Putin to celebrate New Year with family and friends

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also plans to celebrate the coming year of 2018 at home with close relatives.

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev keep the tradition and plan to celebrate the coming year of 2018 at home with family and friends.

"He [the head of state] traditionally celebrates it [the New Year] at home, together with family, close relatives and friends," presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Sunday.

This holiday is the family one for Putin, "with the exception of cases when it is directly related to work," Peskov said. "It will be celebrated in a traditional way this year also," he added.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev "will welcome the New Year in the bosom of his family and friends," press secretary to the prime minister Natalia Timakova told TASS. She does not rule out that Medvedev "will go skiing in Sochi" during holidays.

Source: ITAR-TASS 31-12-2017

St Petersburg supermarket blast suspect detained - FSB

The suspect has been handed over to the Russian Investigative Committee.

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Russia’s FSB Federal Security Service has detained the perpetrator and organizer of the explosion at the Perekrestok supermarket in St. Petersburg, the FSB PR center said on Saturday.

"On December 30, 2017, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation spotted and detained the organizer and perpetrator who detonated an improvised explosive device on December 27 in a salesroom of the Perekrestok supermarket in St. Petersburg," says the FSB press release obtained by TASS.

The suspect has been handed over to the Russian Investigative Committee.

Source: ITAR-TASS 30-12-2017

Putin says St. Petersburg blast was a terror attack

The December 27 explosion at a supermarket in St. Petersburg has left 13 people injured.

MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a terrorist attack occurred in St. Petersburg on Wednesday. The head of state ordered Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, to act within the law when detaining criminals, but in the event of a threat to the lives of law enforcement officers, no one should be captured but should be eliminated on the spot.

"A terror attack was committed in St. Petersburg yesterday. The Federal Security Service recently thwarted another attempted terror attack," the head of state said at a meeting with the military personnel who took part in the operation in Syria.

Putin noted that he "instructed the director of the Federal Security Service to act within the law, only the law, while working with these terrorists, when detaining them." "However, if there is a threat to the lives and health of our employees, our officers, to act decisively, not to capture anyone and eliminate gunmen on the spot," the president stressed.

According to the latest information, the December 27 explosion at a supermarket in St. Petersburg’s Kondratyevsky Avenue has left 13 people injured, eight of them remain in hospitals. An explosive device stuffed with striking elements was detonated in the Gigant-Hall entertainment center on the first floor near self-storage lockers of the Perekrestok supermarket.

Source: ITAR-TASS 28-12-2017

Acting Lugansk Republic's head pardons prisoners planned to be exchanged

The prisoner exchange is expected to take place in the coming hours.

LUGANSK, December 27. /TASS/. Acting head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) Leonid Pasechnik has signed a decree pardoning prisoners who planned to be exchanged with Kiev on Wednesday.

"I have signed a decree pardoning those whom we are going to exchange at the Mayorsk checkpoint today," the Luganskinformcenter news agency quoted him as saying. "We now expect our fellow citizens, who were held in captivity on Ukraine’s territory, to return," Pasechnik added.

"I would like to make it clear that our republic has been and will remain committed to the Minsk Agreements, and we are ready to fulfill all conditions so that those held in captivity both in Ukraine and on our territory could be released," the acting LPR head stressed.

Earlier on Wednesday, people planned to be exchanged by the parties to the Donbass conflict, were delivered to the Mayorsk checkpoint. The prisoner exchange is expected to take place in the coming hours.

Source: ITAR-TASS 27-12-2017

Russian security chief accuses Washington of slipping into Cold War mentality

The Russian Security Council chief comments on Moscow-Washington relations.

MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. . Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev believes that Washington conceals its Cold War-era expansionist positions behind the notion of "aggressor states," he said in an interview with Russia’s Argumenty I Fakty weekly.

"There are real economic interests and the same Cold War-era expansionist positions that did not change for decades behind the images of ‘aggressor states’ imposed by Washington," he said. The Security Council secretary noted that "the new American National Security Strategy calls Iran and North Korea ‘rogue regimes,’ and Russia and China revisionist authoritarian states that challenge the US and strive to undermine its security."

