❗️ Putin says that Russia will be forced to react if the West starts using weapons with nuclear components.

❗️The main statements from the Chinese leader following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin:

▪️ Xi Jinping said he has maintained close ties with Putin for ten years and is in contact on strategic issues;

▪️ Negotiations with Putin were productive;

▪️ At the talks with Putin, a plan for further cooperation in all areas was outlined;

▪️ Sino-Russian ties have gone beyond bilateral relations, are of great importance for the world order;

▪️ Trade turnover between Russia and China has grown by 116% over ten years;

▪️ Russia and China will ensure the continuity of logistics and transportation;

▪️ China and Russia, as members of the UN Security Council, will continue to uphold the norms of international relations based on the UN Charter;

▪️ Russia and China will strengthen cooperation on the SCO, BRICS, G20 platforms;

▪️ Russia and China will contribute to economic recovery in the post-pandemic period, ensure food security;

▪️ Beijing is actively promoting the resumption of negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian crisis;

▪️ Xi Jinping says he expects continued contact with Putin in all forms.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Joint statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping:

▪️Russia and China note the positive contribution of the CSTO to the potential for developing cooperation between the CSTO and China to ensure peace and stability

▪️ Relations between Russia and China are mature, stable and self-sufficient, have withstood the turbulent international situation and are not subject to external influence

▪️ Russia and China to continue holding consultations on issues related to Africa

▪️ Russia and China welcome the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran

▪️ Russia and China support the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria and Libya

▪️ Attempts to replace the universally recognized principles and norms of international law with a so-called "rules-based order" are unacceptable

▪️ Russia and China express concern over the situation on the Korean peninsula, call on all parties to show calm and restraint

▪️ The United States must respond to the concerns of the DPRK with real actions, create conditions for the resumption of dialogue

▪️ Russia and China intend to provide support in protecting each other's interests, primarily sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security

▪️ Russia and China oppose one state imposing its values on other countries, there is no "higher democracy"

▪️ Russia and China urge not to undermine security in Northeast Asia, to abandon the thinking of the times of the Cold War

▪️ Russia reiterates adherence to the "One-China" principle, recognizes that Taiwan is an integral part of China

▪️Russia and China oppose external interference in internal affairs

▪️ Russia considers the considerations set out in the Chinese plan for the settlement in Ukraine as constructive

▪️ Russia and China will increase cooperation to combat "color revolutions", "forces of evil", including the Islamic movement of East Turkestan

▪️ Russia and China will regularly conduct joint patrols at sea and in the air, as well as joint exercises

▪️ Russia and China oppose all unilateral sanctions imposed by bypassing the UN Security Council

▪️ Russia and China insist that NATO must strictly comply with the obligations regarding the regional and defensive nature of the alliance

▪️ Russia and China intend to forge a closer partnership in the energy sector, support companies in the implementation of energy projects

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇫🇮🇸🇪 NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg met with Finland's foreign and defense ministers, as Turkey and Hungary announced their support for Finland's alliance membership bid. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto stated that Finland may join NATO before Sweden, and Stoltenberg emphasized the importance of both Finland and Sweden becoming members of NATO as soon as possible.

⏳ Back in 1990, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to the absorption of East Germany by Bonn after getting a verbal commitment from then-Secretary of State James Baker that NATO would not expand “one inch east” beyond a reunified Germany. One year later, in 1991, the USSR collapsed, and the western bloc’s reason d’etre – “containing Soviet-style communism,” disappeared.

But the alliance did not follow suit, swallowing up many other European countries.

📊 Explore Sputnik's infographics to learn more!

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️ A powerful earthquake of magnitude from 6.6 to 7.4 has shaken parts of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Tremors were also felt in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

International geopolitical consultant, speaker, author, veteran, and former international security analyst David Oualaalou joined us to discuss the shift of the Middle East countries to China

🎧Listen to more of Oualaalou’a analysis in our podcast Political Misfits

❗️ Pentagon on whether US gives depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine: not to my knowledge.

Political Landmine: Why Dem Bid to Charge Trump Will Backfire

With Democrats facing allegations of launching another partisan prosecution bid against Donald Trump, journalist and political analyst Angie Wong, president of the conservative Legacy PAC, and attorney and media relations specialist Tyler Nixon warned that they could face a backlash that would return the former president to the White House.

Moves by Democrats to charge and arrest former President Donald Trump will only make him a popular "martyr", political pundits have warned.

