Europe

PARIS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron said here on Wednesday that France is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China in international affairs and to work together to safeguard multilateralism.

Macron made the remarks in talks with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Elysee Palace.

Macron asked Wang to convey his sincere greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

MADRID, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- As millions of stargazers around the world watched the super wolf blood moon on Sunday night, some noticed a small flash on the moon's surface, which a Spanish researcher said was caused by the impact of a meteorite.

"A rock hits the moon during the total eclipse," Jose Maria Madiedo, an astrophysicist of the University of Huelva in Spain, tweeted Tuesday. Attached to his tweet was a YouTube link displaying the impact flash during the lunar eclipse.

MOSCOW, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Russian 9M729 land-based cruise missile, contrary to the allegations of the United States, does not fall under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), senior Russian officials said Wednesday.

"Russia has fulfilled and continues to strictly observe the provisions of the treaty and does not allow any violations," said Lt.-Gen. Mikhail Matveyevsky, Chief of the Missile Troops and Artillery Branch of the Russian Armed Forces.

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- After hearing Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan's latest address at Davos Wednesday afternoon, Randall Lane, chief content officer of Forbes, described the speech as "encouraging and thoughtful," with a "global and optimistic outlook of the world."

Citing the Swiss proverb "torches light up each other," Wang elaborated on the Chinese leadership's vision of global governance first outlined by President Xi Jinping in a speech at Davos two years ago.

22 Jan 2019; AA: Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan welcomed on Tuesday contacts between the representatives of the U.S. and the Taliban, local media reported.

Speaking to RIA, a Russian news agency, Zamir Kabulov said Moscow is "positive" about the talks between the two sides regarding the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Kabulov said U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to visit Moscow in February.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. All strategic bombers Tupolev-22M3 have been grounded until the end of the probe into the causes of Tuesday’s air crash near Murmansk, a source in the law enforcement has said.

"For now all Tupolev-22M3 have been banned from flying until the causes of today’s crash become clear," the source said.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. The majority of US political elite does not need any arms control deals over Washington’s wish to ensure the position of a military hegemon, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told International Affairs magazine.

BRUSSELS, January 22. /TASS/. US plans to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) will be the focus of attention at the next ambassadorial meeting of the Russia-NATO Council, the Russian mission to NATO said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Preparations continue for the next meeting of the Russia-NATO Council, which will focus on the INF Treaty situation," the statement reads. "We expect the meeting to take place in the near future," the mission added.

MOSCOW, January 22. /TASS/. Russia’s Aerospace Force has registered the launch of an Israeli target missile over the Mediterranean Sea, the Defense Ministry of Russia said on Tuesday.

"Today, at 07:35 Moscow time, the Aerospace Force’s radio-electronic equipment detected the launch of a target missile over the Mediterranean Sea," the ministry said.

"Specialists of Russia’s National Defense Control Center identified the target as a target missile for tests of the Israeli Air Force’s missile defense system," the ministry said.

DAVOS, January 22. /TASS/. Prolonging the deal to cap oil production within the OPEC+ structure until the end of 2019 makes economic sense because it maintains the oil market’s balance within the range of $60-70 per barrel, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev told TASS on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Davos Forum.