Patrushev named "advancing American influence in the world" and "preserving peace through strength" among the priorities of the US national security strategy set out in the document.

The Security Council secretary reiterated that the US military budget for 2018 is almost $ 700 bln, including a $ 4.6 bln allocation for deterrence of the so-called "Russian aggression in Europe." "Out of this sum, $ 100 mln is a target help to bolster the defense of the Baltic states, and $ 350 mln is granted for a military help to Ukraine," Patrushev noted. "The history of the 20th century contains many examples of what disastrous consequences such influence from abroad may lead to."

The United States continues breaking the agreements it reached earlier with other countries, he said.

"Today, the US administration’s steps on the international arena are raising eyebrows more than ever," Patrushev told the paper.

"So, Washington’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital may only destabilize the situation in the Middle East," he said. "The US continues breaking the agreements reached with other countries."

"They are threatening to impose sanctions not only on Russia, but also the Europeans and China, which has been recently hit by another round of anti-dumping measures," he said.

"Meanwhile, most EU countries are concerned over the attempts to impose additional restrictions against Russia by Washington without taking into consideration their interests," Patrushev noted.

The Russian security chief stressed "this artificial restriction is not only unfair competition but also a violation of international law."

"Allegations that Russia has some historically based propensity for aggression and derogation of others’ statehood is a dangerous myth that was made up in an effort to discredit our country," he said.

The Security Council secretary noted that last year the Foreign Affairs magazine made a special edition about the Russian "aggression" in which it proved that the Russian Empire, the USSR and modern Russia have a common geopolitical priority: expansion. "The idea of Russia as being aggressive by default is being imprinted on the Western community," Patrushev stated. "And, they say, no matter what friendly gestures the Western countries make, our country has always strived to expand its influence, restricting and even destroying others’ statehood."

"We see here a cynical rewriting of the history," he affirmed. "As a matter of fact, it is well known that a great many countries not just preserved, but achieved their statehood with Russia’s support." He named Finland, Switzerland, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania as examples.

"Russia helped these countries achieve statehood not just through diplomatic efforts, but with the blood of its soldiers," Patrushev stressed. He noted that Russia did not ally with the UK that was trying to "strangle the young American state" in 1780. "We all saw Russia protecting the territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic for two years," the Security Council chief added. "The Syrian army smashed terrorists with support of the Russian Aerospace Force and Syria was preserved as a sovereign independent state."

US-North Korea relations

Patrushev has said he does not rule out that attempts to whip up tensions around North Korea could be in line with Washington’s strategy aimed at containing Russia and China.

"It’s no secret to anybody that North Korea’s nuclear and missile issue is actually used as a pretext for continuing the militarization of the Asia-Pacific region in the interests of containing Russia and China," he said. "Washington is consistently implementing its plans to deploy elements of its global defense missile system." "Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that stirring up tensions around North Korea contributes to a large extent to the implementation of the United States’ strategy."

"The United States is not accustomed to regarding the lives of other countries’ citizens to achieve its goals," he went on to say. "However, Washington certainly cannot fail to take into account the fact that 250,000 Americans live in South Korea." "In the event of large-scale military operations on the Korean Peninsula, tens of thousands of US citizens will die," Patrushev stressed. "Such losses are called unacceptable in the language of the military in all countries." He noted that the positions of North Korea’s tactical missile systems, cannon artillery and multiple-rocket launchers are located "at a distance of some 50 kilometers from Seoul."

He stressed that the US comes up with aggressive statements against North Korea’s top officials, the entire North Korean people and holds large-scale snap military drills with South Korea. "North Korea responds with new ballistic missile launches and does not hesitate to make tough statements," he pointed out. "This vicious cycle must be broken by solely and exclusively political and diplomatic means."

