Europe

Russia demands Israel hand over East Jerusalem church

20 April 2022; MEMO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett requesting that he authorise the transfer of control of the Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in the Christian Quarter of occupied East Jerusalem to Moscow.

Israeli sources said yesterday that Israel was handling the matter, without elaborating, Haaretz reported.

Ukrainian leader Zelensky ‘was played by West against Russia’ — Lavrov

MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was used by the West against Russia to ignore the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday in an exclusive interview with India Today television channel.

"I think the West played Zelensky against Russia. And [the West] did everything to strengthen him in the desire to ignore the Minsk Agreements," Lavrov said. "Had he [Zelensky] cooperated in implementing the Minsk Agreements, the crisis would be over a long [time] ago."

Netherlands sends heavy weapons to Ukraine — Prime Minister

THE HAGUE, April 19. /TASS/: The Netherlands already sends armored vehicles to Ukraine and considers sending additional heavy weapons, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweeted Tuesday after the phone call with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

"In a call with [Zelensky], [Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren] and I expressed our support as Russia begins a renewed offensive. The Netherlands will be sending heavier materiel to Ukraine, including armored vehicles. Along with allies, we are looking into supplying additional heavy materiel."

Montenegro apologizes to Russia for mistakenly reporting about cut of diplomatic ties

BELGRADE, April 19. /TASS/: The Montenegrin Foreign Ministry has apologized in Twitter for reporting earlier about the cutting of diplomatic ties with Russia.

"We apologize to the public for the grave mistake in a report published earlier erroneously announcing that a number of restrictions were put into action, instead of just being mentioned," the ministry’s press service said in a statement on Tuesday night.

UK tax service will revoke Moscow Exchange’s status

LONDON, April 19. /TASS/: UK authorities intend to revoke the recognized stock exchange status from the Moscow Exchange, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) said in its statement on Tuesday.

"The UK’s tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has today (19 April 2022) announced its intention to revoke the Moscow Stock Exchange’s (MOEX) status as a recognized stock exchange," the authority said.

"This means investors will not be able to access certain UK tax benefits in future when trading securities on MOEX, although existing investments will be protected," it added.

Armenian PM Pashinyan praises high-level relations between Yerevan and Moscow

NOVO-OGARYOVO, April 19. /TASS/: Relations between Russia and Armenia are at their highest level, including cooperation in all key industries of both countries, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.

Italy says Western leaders agreed to step up pressure on Moscow-statement

ROME, April 19 (Reuters) - Western leaders agreed on the need to put more pressure on Russia and to increase Moscow's international isolation following its invasion of Ukraine, an Italian government statement said on Tuesday.

The leaders - including Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson - shared "deep concern" for the prolonged hostilities in Ukraine and said a swift ceasefire was needed.

German government working with industry to deliver weapons to Ukraine -Scholz

BERLIN, April 19 (Reuters) - Germany will continue to support Ukraine militarily and financially although it has practically maxed-out the weapons it can deliver from its own stocks and is instead working with the armaments industry, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Tuesday.

Among the weapons that military equipment makers said they could deliver quickly and that Ukraine needed were anti-tank and air defence weapons, Scholz told a news conference after participating in a call with Western allies.

Britain to avoid some G20 meetings with Russia - UK source

LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rishi Sunak will boycott some G20 meetings in Washington this week if Russia attends, as part of diplomatic efforts to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, a British government source said on Tuesday.

United States officials said on Monday that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would skip some meetings of finance ministers from the G20 - a group of advanced and emerging economies - if Russian officials were present. 

Mariupol may fall within days, European official says

April 19 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian port city of Mariupol could fall to Russian forces within days, a European official said on Tuesday, saying it may suffer more than the town of Bucha, where Russian forces have been accused of atrocities that the Kremlin has denied.

"At the end of the day, we do expect a complete destruction of the city and many civilian casualties in Mariupol," said the European official who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the topic.

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