Russia

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/: The world has started to lose faith in the US dollar in recent years, so given this situation, the only option is to expand the use of national currencies, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

"Given that the prestige of the dollar as the world’s main reserve currency has been plummeting in recent years, while trust in other internationally recognized currencies is also not at its highest now, broadening the use of national currencies is the only and inevitable alternative to these processes," he said.

MOSCOW/KIEV, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Russian and Ukrainian delegations held "constructive" negotiations in Turkey on Tuesday, raising the curtain on concrete efforts of both sides to broker a solution to the current conflict.

During the fifth round of talks, or the fourth face-to-face meeting, which lasted for about three hours in Istanbul, the two sides finally clinched some progress in exploring possible ways out of the tensions. Local media reported that consultations will continue via video link.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/: Lack of response from the Council of Europe, the EU and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to the abuse of Russian prisoners of war carried out by the Ukrainian military is criminal, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"They are keeping quiet. There is no response to these war crimes and gross violations of international humanitarian law. Their eyes are blurred by Russophobia," Zakharova noted.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/: US President Joe Biden's personal insults to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have a negative impact on relations between the two countries, but the dialogue between Moscow and Washington is necessary in any case, it is in the interests of the whole world, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/: The Russian-Ukrainian talks that took place in Istanbul on Tuesday were constructive, the head of the Russian delegation, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, told reporters.

He said Moscow made two de-escalatory steps. One was offering to hold a meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky simultaneously with the initialing of a peace treaty by their Foreign Ministries, or earlier than planned before. In the other step, Russian troops would drastically reduce their activities toward Kiev and Chernigov.

March 29 (Reuters) - A shell hit a temporary Russian military camp near the border with Ukraine late on Tuesday, Tass news agency said and cited a source as saying preliminary data showed it had been fired from the Ukrainian side.

Tass issued the report shortly after a senior local official reported a series of explosions outside the city of Belgorod, close to the border with Ukraine.

Video posted online from two local Belgorod news outlets appeared to show ammunition blowing up in the distance but Reuters was not immediately able to confirm this was the case.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: A draft presidential decree is underway on retaliatory visa measures against unfriendly countries, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

"Additionally, work is in progress on a draft presidential decree on retaliatory visa measures in connection with unfriendly moves from some foreign countries," Lavrov told a meeting of the United Russia party’s commission for international cooperation and support for fellow countrymen abroad. "This document will introduce a number of restrictions on entry into Russia," he explained.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: If provided an ideal option, the Russian national football team may be allowed to take part in the playoff qualifying matches for the spot in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Head Coach Valery Karpin said in an interview with TASS.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: Russia’s Justice Ministry has put Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcasting company on the list of foreign agents, the ministry’s website said on Monday.

"On March 28, 2022, pursuant to the requirements of the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included Deutsche Welle in its registry of foreign mass media outlets performing the functions of a foreign agent," the statement said.

This decision was made on the basis of documents received from authorized state authorities.

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: Moscow is handling the details of its gas delivery plans to unfriendly countries for payment in rubles, but it won’t engage in charity if Europe refuses to pay in the Russian currency, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.