According to Patrushev, that’s why Russia and China proposed a roadmap to resolve the Korean Peninsula's nuclear issue. Its first stage envisages a moratorium on Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile tests and a simultaneous reduction or an end to US military drills on the peninsula.

Source: ITAR-TASS 26-12-2017

Kiev, Donbass agree on all conditions for prisoner exchange

The prisoner exchange will take place on December 27.

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. The prisoner exchange between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics will be held on December 27, the DPR’s leader Alexander Zakharchenko said on Monday.

"Today a crucial event has taken place, the last conditions have been agreed and on December 27 the exchange by the 306 to 74 formula will be held," Zakharchenko said after a meeting with the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia in Moscow’s Svyato-Danilov Monastery.

Zakharchenko expressed hope that Kiev will honor the conditions of the prisoner swap and stressed the great role of the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill in solving this issue.

The Lugansk republic’s leader also said the republic was "ready to exchange prisoners on the conditions and in line with the agreements reached at today’s meeting." "We confirm our readiness to hold peace talks and resolve the conflict in Donbass by peaceful means," Pasechnik said.

"Today at the Svyato-Danilov Monastery the process has been completed on agreeing on all details concerning the exchange of prisoners between the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s republics and Ukraine," the Patriarch confirmed.

The Patriarch stressed that not all prisoners have been included in the lists, voicing hope that the dialogue will continue. "I have high hopes that this first stage will continue by further efforts on releasing all captives," he said.

"The Russian church regrets about what is happening in Ukraine now when a brother raises a hand against his brother," the Patriarch said, calling to find a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian conflict as soon as possible.

The Patriarch stressed the role of Metropolitan Onufriy of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church in achieving the

consensus and thanked all those who took part in coordinating the exchange.

Prisoner swap is one of the key points of the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine. The Minsk agreements, signed by members of the Contact Group in February 2015 and approved by leaders of the Normandy Four group (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine), lay the foundation for a peaceful settlement in Donbass.

However, no prisoner exchanges have been held over the past 14 months. In mid-November, leader of the Ukrainian Choice - People’s Right Viktor Medvedchuk asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to assist carrying out the swap. He said Ukraine was ready to release 306 people by the New Year holidays and expected that Donetsk and Lugansk would set free 74 people.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian president had a phone conversation with leaders of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, who backed the initiative. During the December 12 video conference, Kiev called to again verify the lists of prisoners to ask if they wish to switch sides.

Source: ITAR-TASS 25-12-2017

United Russia Party supports Putin’s participation in presidential election

The United Russia Party’s congress on Saturday supported participation of President Vladimir Putin in the election due in 2018.

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. The United Russia Party’s congress on Saturday supported participation of President Vladimir Putin in the election due in 2018.

"The party supports nomination of President Vladimir Putin candidate for presidency at the election scheduled for March 18, 2018," the party said in a statement adopted at the congress.

Source: ITAR-TASS 24-12-2017

Donetsk republic reports violations of truce by Ukrainian army hours after its declaration

Ukrainian army units delivered fire from firearms and automatic grenade-launchers at the areas adjoining the town of Yasinovataya as of midnight," said the republic’s operations command staff.

DONETSK, December 23. /TASS/. Pro-Kiev armed units have ignored the agreements on a New Year truce and have continued the shelling of populated localities in the self-proclaimed unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR], the republic’s operations command staff said on Saturday.

"In spite of the agreements on observing ceasefire, Ukrainian army units delivered fire from firearms and automatic grenade-launchers at the areas adjoining the town of Yasinovataya as of midnight," the Donetsk News Agency quoted a spokesman for the staff.

"The use of mortars of different calibers by the enemy was recorded in the area of the township of Golmosvsky near Gorlovka," it said.

Ceasefire established for the beginning of a new academic year was formally in effect in Donbass as of August 25. It was broadly called ‘the school truce’.

The arrangement helped reduce tensions along the Line of Contact at first but the intensity of shelling increased again afterwards.

