Russia

MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. Moscow is not interested in an arms race and only seeks to maintain the balance of power, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual news conference on Thursday.

"Generally, this is simply an element of containing and evening parities in the strategic balance. This is what it is. This means keeping parity and nothing more than that," the Russian leader said, speaking about the newest breakthrough missile defense systems developed by Russia.

MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. The RT TV channel is disappointed with conclusions drawn by British media watchdog Ofcom, which found RT guilty of breaking impartiality rules, RT said in a statement published on its website.

"RT is extremely disappointed by Ofcom's conclusions in what were almost all self-initiated investigations into RT by the regulator. We operate under rules outlined by the regulator, and always strive to abide by them," the statement reads.

ANKARA, December 20. /TASS/. The next summit between Russia, Turkey and Iran on Syrian regulation will be held in Russia, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated on Thursday in Ankara on the outcomes of the talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"We agreed to continue our close cooperation with Turkey and Russia within the framework of the Astana process. The next summit will take place in Russia, we have an agreement. Syria is a very important issue for us," the NTV channel cites Rouhani.

MOSCOW, December 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he concurred with his US counterpart Donald Trump that the terrorist group, the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) had been defeated in Syria on the whole.

"As for the victory over the Islamic State, I agree with the US president by and large," Putin told Thursday’s annual news conference. "We’ve achieved considerable changes in the struggle against terrorism in that area and dealt severe blows to the Islamic State in Syria."

MOSCOW (AP) — Three astronauts returned to Earth Thursday after more than six months aboard the International Space Station.

A Russian Soyuz capsule with NASA’s Serena Aunon-Chancellor, Russian Sergey Prokopyev and German astronaut Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency landed on the snow-covered steppes in Kazakhstan, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) southeast of the city of Dzhezkazgan. They touched down a minute ahead of schedule at 11:02 a.m. local time (0502 GMT; 12:02 a.m. EST).

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a chilling warning Thursday about the rising threat of a nuclear war, saying “it could lead to the destruction of civilization as a whole and maybe even our planet.”

Speaking at his annual news conference, Putin pointed at the U.S. intention to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, or INF, Treaty. He said that if the U.S. puts intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will be forced to take countermeasures.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused his Ukrainian counterpart of provoking a naval standoff with Russia to boost his electoral prospects.

On Nov. 25, the Russian coast guard fired upon and seized three Ukrainian naval vessels and 24 seamen when they tried to sail from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov. The U.S. and its NATO allies have condemned what they described as unjustified use of force by Russia, and urged Moscow to release the boats and their crews.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Three Russian engines RD-181 have been handed over to the Orbital Sciences Corporation, the research and industrial association NPO Energromash said on its website on Friday.

"On December 12, three RD-181 engines were handed over to the US customer," the Orbital Sciences Corporation said in the news release.

This is a second consignment of engines delivered to the US company this year. Two RD-181 engines were handed over in June.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. An anti-radiation food ration has been developed for cosmonauts of the future Russian lunar expedition, Head of the ISS [International Space Station) Crew Nutrition Department at the Institute of Medical and Biological Studies Alexander Agureyev told TASS on Friday.

"The cosmonauts’ food ration for the lunar program has already been developed. These are foodstuffs with the enhanced biological activity and radio-protective properties," the researcher said.

MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. Participation in the INF Treaty cannot be suspended, as the US intends to do, this agreement can be only openly violated through the development or relevant armaments, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said in an interview with the Kommersant daily on Tuesday.