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Russia does not see the Vatican as a serious venue for peace talks with Ukraine because the Holy See is the seat of Catholicism and is surrounded by Italy, a NATO and EU member, three senior Russian sources told Reuters. They also point out that many Russian officials cannot even fly there due to Western restrictions. The Vatican has so far been silent in public on the idea raised by U.S. President Donald Trump after a call with President Vladimir Putin that Pope Leo XIV could host talks aimed at ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Italian Prime...

The Kremlin said on Sunday contacts with U.S. President Donald Trump's team were moving ahead very well but that it was too early to expect instant results due to the level of damage done to relations under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden. -snip- After his special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with President Vladimir Putin, Trump said on Saturday discussions aimed at ending the war may be going OK, but "there’s a point at which you just have to either put up or shut up". "Everything is going very well," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state television's most prominent Kremlin...

Russia's point man for relations with the United States said on Monday that all of President Vladimir Putin's conditions must be met in full before the war in Ukraine can end, suggesting Moscow is playing hardball with U.S. President Donald Trump. -snip- Moscow swiftly underscored that its maximalist demands - as set out by Putin in June last year - remained the opening bid at the outset of the negotiations. The "political solution as we envisage it cannot be achieved otherwise than through the full implementation of what was pronounced by President Putin when he spoke to the Russian Foreign...

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are seen by Russia as possible venues for a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, two Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. -snip- Saudi Arabia and the UAE did not respond to requests for comment. The Kremlin declined comment. But both Trump and Putin have developed friendly relations with rulers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump said on Sunday that his administration had "meetings and talks scheduled with various parties, including Ukraine and Russia." When asked about those remarks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said...

President Vladimir Putin has grown increasingly concerned about distortions in Russia's wartime economy, just as Donald Trump pushes for an end to the Ukraine conflict, five sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters. Russia's economy, driven by exports of oil, gas and minerals, grew robustly over the past two years despite multiple rounds of Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But domestic activity has become strained in recent months by labour shortages and high interest rates introduced to tackle inflation, which has accelerated under record military spending. That has contributed to the view within a...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed on Tuesday how to build ties with Donald Trump, prospects for a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine and Moscow's firm support for Beijing's position on Taiwan. Xi and Putin, who spoke for an hour and 35 minutes by video call after Trump was sworn in as U.S. president on Monday -snip- Putin, 72, speaking from his Novo-Ogarevo residency outside Moscow and Xi, 71, speaking from the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, called each other "dear friends", and Xi told Putin about a call with Trump...

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday declined to comment on a report by Bloomberg about limited talks between Russia and Ukraine in Qatar on protecting nuclear facilities from attacks.

Vladimir Putin's hypersonic missile carried a simple message to the West over Ukraine: back off, and if you don't, Russia reserves the right to hit U.S. and British military facilities. -snip- "Putin is saying to the West stop - halt - back off," Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, told Reuters. "The signal Putin is sending to the world is that we consider these strikes as the direct entry of the United States and Britain into a war against Russia," he said. "But we are not responding with all our might right now because these strikes against Russia will not...

SummaryKremlin denies Trump and Putin spoke Kremlin says reports are 'pure fiction' Kremlin says Europeans are nervous about Trump Russia will continue Ukraine operation, Kremlin saysThe Kremlin on Monday denied reports that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days, and said Putin had no concrete plans yet to speak to Trump. The Washington Post, opens new tab first reported that the call had taken place, citing unidentified sources, and said that Trump had told Putin that he should not escalate the Ukraine war. Reuters also reported on the call, citing an unidentified source....

The Kremlin reacted cautiously on Wednesday after Donald Trump was elected U.S. president, saying the U.S. was still a hostile state and that only time would tell if Trump's rhetoric on ending the Ukraine war translated into reality. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Trump had made some important statements about wanting to end the Ukraine war during his campaign, but only time would tell if they led to action. "Let us not forget that we are talking about an unfriendly country, which is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state" (in Ukraine)," Peskov told reporters. Peskov...