On December 20, members of the Ukraine contact group in charge of defusing the armed civil conflict in eastern Ukraine reached a yet another agreement on declaring ceasefire. The latter took effect at 00:00 hours East European Time on December 23.

Source: ITAR-TASS 23-12-2017

Siberian miners lifted to surface after being trapped for 34 hours

At 01:45 Moscow time on Friday, rescuers accessed the miners via a 13-meter-long tunnel.

MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Three workers were lifted to surface on Friday after spending some 34 hours trapped underground in the Yesaulskaya mine in southwestern Siberia’s Kemerovo region, a source in the regional emergencies service told TASS.

"Three miners were lifted to surface. They are to meet their relatives soon," the source said.

The information about the incident at the Yesaulskaya coalmine in Novokuznetsk came at 3.10 p.m. Moscow time on Wednesday. Rock collapsed in the mine’s airway at a depth of 300 meters. There were 99 workers at the time of the cave-in, with 96 of them evacuated from the mine.

On Thursday, rescuers drilled three holes to bring down blankets, food and drinking water to the trapped miners.

At 01:45 Moscow time on Friday, rescuers accessed the trapped miners via a 13-meter-long tunnel.

In total, about 100 people took part in the rescue effort.

Coal production at the mine will resume at 8:00 Moscow time on Friday.

Source: ITAR-TASS 22-12-2017

Kremlin warns weapon supplies to Kiev may motivate ‘loose cannons’ seeking bloodshed

Earlier the US Department of State confirmed licensing commercial export of US-manufactured lethal weapons to Ukraine.

MOSCOW, December 21. /TASS/. Lethal weapon supplies to Ukraine may motivate ‘loose cannons’ seeking bloodshed in the Donbass area, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"Perhaps, this [lethal weapon supplies] will once again motivate the hotheads of those nationalists who are solely seeking to switch to the use-of-force method of settling the situation in Donbass, an absolutely deadlocked method, to unleash bloodshed again," Peskov said.

Moscow’s stance on such possible deliveries has not changed, the Kremlin spokesman said.

The Russian presidential spokesman added that official rebuttals of media reports about preparations for such weapon deliveries had started to come from Washington.

"So far, no decisions have been made [in the United States] on this score," he said.

The Washington Post said earlier citing its sources in the US government that the Department of State had approved a commercial license for exports to Ukraine of Barrett M107A1 sniper systems, munitions and spare parts for them to a sum of $41.5 million.

"We have crossed the Rubicon, this is lethal weapons and I predict more will be coming," the newspaper cited a senior congressional official.

The US Department of State has confirmed licensing commercial export of US-manufactured lethal weapons to Ukraine.

"The Department of State has licensed the commercial export of a limited number of small arms and light weapons to Ukraine from U.S. manufacturers," a State Department official told TASS on Wednesday.

According to the official, the United States has "never had any policy that restricts such commercial sales." "The United States reviews requests for sales and export license applications on a case by case basis and this one was no different," he said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 21-12-2017

Ukraine Contact Group agrees on ceasefire in Donbass

The Contact Group confirms readiness to exchange detained individuals before the New Year.

MINSK, December 20. /TASS/. Members of the Contact Group for settling the armed civil conflict in eastern Ukraine have reached agreement on a ceasefire in Donbass as of 00:00 hours on December 23, Russia’s plenipotentiary representative to the Ukraine peace settlement talks in Minsk, Boris Gryzlov, told reporters on Wednesday.

"The Contact Group stressed the importance of assuring peace and quiet in Donbass in the run-up to the New Year and Christmas," he said. "Proceeding from the agreements reached previously, the Contact Group reaffirmed its commitment to the comprehensive, steady and indefinite ceasefire as of 00:00 hours on December 23, 2017."

"Russia confirms commitment to a full and precise effectuation of the Minsk accords," he said. "In this first place, this concerns the importance of unblocking work on the political settlement, an amnesty and legislative provisions for a special status of Donbass along the ‘Steinmeier formula’.".

The Contact Group on the settlement in the Donbass region has expressed its determination to exchange detained individuals before the New Year, he said. 

