and NATO handed over their written responses to Moscow’s proposals. Putin said that in those responses Washington and Brussels disregarded Russia’s basic concerns. However, the Kremlin pointed out that there were some rational aspects in the Western proposals, but they were minor ones.
"The facts are that Americans are artificially whipping up hysteria around an alleged Russian plans for the invasion, even providing the dates of such an invasion, but simultaneously boosts Ukraine’s military muscle, earmarking huge financial resources to modernize the Ukrainian army and increasing the number of military instructors being deployed there," he said.
"Conditions are being created for the Ukrainian armed forces to take provocative actions amid allegations about an ‘invasion.’ This is how we view the situation," he pointed out.
"Attempts have been going on for months to raise tensions around the movement of our troops on our territory. The situation reached the point of absurdity in the past several days," he noted.
"He [Biden] said he is committed to the diplomatic path and in this regard he outlined a number of considerations that, in his view, take into account many of Russia’s concerns and initiatives, which were outlined and conveyed to the Americans and NATO," Ushakov said.
"I will note right away that the Russian president reacted in the spirit that the Russian side will of course analyze the considerations expressed by Biden and we will certainly take them into account. But unfortunately, and this was said, these considerations do not address the central, key elements of the Russian initiatives," the Kremlin aide said.
These concerns include issues of NATO’s non-expansion, non-deployment of strike forces on Ukrainian soil, return to NATO force posture back to 1997, when the NATO-Russia Founding Act was signed.
"[On these issues] we have not received any substantive answer," Ushakov stressed. He noted that many of steps outlined by Biden in the phone call had been included in the responses to Russian proposals by Washington and NATO in January.
Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus have held a telephone conversation discussing the situation around the US and NATO’s response to Moscow’s proposals on security guarantees, the Kremlin press service said in a statement on Saturday.
According to the statement, the parties discussed "the situation around the United States’ and NATO’s reaction to Moscow's proposals to develop long-term international legal security guarantees for Russia." Putin and Lukashenko also touched upon "some issues related to future bilateral cooperation." They "agreed to maintain personal contact," the Kremlin press service added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron there is no substantive response of the United States and NATO to Moscow’s initiatives on security issues, the Kremlin press service said.
"Vladimir Putin again drew attention to the lack of a substantive US and NATO response to the well-known Russian initiatives," according to the statement.
Putin in a telephone conversation with Macron held an in-depth exchange of views on ensuring long-term legal security guarantees for Russia, the Kremlin said.
"To continue the discussions held during the French president’s recent visit to Moscow, they held an in-depth exchange of views on the issues related to ensuring long-term legal guarantees for security of the Russian Federation and to breaking the impasse in resolving the intra-Ukrainian conflict, also taking into account Emmanuel Macron’s talks with the leadership of Ukraine, the United States and some European countries," the statement says.
Provocative speculations about alleged Russian plans to invade Ukraine were in the focus of a telephone conversation between Putin and Macron, the Kremlin said.
The two presidents continued to exchange views on security guarantees for Russia and on how to break the deadlock in resolving the intra-Ukrainian crisis.
"Additionally, Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation linked to provocative speculations about an alleged Russian plans for the ‘invasion’ of Ukraine to the accompaniment of a large-scale pumping of cutting-edge weapons into that country and the creation of conditions for potential aggressive actions by Ukrainian military in Donbass," the statement says.
Putin and Macron discussed, in addition to Ukraine, in their telephone conversation how to preserve and implement the Iran nuclear deal, the Kremlin said.
"They touched upon the issue of the preservation and full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) on the Iranian nuclear program," the Russian president’s press service said.
A Virginia-class submarine belonging to the US Navy was spotted on Saturday morning in the area where the Russian Pacific Fleet was holding drills off Urup Island of the Kuril range, the submarine defied the warnings to leave Russia’s territorial waters and departed after "appropriate means" had been applied, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"On February 12, 2022 at 10.40 (Moscow Time), a Virginia-class submarine belonging to the US Navy was detected. Under the guiding documents on protection of the state border of the Russian Federation in the underwater environment, the crew of the Pacific Fleet’s frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov used appropriate means. The US submarine started a self-propelled simulator to split the target image on radar and acoustic control means into two parts and retreated from Russian territorial waters at a maximum speed," the ministry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a telephone talk with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday that the US propaganda campaign on Russia’s alleged aggression against Ukraine pursued provocative goals, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
"The minister stressed that the propaganda crusade on ‘Russia’s aggression’ against Ukraine unleashed by the United States and its allies pursued provocative goals, encouraging the Kiev regime to sabotage the Minsk agreements and undertake harmful attempts of resolving the ‘Donbass problem’ with the use of force," the ministry said.