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia’s war economy is well balanced to supply both guns and butter, but the price of butter itself is now soaring as surging inflation distorts parts of the economy. The price of a block of butter has risen by 25.7% since December, according to the state statistics service. Reuters reporters found shopping bills showed the price of a pack of “Brest-Litovsk” high-grade butter in Moscow has risen by 34% since the start of the year to 239.96 roubles ($2.47). “The Armageddon with butter is escalating; we wouldn’t be surprised if butter repeats last year’s situation...

Russia on Tuesday called on Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon, warning that the attack would lead to a further escalation of violence in the Middle East. -snip- "Russia strongly condemns the attack on Lebanon and calls on the Israeli authorities to immediately cease hostilities, withdraw their troops from Lebanese territory and engage in a real search for peaceful ways to resolve the Middle East conflict," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. "It is obvious that such a step taken by the Israeli military and political leadership following the assassination of a number of Hezbollah leaders will lead to...

A Russian RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile likely failed during a test earlier this month, according to arms experts and satellite imagery from the launch site. Maxar satellite images from Sept. 21 show a crater about 60 meters (200 feet) wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia and damage around the area that was not visible in imagery from earlier in the month. It was not clear from the imagery if the liquid-fueled Sarmat failed during a launch or if there was an accident during defueling. “By all indications, it was a failed test. It’s...

PARIS/MOSCOW, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Pavel Durov, the Russian-born billionaire founder and owner of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Le Bourget airport outside Paris shortly after landing on a private jet late on Saturday and placed in custody, three sources told Reuters. The arrest of the 39-year-old technology billionaire prompted on Sunday a warning from Moscow to Paris that he should be accorded his rights and criticism from X owner Elon Musk who said that free speech in Europe was under attack. There was no official confirmation from France of the arrest, but two French police sources and...

MOSCOW, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Russia on Monday evacuated civilians from parts of a second region next to Ukraine after Kyiv increased military activity near the border just days after its biggest incursion into sovereign Russian territory since the start of the 2022 war. Ukrainian forces rammed through the Russian border last Tuesday and swept across some Western parts of Russia's Kursk region, a surprise attack that may be aimed at gaining leverage in possible ceasefire talks after the U.S. election. Apparently caught by surprise, Russia by Sunday had stabilised the front in the Kursk region, though Ukraine had carved...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region was a major provocation. "The Kyiv regime has launched another major provocation," Putin told members of the Russian government about the Kursk attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Nicolas Maduro on winning the disputed Venezuelan election, and the Kremlin said it was deepening cooperation in all areas - including sensitive ones - with Caracas. -snip- "Russian-Venezuelan relations have the character of a strategic partnership," Putin said in a message to Maduro, the Kremlin said. "I am confident that your activities at the head of state will continue to contribute to their progressive development in all directions." -snip- Putin ended his message to Maduro: "Remember that you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil."

The Kremlin said that any peace plan for Ukraine proposed by a possible future U.S. administration of Donald Trump would have to reflect the reality on the ground but that Russian President Vladimir Putin remained open to talks. Reuters reported on Tuesday that two key advisers to Trump have presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine -- if he wins the presidential election -- that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters into peace talks. "The value of any plan lies in the nuances and in taking into account the...

- Russia says US is responsible for strike on Crimea. - Ukraine struck Crimea with U.S.-supplied ATACMS. - Russia says U.S. personnel input flight coordinates. - Russia says at least three people killed, 124 injured. MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) - Russia said on Sunday that the United States was responsible for a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula with five U.S.-supplied missiles that killed at least five people including three children and injured 124 more. The Russian Defence Ministry said four of the U.S.-delivered Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, equipped with cluster warheads, were shot down by...

Russian forces have advanced along the front line in Ukraine, battlefield maps published by a U.S. think tank show, as Ukraine warns that Moscow is preparing for a major offensive in the east. Maps released by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, on Sunday, show that Russian forces have made progress in Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which together comprise the Donbas. The Kremlin has been pushing for the total capture of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since Russia's initial invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by...