"The Contact Group confirmed its intention to exchange detained individuals before the New Year and Christmas holidays in accordance with the agreements reached earlier," he told reporters.

Source: ITAR-TASS 20-12-2017

The Triumphant T-34: The legendary Soviet tank that crushed the Nazis

The T-34 tank is often credited as the backbone of the Soviet armored forces during World War II.

On December 19, 1939, Red Army's T-34 tank was accepted for production. T-34 tank is often credited as the backbone of the Soviet armored forces during World War II. At the start of the war, T-34s comprised about 4% of the Soviet tank arsenal, but by the end it made up at least 55% of tank production. TASS remembers the legendary tank that won the World War II.

Source: ITAR-TASS 19-12-2017

Kremlin points to CIA terror plot tipoff as shining example of cooperation

On December 17, Vladimir Putin thanked his US counterpart, Donald Trump, for the CIA tipoff that led to the capture of terrorists who had plotted bomb attacks in St. Petersburg.

MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. The US Central Intelligence Agency’s information handed over to Russia about preparations for a terrorist attack in St. Petersburg is a perfect sample of US-Russian cooperation in the struggle with terrorism, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the media.

"Certain contacts between the two countries’ special services are sporadic, but in this particular case it was a very useful piece of information that helped save many lives. This cannot but evoke satisfaction and a feeling of gratitude and be interpreted as a perfect sample of bilateral cooperation in the struggle against terrorism. This is precisely the kind of standards worth pursuing in our future course."

He recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had said more than once not a single country was capable of resisting terrorism effectively enough on its own, "and this is a very graphic example showing that effective struggle against terrorism is possible only in the context of cooperation by various countries, in the first place, Russia and the United States."

Peskov agreed that the information shared by the CIA was the first fruitful case of bilateral cooperation by secret services.

"Possibly, it will be right to say so," Peskov remarked.

He confirmed that the information had been used by the federal security service FSB for detaining in St. Petersburg seven members of a terrorist cell of the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia). The FSB declared the detention on December 15. Peskov avoided disclosing any details of the information exchange. In part, he refrained from replying to speculations if the CIA’s information contained evidence the detainees might have been using the messenger Telegram for coordination.

"I cannot say anything on that score. I do not have such information," Peskov said.

The issue of a new meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump was not discussed during the two presidents’ latest telephone contacts, he said. 

Putin and Trump held two telephone conversations at the end of last week. On Friday, December 15, they, according to the Kremlin, discussed pressing bilateral issues and the situation in crisis areas with an emphasis on resolving the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula.

On Sunday, December 17, the two leaders spoke over the phone once again. This time, Putin thanked Trump for the data provided by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which helped detain the terrorists who were preparing explosions in St. Petersburg’s Kazan Cathedral and in other crowded places in the city. The information received from the CIA turned out to be sufficient for detecting and arresting the criminals, the Kremlin reported.

During the conversation, the Russian head of state asked the US president to convey his gratitude to the CIA director and the US intelligence operatives who obtained this information. Putin also assured Trump that the Russian intelligence services, if they receive information concerning terrorist threats against the US and its citizens, will promptly hand it over to their American counterparts through partnership channels.

Source: ITAR-TASS 18-12-2017

Russia was never "militaristic", unlike European countries - Foreign Ministry

Earlier the UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson compared Russia with closed, nasty ancient Sparta.

MOSCOW, December 17. /TASS/. Russia has never been a "militaristic" country, unlike European states, the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook in response to the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s comparing Russia with Sparta.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Johnson called Athens "the analogue of the United States and the West," and Russia - like "closed, nasty, militaristic and antidemocratic" Sparta, adding though the countries need to cooperate.

"The comparison is incorrect," Zakharova wrote. "Not even because Russia has never been a "militaristic" country, unlike European states. The essence of contradictions between Athens and Sparta was the oligarchy as the basic structure of the latter. I do not think it is possible to imagine anything more oligarchic than the UK, <…> thus, essentially, Boris Johnson is not right, of course."

