Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group on April 3 claimed it had captured the city hall in Ukraine’s eastern town of Bakhmut, giving it “legal” control, but Kyiv said its forces still held the town. The battle for Bakhmut has raged for months with Wagner supporting Russian troops and Ukraine warning the fall of the town would … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20 leaders’ summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali next week, Moscow’s embassy in Indonesia told AFP on Thursday. “I can confirm that (foreign minister) Sergei Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation to the G20. President Putin’s program is still being worked out, he could participate … Read more
President Vladimir Putin on Sunday rejected the idea of sending people evacuation from Afghanistan to countries near Russia, saying he did not want “militants showing up here under cover of refugees”, Russian news agencies reported. Putin criticised an idea of some Western countries to relocate refugees from Afghanistan to neighbouring Central Asian countries while their … Read more
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that talks on Afghanistan planned in Moscow this month aim to help peace talks in Doha and are not rival processes. Lavrov was speaking at a news conference in Doha with his Qatari and Turkish counterparts. Russia has said it plans to hold a conference on Afghanistan … Read more
Fighting erupted Sunday between Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics that have clashed over control of a disputed territory for three decades, raising fear of a new full-blown war in the South Caucasus. Armenia declared martial law and military mobilization after accusing Azerbaijan of launching a missile and artillery attack on the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan … Read more