Russia

MOSCOW, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia had begun free shipments of grain totaling up to 200,000 tons to Africa by the end of the year, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev said Friday.

"The first two ships, each carrying 25,000 tons (of grain), have already left Russian ports and are heading for Somalia and Burkina Faso," he said.

The ships are expected to arrive in the two African countries by the end of this month or early December, Patrushev said.

MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/: The presidents of Russia and Egypt, Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, emphasized during a phone conversation on Tuesday that the sides to the Israli-Palestinian conflict need to end bloodshed and release hostages as soon as possible, the Kremlin press service said.

"The principal importance of soonest ceasefire, release of hostages and unimpeded humanitarian assistance to Gaza civilians was underscored," the press service said in a statement.

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/: The Russian emergencies ministry’s Il-76 plane brought to Moscow another group of Russian citizens evacuated from the Gaza Strip, the ministry’s chief spokesman Roman Okhotenko told TASS early on Wednesday.

"The Russian emergencies ministry’s Il-76 plane has landed with 98 Russian citizens evacuated from the Gaza Strip on board. They were accompanied by doctors and counselors of the Russian emergencies ministry.

MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/: A Russian delegation, led by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov, arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday to attend a meeting of the Russian-North Korean intergovernmental commission, North Korea’s Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Kozlov is the Russian co-chair of the bilateral commission for cooperation in trade, economy, science and technology.

The Russian delegation also includes Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin.

Industry-specific talks have already begun in the run-up to the commission’s 10th meeting.

MOSCOW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russia is in contact with its strategic partners on the potential supply and joint production of its fifth-generation Su-57 fighters, local media reported Tuesday.

"The fifth-generation Su-57E fighter, which is presented by Rosoboronexport at the Dubai Airshow 2023 ... is a high-tech product," TASS, the Russian news agency reported, citing Alexander Mikheev, director general of the country's state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport.

MOSCOW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russia is concerned over the tense situation in the Arctic and the increased potential for conflict in the region, local media reported Tuesday citing Nikolai Korchunov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"The international situation in the Arctic region is very difficult and tense," which can lead to a growing potential for conflict, Korchunov said.

Korchunov expressed concern over the fragmentation of international cooperation in the Arctic, further pointing to the weakening of the Arctic Council.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Tuesday fined Google for failing to store personal data on its Russian users, the latest in a series of fines on the U.S. tech giant amid tensions between the Kremlin and the West over the fighting in Ukraine.

A magistrate at Moscow’s Tagansky district court fined Google 15 million rubles (about $164,200) after the company repeatedly refused to store personal data on Russian citizens inside the country. Google was previously fined over the same charges in August 2021 and June 2022.

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/: The United Nations is unlikely to help resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben Zvi said on Monday.

"I doubt that the UN will be able to resolve our conflict because up to now I haven’t seen a single conflict settled by the United Nations," he said. "The UN is a waste of space because this organization has done nothing positive for Israel in our conflict."

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/: Deliveries of the Russian SJ-100 aircraft fully assembled from domestically produced components will begin en masse next year, as previously expected, the press service of Rostec told TASS.

The holding noted that delivery times could be delayed by a few months so that the company has time to ensure the safety requirement of the aircraft, and this should not be viewed as a problem.

MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is always open to dialogue, but it must be productive, not just empty talk, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Commenting on a recent remark by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz who said he was open to holding talks with Putin in the future, Peskov said: "The president never rules out contacts, as he always says that he is open to various talks, especially summits. But the president has always been and remains a fan of results-oriented communication, not just talk for the sake of talk."