At the same time, Zakharova agreed with another statement by the UK foreign secretary. "The wars between Athens and Sparta weakened classical Greece, of what the Persians and Macedonians made use. Today’s feuds, launched and developed by the West, including on the European continent, undoubtedly, weaken the Western civilization and expose it to the threats like, for example, IS (the Islamic State terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia - TASS)."

"The game of frivolous historic comparisons, similar to those by the Foreign Office’s head, could take him even further, and on some day, he, so creative and extraordinary, will see in his country, for example, the Lesbos Island."

TASS wrote earlier that the UK’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson plans to visit Moscow the week of December 18 to discuss with the Russian side, among other questions, the situation in Syria.

Source: ITAR-TASS 17-12-2017

Russia’s Father Frost reassures global community of solid friendship with Santa Claus

Russia’s Father Frost urged everyone to find time for more good deeds in the Near Year.

MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia’s Father Frost said on Friday that there is no rivalry between him and his western counterpart, Santa Claus.

"We are often considered rivals, but rivalry is possible only in evil deeds. How can we speak about rivalry in good deeds? Therefore, we stay friends and often meet at congresses of winter magicians in Denmark, Sweden and Norway," Father Frost said at a TASS news conference.

He urged everyone to find time for more good deeds in the Near Year.

"Let us join efforts to make 2018, a really magical and festive year," Father Frost exclaimed.

He also called on people to learn to understand each other.

"This is my main New Year wish. We travel across the country to teach you understanding," he said.

Father Frost, who is currently on a huge New Year’s tour of Russian cities, said his granddaughter, the Snowmaiden, accompanies him on all his trips.

Source: ITAR-TASS 16-12-2017

US observers to be barred from polling stations during Russian presidential election

MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Observers from the US diplomatic mission will not be allowed at polling stations during the Russian presidential election next year in March based on the principle of reciprocity, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Friday.

"We have sent a note to our US colleagues saying that considering their refusal to grant access to our observers from Russian diplomatic missions in the United States to US presidential elections, we will be guided in this issue by the principle of reciprocity," the Russian diplomat said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 15-12-2017

Putin vows to run as independent candidate in 2018 race

Russia’s forthcoming election is due on March 18, 2018.

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at his annual news conference on Thursday he will run in the 2018 presidential election as an independent candidate, but expects to have support of forces sharing his views on the country’s development.

"This will be a self-nomination," Putin said. "I expect to have support of those political forces (parties and public organizations) that share my view on the country’s development and trust me. I certainly expect this very much," he said.

"I expect a widespread support of the Russian citizens," the president added.

Putin won the 2012 presidential election as a candidate from the United Russia party.

The Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) will set a date for the presidential election at the December 15 meeting.

The post of the Russian president, elected according to direct suffrage, was introduced based on the results of a referendum on March 17, 1991. Any citizen not younger than 35 and who has been a permanent resident of Russia for at least 10 years, is eligible to hold the office of head of state.

Russia’s forthcoming election is due on March 18, 2018. The Federation Council is to declare the date officially between December 8 and 15, as Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said earlier.

Source: ITAR-TASS 14-12-2017

Russia worried over NATO activity in South Caucasus

A regular round of Geneva International Discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus has not brought about any agreement on the non-use of force in the region, a Russian diplomat said.

GENEVA, December 13. /TASS/. Russia highlighted an increase in NATO activity in the South Caucasus at the Geneva International Discussions, emphasizing that Moscow cannot take this calmly, Russia’s State Secretary, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin told TASS on Wednesday.

"There appeared information about new contracts, in particular about a $75-million deal on deliveries of cutting-edge anti-tank missile systems Javelin to Tbilisi," Karasin said. "Moreover, Americans have repurposed the Georgian peacekeepers’ course to train regular units."

"Both South Ossetia and Abkhazia are alarmed, and naturally, we cannot take it calmly," he said. "We focused attention on this fact at the Geneva meeting."