Also, Lavrov told Blinken that the response by the US and NATO to Russia’s proposals on security guarantees ignored provisions fundamental for Moscow, first and foremost, the provisions that the alliance will not expand further and strike weapons will not be deployed near the Russian borders, the statement says.
"It was emphasized that these issues would be central in our assessment of the documents received from the US and NATO, which would be brought to the notice of our colleagues," the ministry said.
Lavrov also reminded Blinken that the actions violating the commitments of indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic region undertaken at the highest level were inadmissible, the statement says.
The talk was held at the initiative of the US side, the ministry said.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have very serious consequences.
The negotiation aspects between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his foreign guests in the Kremlin are related to different COVID-19 regulations in various countries, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Friday.
"In some situations, Putin communicates with his guests directly, very close, seated in front of his office’s fireplace and they shake hands. With others, he negotiates at a table six meters in length," the press secretary said. According to him, "it is actually related to the fact that some leaders follow their rules, and do not intend to interact with the host in exchanging [coronavirus] tests." "We understand that this is customary global practice," Peskov assured.
"In this case, the protocol of additional measures to protect the health of our president and our guests comes into force, and then we use distancing," the presidential spokesman explained. "If medics, infection disease specialists cooperate and carry out tests [of both sides], then there is a chance to avoid restrictions as such and make direct contact," he specified.
The level of Russian-British relations is coming close to zero, and it is time to stop exacerbating relations between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with his British counterpart Ben Wallace on Friday.
It is our first meeting in recent years. Regrettably, the level of our cooperation is close to zero and is about to cross the zero meridian and go into the red, which we do not want. Therefore, I do hope for the opportunity to discuss the most pressing issues with you, without ratcheting or rising even higher the temperature in relations between Russia and the countries of the NATO bloc. And especially with the UK, taking into consideration the historical experience of our cooperation and military interaction," Shoigu said.
"Because nowadays, we see that attention is getting more and more concentrated, excessively concentrated, on the issues which, in our view, could have been resolved quite calmly, in the dialogue between all the countries, without threats of any sorts of sanctions," the Russian minister said.
"I believe there are already no words left in both English and Russian dictionaries that can define these sanctions. Among them are ‘catastrophic’, ‘shocking’ and ‘destructive’. A lot of different words," Shoigu stated.
The Russian defense minister pointed out that before the meeting he had carefully studied the speeches of his British counterpart along with the speeches of his colleagues.
"Sadly, we still see the threat of sanctions across the line in every speech. I would not like our conversation today to be a continuation of such interviews," Shoigu said.
There was ‘no deafness or blindness’ at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu held in a constructive atmosphere, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said at a press conference after the talks broadcast live by Sky News from the British embassy in Moscow.
"Mr. Lavrov is a master at these types of engagements and making those type of comments," the UK defense chief said, responding to a request to comment on a statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who described his negotiations with his British counterpart, Liz Truss, on Thursday as "a conversation between deaf and dumb."
As the UK defense chief emphasized, in his discussion with Shoigu "there was absolutely no deafness or blindness." He also said that both of them were aware that they were responsible for their troops and "should anything go wrong, it is they who ultimately pay, sometimes the ultimate price."
"We deal with the facts and we deal with the issues we have because it is in both our interests to resolve that," Wallace pointed out, adding that the meeting was constructive and sincere.
The UK defense chief said he hoped that the discussion had "contributed to a better atmosphere and to de-escalation", although he said that there was "still a considerable way to go between the two of us".
The military and political situation on the European continent has deteriorated significantly over tension fueled around Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting with his UK counterpart Ben Wallace in Moscow, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.
"The agenda included the most pressing issues of European security and interaction between the defense ministries of both countries. Army General S. K. Shoigu pointed out that the military and political situation in Europe had worsened considerably due to tension whipped up around Ukraine and NATO’s military presence near the Russian borders, which requires taking urgent measures to ensure security guarantees for the Russian Federation," Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement released after the meeting.
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded," serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have very serious consequences.
