Russian FM says no new sanctions on Iran; comes as Washington shelves missile defense plansSeptember 17th, 2009 Russian FM says no new sanctions on IranMOSCOW — Russia's foreign minister says Moscow firmly opposes any new sanctions against Iran. Sergey Lavrov says new tougher sanctions would ruin hopes for solving the Iranian nuclear program through talks.
Hugo Chavez says Moscow has offered Venezuela $2.2 billion in credit to buy Russian weaponsSeptember 13th, 2009 Venezuela gets $2.2B in credit for Russian armsCARACAS, Venezuela — Russia has opened a $2.2 billion line of credit for Venezuela to purchase weapons including armored vehicles and surface-to-air missiles, President Hugo Chavez said Sunday. Venezuela is buying more arms because it feels threatened by Colombia's decision to give U.S.
Russia, US to hold regular talks on arms cutsJuly 25th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia and the US will hold a regular round of talks on arms cuts in Geneva between late August and early September, the Russian foreign ministry said Saturday. Russia and the US met July 22-24 in Geneva to continue talks on a new strategic arms reduction treaty to replace the old version known as START-I.
Reports: latest test of Russian ballistic missile Bulava fails in major setbackJuly 16th, 2009 Reports: test of Russian missile Bulava failsMOSCOW — News agencies says Russia's latest test of the advanced ballistic missile Bulava has failed, with the missile self-destructing. It's the sixth failure in 10 test launches for the Bulava — a major setback for Russia's efforts to upgrade its aging missile arsenal.
Test of advanced Russian ballistic missile fails _ latest setback for arsenal upgrade effortsJuly 16th, 2009 Test of Russian ballistic missile failsMOSCOW — Russia's latest test of its advanced submarine-launched ballistic missile Bulava has failed, with the missile self-destructing, the Defense Ministry said Thursday — another setback for the nation's efforts to upgrade its aging arsenal. The failure was the seventh in 11 test launches for the Bulava, and could have consequences for Russia's top missile designers and missile force commanders.
Reports: Russia tests 2nd submarine-launched ballistic missile in 2 daysJuly 14th, 2009 Reports: Russia tests 2nd sub-launched missileMOSCOW — News agencies say Russia has successfully tested its second submarine-launched ballistic missile in as many days. RIA-Novosti and Interfax quote the head of Russia's joint chief of staff as saying a Sineva-type missile was fired Tuesday from the submarine Bryansk near the White Sea.
US considering radar facility in AzerbaijanJuly 11th, 2009 BAKU/MOSCOW - In the row over the US missile defence project in central Europe, the US is again considering a proposal by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to use a radar facility in Azerbaijan, Russian media reported Saturday. US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg held talks on the issue days after a meeting between Putin and US President Barack Obama, the Interfax news agency reported.
Obama says his review of US missile defense in Europe to be completed by end of summerJuly 6th, 2009 Obama pledges early end to missile defense reviewMOSCOW — President Barack Obama says he expects to complete a review of the U.S. plan for building missile defense systems in Europe by the end of the summer.
Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff visits Russia, voices hope for closer military tiesJune 26th, 2009 Top US officer hopes for better ties with RussiaMOSCOW — The top U.S. military officer said after meeting with Russian leaders Friday and that both countries were willing to improve military ties.
US confident missile defense dispute with Russia will not impede arms reduction talksJune 23rd, 2009 US: missile spat with Russia will be worked outWASHINGTON — A State Department official expressed confidence Tuesday that Russian objections to any U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe will not impede arms reduction talks.
Gates says US concerned North Korean might fire missile toward Hawaii, defenses in placeJune 18th, 2009 Gates: Missile defense in place for HawaiiWASHINGTON — The United States has positioned more missile defenses around Hawaii as a precaution against a possible North Korean launch across the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. "We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile to the west in the direction of Hawaii," Gates said.
Russian senator hails Obama's flexibility in foreign policyApril 28th, 2009 MOSCOW - US President Barack Obama, in his first 100 days in office, has demonstrated flexibility in foreign policy and a willingness to use dialogue rather than confrontation, a senior Russian senator said Tuesday. Mikhail Margelov, the head of the Russian Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, said the new US administration was not rushing to integrate the ex-Soviet states of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO or to deploy its controversial missile defence shield in Central Europe.
Missile deal with Russia on track, says IranApril 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - There are no obstacles to the delivery of Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Tehran, Iran's deputy foreign minister has said. 'There are no problems with this (S-300) contract,' Mehdi Safari said Wednesday at the end of his visit to Moscow.
Obama, Medvedev to issue joint statements at G20 summitMarch 28th, 2009 MOSCOW - US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev would issue joint statements on bilateral relations and strategic arms reduction at their upcoming meeting in London, the Russian president's aide said Saturday. 'We will have two presidential statements - on Russian-US relations generally, but also on START.
Missile defence deal with US possible, says RussiaMarch 20th, 2009 MOSCOW - There is scope for Russia and the US to reach an agreement on missile defence, the Russian foreign ministry said Thursday. 'In theory, we have every opportunity to agree on the missile defence issue,' Russian foreign ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.