 A regular round of Geneva International Discussions on security and stability in the South Caucasus has not brought about any agreement on the non-use of force in the region, he said. 

"For more than three hours and a half, we have been discussing a joint statement on non-use of force," he said. "We nearly come to approve it."

"However, one of the sides needed hours attempting to agree it," the diplomat added. "Unfortunately, no such approval followed."

Source: ITAR-TASS 13-12-2017

FSB prevents suicide terrorist attacks in Moscow Region

A terror group planned to carry out attacks during the holiday season and ahead of the presidential election.

MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has exposed a terror group comprising people originating from Central Asia, who planned to carry out terrorist attacks, particularly involving suicide bombers, during the holiday season and ahead of the presidential election, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said on Tuesday.

"As a result of a FSB operation, a group of people originated from Central Asia was exposed in the Moscow Region yesterday, who planned to carry out terrorist attacks, particularly involving suicide bombers, during the holiday season and the presidential election campaign," Bortnikov said at the wrap-up meeting of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee.

Improvised explosive devices, firearms and munitions were seized from terrorists, and a laboratory for manufacturing terrorist weapons was destroyed, the FSB chief added.

According to Bortnikov, on December 9-11, two clandestine terror groups were exposed, which had been guided from abroad by the leaders of the Islamic State terror group outlawed in Russia. Another group was exposed in the Crimean city of Sevastopol.

Source: ITAR-TASS 12-12-2017

Putin orders Russian forces pullout from Syria

Russia is ready to deal a new blow to terrorists if they again try to break peace in Syria, the president said.

HMEYMIM, December 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has asked the Defense Ministry to start the pullout of the Russian military group from Syria.

"I order the Defense Ministry and the chief of the General Staff to begin the pullout of the Russian military group to permanent locations," Putin told an audience of military personnel.

Russia’s task force and the Syrian government troops have routed the grouping of international terrorists in Syria, according to Putin.

Putin made this statement while speaking before Russian servicemen at the Hmeymim airbase in Syria.

"Over slightly more than two years, the Russian Armed Forces have routed together with the Syrian army the most combat-capable grouping of international terrorists," Putin said.

"In view of this, I have made a decision: most of the Russian military contingent staying in the Syrian Arab Republic is returning home, to Russia," he said.

"You are coming home with a victory, to your relatives, parents, wives, children and friends. Your Motherland is waiting for you, my friends. Have a safe trip home and thank you for your service," Putin said.

Russia is ready to deal a new blow to terrorists if they again try to break peace in Syria, Putin said.

"If terrorists again raise head, we will deliver such strikes on them that they haven’t seen so far," Putin told the Russian military.

"We will never forget about the deaths and losses sustained in the anti-terror fight both here in Syria and in Russia," Putin stressed.

"But this won’t force us to fold our hands and retreat. This is not our national characteristic. On the contrary, this memory will give us an additional force to eradicate that absolute evil - international terrorism - no matter under what guise it hides," he said.

Putin has congratulated troops deployed to Russia’s Hmeymim air base on brilliantly achieving the task of defeating terrorists in Syria.

"Indeed, the global terrorism threat is still high but the task of fighting armed groups here in Syria - a task which involved the extensive use of armed force - has been achieved for the most part, and achieved brilliantly," he noted.

"You have brilliantly achieved the task of fighting militants here in Syria, a task which involved large-scale use of troops," Putin said addressing the troops. "I would like to congratulate you," the Russian president added.

"Our troops and defense companies have proved the growing power of the Russian Army and Navy, the high combat capabilities of our military units. Pilots, navy sailors, special operations and intelligence units, members of military administration bodies, supply agencies and medical services, as well as de-miners and military advisors, have acted in the best way, like the Russian military always does, demonstrating courage, coherence, determination, excellent skills and professionalism," Putin stated.

