Russia

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/: Russia continues to view the United Nations system as an irreplaceable international mechanism for which there is no viable alternative, despite certain inefficiencies in its work toward resolving a host of issues on the global agenda, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The United States and its allies are behind the Middle East crisis and other regional conflicts, and benefit most from global instability, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

"Those, who are behind the conflict in the Middle East and other regional crises will exploit their devastating consequences to sow hatred, and sow dissent among people worldwide," said the Russian leader at a meeting with top security and law enforcement officials.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin sought Monday to deflect blame from the Kremlin for a riot in the southern region of Dagestan that targeted a flight from Israel, charging without evidence that Ukrainian agents of Western spy agencies were behind the rampage.

More than 20 people were hurt — none Israelis — in the clashes Sunday night that Putin cast as part of U.S. efforts to weaken Russia.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin called a meeting of security and law enforcement officials Monday, the day after a mob stormed the airport in the southern region of Dagestan after a flight from Israel landed there.

Hundreds of angry men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, rushed onto the tarmac of the airport in Makhachkala, the capital of the predominantly Muslim region, on Sunday night, looking for Israeli passengers on the flight from Tel Aviv, according to Russian news reports.

30 October 2023; MEMO: Tens of thousands stormed an airport in Dagestan, a republic in Russia, yesterday protesting against the arrival of an Israeli plane.

Dagestan media published a video showing huge crowds storming the gates of Makhachkala Airport, the capital of the Republic of Dagestan, and trying to reach the runway to force the plane to turn back.

Palestinian flags were raised and protesters chanted “God is Great” throughout Makhachkala Airport...

Russia. October 29. /TASS/: Russia is sparing no effort for the release of hostage kept by Hamas, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday.

"We are doing our best on all the tracks. First, this is political work in international formats, in the United Nations, to lobby the most important thing - namely, to cease fire, stop violence, to achieve what is generally called de-escalation," she said in an interview with the Voskresny Vecher (Sunday Evening) With Vladimir Soloviov on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

MOSCOW, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia will confiscate assets belonging to European Union states it deems unfriendly if the bloc "steals" frozen Russian funds in a drive to fund Ukraine, a top ally of President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Friday that the EU executive was working on a proposal to pool some of the profits derived from frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine and its post-war reconstruction.

Oct 29 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine are locked in a stalemate on the frontlines of their war and the two sides need to sit down and negotiate an end to the conflict, Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said over the weekend.

"There are enough problems on both sides and in general the situation is now seriously stalemate: no one can do anything and substantively strengthen or advance their position," Lukashenko said.

"They're there head-to-head, to the death, entrenched. People are dying."

MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/: Russian combat aircraft and air defense forces have destroyed 31 Ukrainian warplanes and three helicopters since October 1 in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Friday.

"Since October 1, fighter aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces and air defense capabilities have destroyed 31 Ukrainian Air Force planes and three helicopters, including 20 MiG-29 fighters, eight Su-25 ground attack aircraft, a Su-24 bomber, two L-39 combat training planes and three Mi-8 helicopters," the ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, October 27. /TASS/: Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed on Friday the appointment of Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov as chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

"In October 2023, he was appointed as commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces by a decree of the president of the Russian Federation," the ministry said on its website.