Russia & CIS

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin is always open for dialogue with his US counterpart Barack Obama.

The Russian Defense Ministry initiated the ninth regimental combat unit of the S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile system during a ceremony in Astrakhan region.

Earlier, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Davis said that the US military is seeing movement of people and equipment, which may indicate that the Russians are planning to set up a base south of Latakia.

The burning projectile fired by Russia’s TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system during a recent drill near Volgograd is capable of making life a living hell for the enemy, a US science and technology magazine wrote.

Russia supports the Syrian government in the fight against terrorism and promised that Moscow would continue providing military assistance to Syria. "We support the government of Syria in confronting the terrorist aggression. We provide and will provide all the necessary military and technical assistance to the government of Syria," Putin said

Four parties may count for success at next year's elections to the State Duma (Parliament) of the Russian Federation: United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party, Just Russia and the Communist Party. So-called smaller parties have a chance too. The demand for the opposition in the elections is being met with the help of CPRF, LDPR and Just Russia

In the near future, the Russian Navy may receive a large and powerful destroyer. The main objective of such a vessel will be to create an "umbrella" above the sea. The project of the Russian destroyer is known as the "Leader". According to experts' estimates, it will be the largest, most expensive and state-of-the-art Russian vessel since 1989

I was on Huffington Post Live this afternoon, speaking on a panel about the rapidly expanding Russian military presence in Syria. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video directly on the blog, but it can be found at this link.

Russia is seriously engaged in national politics, but does not have an objective to create a melting pot. Every nation has its right to its culture, religion and language. Russia has not experienced any religious war. Russia has created a model of the relationship of world's leading religions and civilizations

Former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul explained why US President Barack Obama did not want to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at the UN General Assembly in New York. McFaul explained the reason with the help of a screenshot from Russian TV show "Vesti Nedeli" ("News of the Week")

Russian Borei-class nuclear-powered ballistic submarine Alexander Nevsky is set to join the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet in late September, a senior Navy representative said on Tuesday.

The customs bodies of Azerbaijan are set important tasks in development of economic sphere.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano says a probe into Iran’s past nuclear activities will be ready on time, dismissing speculations that the body could extend the December 15 target date to complete its investigations, Press TV reports.

Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire regime a total of 70 times, using 60- and 82-mm mortar launchers and large-caliber machine guns in different directions along the contact line throughout the day, Oxu.az reports with reference to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with permanent members of the Russian Security Council to discuss measures to minimize threats to Russia from the migration crisis in Europe, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

29,497 citizens of Azerbaijan visited Turkey's resort city Antalya in January-August 2015.

A meeting between representatives of the defense ministries of Azerbaijan and South Korea was held today on the occasion of a launch of South Korean military attache office in the country, AzerTag reports.

The third annual International Qvevri Wine Symposium is taking place in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi to raise awareness of Georgian wine and the ancient ways it was, and is continuing to be, produced.

Russia and Armenia have signed an agreement on Russian gas pricing offering a discount of $25 for one cubic meter.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated Macedonian President Georgi Ivanov on the Independence Day.