Russia

01 September 2023; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said on Friday that “the practical work” on supply of Russian grain to six African countries has already begun, Anadolu Agency reports.

Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Zimbabwe will each get 50,000 tons of grain free of charge in the coming months, he said at an event in Moscow.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss issues that will be reviewed at the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Considering that presidents Putin and Erdogan prepare for their next meeting, I believe that we can review issues that will be up for their discussion in detail," the Russian Foreign Minister said during the talks with Fidan.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: Russia has agreed with OPEC+ countries on a new deal to reduce supplies of its oil to foreign markets, which will be published next week. Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Alexander Novak said this at a meeting held by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Yes, we have reached an agreement. But we will publicly announce the main terms next week," he said, answering Putin's question whether the government managed to agree with OPEC partners on reducing Russian oil supplies to foreign markets.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: Russia has made it clear to the Turkish side what the West needs to do in order for the grain deal to be resurrected, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.

"Of course, we talked about the problem that arose after the termination of the Black Sea Initiative for the export grain from Ukrainian ports on July 18. We conveyed to our Turkish partners our vision for what needs to be done in the West, first of all, to restore the viability of this initiative," he said.

MOSCOW, August 31. /TASS/: The deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, believes that the world may see the emergence of new viruses "of not only natural but also of artificial origin." He was speaking at the opening of a meeting of the presidium of the Presidential Council on Science and Education.

Aug 31 (Reuters) - A newly released video of Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin purports to show him in Africa only days before his death, addressing speculation about his wellbeing and possible threats to his security.

"For those who are discussing whether I'm alive or not, how I'm doing - right now it's the weekend, second half of August 2023, I'm in Africa," Prigozhin says in the short video published by the Grey Zone Telegram channel which is linked to his Wagner Group.

MOSCOW, August 30. /TASS/: Moscow considers threats by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell to take medical supplies away from the Russian people as inadmissible and neo-Nazist, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing.

KIEV/MOSCOW, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine said Wednesday that four Il-76 transport aircraft were destroyed during an overnight drone attack at Pskov airport in western Russia.

"Four Il-76 have been destroyed and cannot be restored. A few more (aircraft) units were damaged," Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, told the Ukrainian government-run Ukrinform news agency.

He did not specify whether Ukraine was responsible for the attack.

MOSCOW (AP) — “Deliberate wrongdoing” is among the possible causes of the plane crash that killed Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin last week, the Kremlin’s spokesperson said Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters during his daily conference call, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that “different versions” of what happened exist and “are being considered” by Russian investigators, including, “let’s put this way, deliberate wrongdoing.”

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will head the Russian delegation at the Group of 20 summit in India at the request of President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.

"At the request of the Russian president, the delegation will be headed by Lavrov," the diplomat said.

Earlier, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin would not travel to the G20 meeting in India.