Putin stressed that protecting the country and its people was the major task of every military serviceman. "This is what military service is about, this is the main priority of those who dedicate their lives to serving their people," he noted. "Soldiers who serve their country pass the most important test at the battlefield, risking their health and life." According to Putin, this is what the Russian military has been doing in Syria. "By helping the Syrian people preserve their statehood and counter terrorist attacks, you have dealt a devastating blow to those who had openly and brazenly threatened our country," the Russian president stressed.

"The country is proud of you," he said, addressing the troops. "I am confident that you will continue to faithfully serve the country, protecting the national interests of the country and its citizens," the Russian leader said.

Source: ITAR-TASS 11-12-2017

Ukrainian military fire about 1,500 mines, shells on Donetsk Republic within one day

Over the past 24 hour, the Ukrainian Armed Forces 43 times violated ceasefire in the republic.

DONETSK, December 9. /TASS/. Ukraine’s detachments over past 24 hours fired almost 1,500 mines and shells on compounds in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the republic’s representative at the Joint Center for Ceasefire Control and Coordination Ruslan Yakubov said on Sunday.

"The total number of ammunition fired on the DPR’s territory is 1,472," the Donetsk news agency quoted him as saying. The most intensive fire was targeted at settlements in the Donetsk area, he added.

Over the past 24 hour, the Ukrainian Armed Forces 43 times violated ceasefire in the republic.

Since the fall of 2014, participants in the Contact Group on East Ukrainian settlement have announced about a dozen of ceasefire deals. On June 24, the so-called "harvest ceasefire" came into effect - it was expected to hold until the end of August. However, shelling incidents continued to happen.

On August 23, the Contact Group members declared a "back-to-school" ceasefire in Donbass starting from August 25. However, on that very day, defense authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk Republics reported that their territories had come under shelling from positions of the Ukrainian troops. Kiev, in turn, has been accusing the republics of violating the ceasefire.

Source: ITAR-TASS 10-12-2017

Saakashvili detained in Kiev and taken to detention center - Ukraine’s prosecutor general

The former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odessa has been taken to a detention ward.

KIEV, December 8. /TASS/. Mikhail Saakashvili, the former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine’s Odessa who now leads the Ukrainian opposition Movement of New Forces, has been detained in Kiev and taken to a detention ward, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko said on Friday.

"Officers of Ukraine’s National Police have found Saakashvili’s place of stay in Kiev and detained him. He was taken to a detention center," he wrote on his Facebook account.

Source: ITAR0-TASS 09-12-2017

New air defense systems Buk-M3 to enter duty at large unit near Kursk

Buk-M3 is the latest in the family of Buk air defense systems.

MOSCOW, December 8. /TASS/. New air defense systems Buk-M3 will go operational at an air defense missile unit in the Kursk Region, the Western Military District, on Monday, the Defense Ministry has said.

Buk-M3 is the latest in the family of Buk air defense systems. Its parameters are unknown. Its predecessor, Buk-M2, armed with solid propellant missiles, is capable of hitting targets three to 45 kilometers away at altitudes ranging 15 meters to 25 kilometers.

Source: ITAR-TASS 08-12-2017

Israeli ambassador congratulates Russia on defeating Islamic State in Syria

It was reported earlier that Syria had been fully cleared of terrorists and all the units of the IS had been destroyed.

MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. Israeli Ambassador in Moscow, Gary Koren, has congratulated Russia on the defeat of the Islamic State terrorist grouping in Syria.

"We congratulate Russia on its victory over the Islamic State [in Syria]," Koren said. "It became possible thanks to Russian presence."

Simultaneously, the ambassador voiced concern over the buildup of Iran’s military presence in the region in spite of defeat of the terrorists. "Now they [the Iranians] are building up their military presence, which is they don’t need already, and their economic presence, too."

The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Gen Valery Gerasimov told an annual briefing for military attaches on Wednesday Syria had been fully cleared of terrorists and all the units of the IS had been destroyed.

He also said Russia was ready to give assistance to the U.S. in destroying remainders of the grouping in Iraq.

Source: ITAR-TASS 07-12 -2017