Russia

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Moscow and Tehran have given up the dollar in settlement payments and plan to shift completely to national currencies, with euro to be used if there are no other options, Russia’s Ambassador to Iran Levan Dzhagaryan said in an interview with TASS.

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Diplomats from the US embassy in Moscow have visited Paul Whelan, an American charged with espionage in Russia, embassy spokesperson Andrea Kalan told TASS on Tuesday.

"I can confirm that US Embassy representatives visited Paul Whelan at the Lefortovo detention facility today," she said.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Underwater trials of a power unit of Russia’s nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) Poseidon confirmed its previously declared unlimited range and maximum speed of over 200 kmph, a Russian defense industry source has told TASS.

"During the at-sea trials of the unmanned vehicle’s power unit, the previously declared specifications of its unlimited range of use and speed of over 200 kmph were confirmed," the source said.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. Russia has successfully test-fired an RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the Plesetsk spaceport in the Arkhangelsk Region in the country’s north, the Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. The government does not practice media censorship in Russia, and regarding the curtailment of foreign ownership of media outlets, this is a universal practice, which is appropriate and legitimate, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the Media Day forum organized by the Kommersant publishing house.

5 Feb 2019; DW: Members of the Taliban have sat down with prominent Afghan politicians, including women, in an attempt to find a solution to nearly two decades of conflict. The sidelined president, Ashraf Ghani, isn't thrilled.

Members of the Taliban and high-ranking Afghan politicians opposed to President Ashraf Ghani outlined their future visions for the country in Moscow on Tuesday.

Both sides are trying to end 17 years of war that began in the aftermath of the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

5 Feb 2019; DW: A series of fake bomb threats forced tens of thousands of people on Tuesday to evacuate buildings in Russia's capital of Moscow.

School children, office workers and shoppers were among those who had to briefly empty 100 buildings in and around the city, reports said. In total, some 20,000 people were affected, while authorities swept the areas and ruled out any danger.

5 Feb 2019; DW: Russia will build ground-based intermediate-range nuclear missiles within two years, the nation's Defense Secretary Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.

Shoigu said a land-based version of the navy's Kalibr cruise missile and a new land-based hypersonic missile must be built in 2019 or 2020.

MOSCOW (AP) — Following in the footsteps of the U.S., Russia will abandon a centerpiece nuclear arms treaty but will only deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles if Washington does so, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.

President Donald Trump accused Moscow on Friday of violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty with “impunity” by deploying banned missiles.

Moscow has strongly denied any breaches and accused Washington of making false accusations in order to justify its pullout.

MOSCOW, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Russian government will provide necessary mechanisms to finance the development of new weapons, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday, in response to Washington's withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

"Given the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty and the response steps announced by the President of Russia, the government of the Russian Federation will provide the necessary means and mechanisms to finance the development of new types of weapons," Medvedev said on Twitter.