Russia

MOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/: Russia sent an official diplomatic note to the US embassy in Moscow asking to withdraw diplomatic immunity from three embassy employees in order to press criminal charges on them, Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS Friday.

"A note was sent to the US embassy with a request to yank the diplomatic immunity from three employees of the American diplomatic mission over their designation as theft suspects of personal belongings from a Russian citizen," the Ministry said.

MOSCOW, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Russia on Friday designated the Bellingcat investigative news outlet a "foreign agent" along with nine people who work for Russian language news outlets or non-governmental organisations.

The designations, which targeted one employee of the BBC's Russian service, are the latest twist in a crackdown on media outlets that the authorities in Moscow see as hostile and foreign-backed.

The outlets and Western governments say the campaign is designed to hamper their work and muffle dissent, something the Kremlin denies.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Moscow will promptly respond to the anti-Russian provocation in the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the so-called blogger Alexey Navalny case, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Thursday.

"Our response to another anti-Russian provocation will follow without delay," she said. "Our counter-demarche and the corresponding documents will soon be uploaded to the open section of the OPCW's official website."

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: The United Russia faction nominated Vyacheslav Volodin as the 8th State Duma speaker at the faction’s organizational meeting Thursday.

According to United Russia party Secretary General Andrey Turchak, Volodin’s candidacy was approved unanimously.

Earlier in September, Russian President Vladimir Putin endorsed Volodin’s candidacy, noting that he is "quite worthy of heading the next, 8th State Duma."

United Russia also approved the faction membership, which includes 324 deputies.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: The US lawmakers are using the issue of sanctions to prevent Russia from taking part in the settlement of energy problems in Europe, their initiatives to impose sanctions against high-ranking Russian officials are ‘the triumph of the absurd’, the chairman of the 7th Duma’s committee for international affairs, Leonid Slutsky, said on the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 7. /TASS/: Moscow warns the UK against provoking a cyber arms race, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday, commenting on UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who said that London will carry out cyberattacks against hostile states that would attempt to harm the United Kingdom - including against Russia.

"We urge our opponents not to lose their heads and not to provoke a new cyber arms race," she said.

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Russia will invite representatives of the Taliban to international talks on Afghanistan that it plans to host in Moscow on Oct. 20, President Vladimir Putin's special representative on Afghanistan said on Thursday.

Zamir Kabulov, the representative, did not provide further details on the planned talks in comments carried by Russian news agencies.

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/: Guerrilla warfare against the Taliban (outlawed in Russia) conducted by the resistance movement in Afghanistan rages on in the valleys of the country’s northeast Panjshir Province and in the neighboring districts of Baghlan Province, Leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan supporting the resistance, Abdul Latif Pedram reported on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, October 6. /TASS/: It would take significant effort to stabilize the Russian-US dialogue on missile weapons and strategic stability and achieve new tangible results in this sphere, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Wednesday.

MOSCOW, October 6./TASS/: Russia will retaliate to the expulsion of diplomats from the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to NATO, and the organization’s accusations are unfounded, the chairman of the 7th Duma’s international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, told TASS on Wednesday.

"Such moves are reciprocal in the diplomatic practice. I have no doubt that the leadership of the Russian Foreign Ministry will suggest adequate response measures, not necessarily symmetrical," the senior legislator said.