Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/: The United Arab Emirates is ready to assist in any way possible the efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said during talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday.

"Regarding Ukraine, thank you for your words. You can be certain that if the UAE can play any role in stabilizing the situation, in humanitarian issues, we are ready to assist in any way possible," the UAE president said.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/: The United Arab Emirates is ready to assist in any way possible the efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan said during talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday.

"Regarding Ukraine, thank you for your words. You can be certain that if the UAE can play any role in stabilizing the situation, in humanitarian issues, we are ready to assist in any way possible," the UAE president said.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/: Russia has been among the top five global wheat exporters for a decade and this year, the country may set an all-time record for wheat exports, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: Russia is ready to give a military-technical response if F-16 fighter jets appear in the skies over Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the RT television channel on Friday.

"Of course, a military-technical response will follow," he said, responding to a related question.

Lavrov added that Russia had presented "a very serious demarche" within the framework of the UN Security Council panel "nuclear five" in connection with the possibility of F-16 aircraft being prepared for transfer to Ukraine to carry nuclear weapons.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: The Australian authorities are seeking to "soft-pedal" the war crimes that the country’s troops committed in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16. /TASS/: Russia always responds militarily to Ukrainian strikes, but it seldom presents its retaliation as breaking news, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/: No country should benefit from the energy crisis or from its status of a transit country for energy resources, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"We have to make sure that no country would take advantage or would take the benefit out of the challenging or crisis-like energy situation now and no country should take profit of the fact that it serves as a transit country for others," he said.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 15. /TASS/: Russia is negotiating a visa-free regime with six Latin American countries, Alexander Shchetinin, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Latin American department, told reporters on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 15 (NNN-TASS) — Nearly 20 countries are seeking to get BRICS membership and their number continues to grow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told TASS on Thursday.

“The list of candidates for joining the association continues to increase. The number of states seeking to join this association is nearing twenty. It reflects BRICS’ growing and already considerable role in the international arena as an association of countries with similar positions. I would like to stress it,” he said.

MOSCOW, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday warned about the potential ecological and agricultural aftermath of a U.S. plan to supply depleted uranium shells to Ukraine.

During the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Zakharova said using radioactive materials in warfare could spread contamination. She said given its distance from the region, the United States has disregarded the harmful impact of its decision.