Russia

MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/: Russia and Belarus continue building up integration in the energy sphere, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

"The process of creating common oil and gas markets of the two countries continues. An agreement on forming the common electric power market is being prepared for signing," the Russian leader said.

MOSCOW, April 6. /TASS/:  Russian and Belarussian authorities will prepare the Union State Security Concept. The document will outline the two states’ basic cooperation goals, including listing external challenges, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Union State Supreme State Council meeting in the Kremlin.

MOSCOW, April 6 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Wednesday defended its decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, rejecting criticism of the move by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the U.S.-led transatlantic alliance was the one expanding towards Russia, not the other way round, and therefore Moscow had to take steps to defend its own security.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart on Thursday discussed expanding the economic cooperation and bolstering the defense ties between their nations, which include a plan to deploy Russia’s nuclear weapons to Belarus amid the fighting in neighboring Ukraine.

The Kremlin talks involved senior officials from both countries and followed Putin’s one-on-one meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko on Wednesday.

Participants in the quadripartite meeting held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Turkiye, Russia, Iran and Syria have agreed to continue consultations regarding Syria, Anadolu news agency reported.

The agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying that Moscow hosted the meeting on Monday and Tuesday.

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/:  Russia is open to constructive cooperation with all countries and has no desire to isolate itself, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

"I would like to stress Russia is open to constructive partnership with all countries; we do not intend to isolate ourselves from anyone, we have no preconceived or what's more hostile intentions towards anyone," Putin said.

"We hope that our partners will adhere to the principles of equality and mutual benefit in their relations with us," the president stated.

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/:  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated on Wednesday that Moscow does not interfere in Washington’s affairs.

When asked for a comment on the legal proceedings against former US President Donald Trump, Lavrov said: "Haven’t you just said it yourself? We don't interfere. The way I see it, they're fine without us." He was talking to Pavel Zarubin, the host of the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on the TV channel Rossiya-1.

Zarubin uploaded an extract from Lavrov’s comment to his Telegram channel.

MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko began talks in the Kremlin on Wednesday.

The two leaders have met ahead of a session of the Supreme State Council (SSC) of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, scheduled for April 6.

April 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin told the new U.S. and EU ambassadors in blunt language on Wednesday that their countries were responsible for a dramatic deterioration in relations since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine last year.

The ambassadors were among 17 who presented their diplomatic credentials to Putin at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin.

Putin told new U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy that U.S. support for a revolution in Ukraine in 2014 had led to the current situation where Russia and Ukraine were in conflict.

MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/: Kiev's involvement in the terrorist attack in a cafe in St. Petersburg, where war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in an explosion, will be yet another testament to Ukraine's terrorist ways, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary circulated on Monday.

"Russian investigative agencies are investigating this crime. We are confident that those behind it will be punished. The involvement of the Kiev regime in this bloody action will be another confirmation of its use of terrorist methods," the diplomat said.