Russia

Russia: Protest expressed to UK ambassador over London’s boorish statements — Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/: British ambassador in Moscow Deborah Bronnert was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday to hear a protest in connection with boorish statements by her country's leadership about Russia and President Vladimir Putin, the Foreign Ministry said in a news release.

Russia ready to meet fertilizer demand of friendly states — Putin

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/: Russia is ready to fully meet the fertilizer demand of agricultural producers from friendly countries, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday after talks with his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo.

"We talked on issues of interest for the time being for the whole world, all countries. I mean supplies of foodstuffs, other agricultural goods, including mineral fertilizers, to global markets," the Russian leader said.

Russia's Medvedev says sanctions could be justification for war

June 30 (Reuters) - Russia's Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that in certain circumstances, sanctions against Moscow may be seen as an act of aggression and a justification for war.

"I would like to point out once again that under certain circumstances such hostile measures can also qualify as an act of international aggression. And even as a casus belli (justification for war)," Medvedev said, adding that Russia has the right to defend itself.

Russia warns West: Don't take your assets in our country for granted

MOSCOW June 29 (Reuters) - Russia hinted on Wednesday that it had not dropped the idea of seizing Western-owned assets and businesses in the country, as a top official sharply criticised governments that have hit Moscow with sanctions.

In a combative media briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that Russia was prepared to "act accordingly" if the West decided to use Russia's frozen state assets - chief among them being around $300 billion of central bank foreign currency reserves.

Russia: Putin signs law banning issuance of licenses to foreign users of mineral resources

MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law prohibiting the issuance of licenses for the development of mineral resources to foreign companies. The document was published on the official portal of legal information.

Russia's Medvedev says any NATO encroachment on Crimea could lead to World War Three

June 28 (Reuters) - Any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member-state could amount to a declaration of war on Russia which could lead to "World War Three," Russia's former president, Dmitry Medvedev, was quoted as saying on Monday.

"For us, Crimea is a part of Russia. And that means forever. Any attempt to encroach on Crimea is a declaration of war against our country," Medvedev told the news website Argumenty i Fakty.

Russia favors BRICS enlargement, wants candidate criteria first — Kremlin aide says

MOSCOW, June 27. /TASS/: Russia favors the enlargement of the BRICS association (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) but suggests defining procedures and criteria for future candidates first, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov told a press briefing on Monday.

"In principle, we look positively at the issue of the association’s potential enlargement, although we understand that it is necessary to approach this issue very carefully," Ushakov said.

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