Russia

MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/: Russia has never considered and does not consider itself an enemy of the West, despite the ongoing conflict, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, speaking at the Valdai International Discussion Club plenary meeting Thursday.

"In current circumstances of brutal conflict - I will say some things straight - Russia, being an independent, self-sufficient civilization, has never considered and does not consider itself an enemy of the West," he said.

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: Russia resolutely protests against Italy’s decision to revoke Russia’s invitation to attend a Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) meeting opening in Rome later today, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We are outraged over the fact that Italy has revoked an invitation it sent to Russia earlier to attend an Expert Group meeting of the Proliferation Security Initiative opening in Rome on October 26. We vehemently protest," the statement reads.

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a brief meeting with permanent members of the country’s Security Council later on Wednesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The president is planning to convene a brief meeting with permanent members of the country’s Security Council this afternoon," Peskov said

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: Russia will take vigorous steps to draw the attention of the world community to the risk Ukraine may use a "dirty bomb," Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

The media asked the Kremlin official what further steps Moscow would take after Russia presented evidence at a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council testifying to Ukraine’s work on a "dirty bomb."

"Russia will take vigorous steps," Peskov assured.

He noted that Moscow had evidence Ukraine was plotting a terrorist attack involving such a device.

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: The level of political trust between Beijing and Moscow is higher than ever, China’s Charge d'Affaires to Russia Sun Weidong said at a conference on Russian-Chinese relations hosted by the Economist House on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, October 26. /TASS/: The world is becoming multipolar, but some countries are trying to "hold on to their faltering hegemony," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.

He made the statement at the 51st meeting of the CIS council of officials in charge of security and special services.

MOSCOW, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday barred more persons of the European Union member states from entering Russia in response to their anti-Russian actions.

Among the newly blacklisted are representatives of European manufacturers of weapons and military equipment supplied to Ukraine and some lawmakers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian side did not specify who are subject to the travel ban.

(AP) --- The mobilized reservists that Russian President Vladimir Putin visited last week at a firing range southeast of Moscow looked picture-perfect.

Kremlin video of the young men headed for the war in Ukraine showed them in mint-condition uniforms, equipped with all the gear needed for combat: helmets, bulletproof vests and sleeping bags. When Putin asked if they had any problems, they shook their heads.

MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/: Russia does not see any "preconditions, grounds, or hope" for building more constructive relations with Great Britain in the foreseeable future, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, commenting on the appointment of Rishi Sunak as the UK’s new prime minister.

"No, at present, we do not see any preconditions, grounds or hopes for some positive shifts in the foreseeable future," the Russian presidential spokesman said, commenting on the prospects of warmer relations between the two countries with the appointment of the UK’s new premier.

MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding talks on Tuesday Moscow with his counterpart from Guinea-Bissau, Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Umaro Sissoco Embalo.

The Kremlin press office reported earlier that the two leaders were set to exchange views on the prospects for the development of relations between Russia and Guinea-Bissau as well as on the key regional and international issues.