New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, elected a Democrat, is widely expected to file charges against Trump on Tuesday over years-old claims that he paid adult movie star Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about an alleged affair with her.

Read more

Kiev's Use of Depleted Uranium Ammo May Cause Health Problems Akin to Yugoslavia and Iraq

The use of ammunitions with depleted uranium (DU) by the Kiev regime may result in a spike of oncological diseases akin to the outbreak registered in the aftermath of the Yugoslav War, Ivan Konovalov, military expert and political analyst, told Sputnik.

On March 21, UK Minister for Defense Annabel Goldie told British lawmakers that London would grant a squadron of Challenger 2 main battle tanks to Kiev, as well as ammunition including armor-piercing rounds that contain depleted uranium. "Such rounds are highly effective in defeating modern tanks and armored vehicles," she bragged.

Read more

🇷🇺🇨🇳 Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping shook hands as they said goodbye to each other, the Chinese leader left the Kremlin.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Why West Offers ‘Safe Havens' to Radical Pro-Khalistan Sikhs

🤔 A large number of extremist Sikhs who espouse secessionist views and favor the creation of Khalistan, or a separate Sikh state out of India, have found “safe havens” in western nations, an academic has told Sputnik.

Why is the West abetting them? Tap to find out 👉

📹 Two Tu-95ms strategic bombers make a routine flight above the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan (video by Russia's MoD)

▪️ The flight time was over seven hours. Su-30sm and Su-35s fighter jets escorted the bombers.

▪️ Long-range aviation regularly carry out flights over the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Black Sea, Baltic Sea, and Pacific Ocean.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔺The 2003 US invasion of Iraq undermined Washington's influence in the Middle East by inadvertently strengthening the role of other regional and outside actors, such as Iran and China
🔺Raising the prospect of friction with China: Taiwan’s president is going to visit the United States this month
🔺Africa is one of the leaders of the new multipolar world, Putin said at the Russia-Africa International Parliamentary Conference

The Critical Hour will cover these and more stories! Tune in to Radio Sputnik at 6pm EST|3pm PST|11am CET via the website or app

📻 Also in the United States at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

Japanese PM's Ukraine Visit: Putting On a Good Face for the West and Avoiding Damage?

Alexander Panov, professor at the Diplomacy Department at MGIMO Russia, chief research fellow of the Institute for US and Canadian Studies, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary and former Russian ambassador to Japan, shared his opinion about Kishida's visit to Ukraine with Sputnik.

Read more

Expanding NATO's Eastern Flank: Why Does US Set Up Permanent Army Garrison in Poland?

Among NATO members, Poland has the longest border with Ukraine (over 500 km or 300 miles). The launch of the US Army’s garrison in Poland comes amid the ongoing Ukrainian conflict as Russia continues its special military operation.

The Polish Ministry of National Defense has rolled out a permanent US military garrison in the country. What is this garrison all about and are there any other such US troops deployed in Europe.

👉Find out here

Against All Odds: Reconciliation Over Graves and German-Russian Rapprochement Continues

An agreement on war graves of fallen soldiers in Russia and Germany was signed in 1992.

For more than 30 years, the German War Graves Commission has been able to recover more than 475,000 of the approximately 1.4 million fallen German soldiers in Russia, who were buried in 22 large cemeteries, Denis Deriabkin, head of the Reburial Service for Remains of German Soldiers in Russia, told Sputnik.

Read more

🗣 Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, has pushed against any attempt to 'freeze' the Ukraine conflict through a ceasefire, saying it will mean an unfinished war for Europe.

💬 "Any attempt to 'freeze the conflict', protract it, 'cease fire' will mean one thing - an unfinished war smoldering in the heart of Europe and constant erosion of the foundations of global security," Podolyak said in a message posted on social media.

📍 On March 20, the US Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby expressed concerns that Chinese President Xi Jinping will use his visit to Moscow to reiterate calls for a ceasefire and to arrange a truce to which Washington objects.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 Osa SAM teams cover Russian troops from the air in the special military operation (video by Russia's MoD)

One of the main tasks of the anti-aircraft gunners is to counter enemy drones. More than 150 aerial targets have been successfully shot down by one battery alone.

"The targets are at different altitudes, from a hundred meters and above, up to five thousand. It's easy to find them, as the system is equipped with everything you need to detect them," said the leader of the Osa SAM crew.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Trump Blasts 'Fake' Report That He Knowingly Misled Lawyers Over Classified Docs Kept at Mar-a-Lago

Citing undisclosed sources, ABC News is exclusively reporting that controversial US Judge Beryl Howell wrote last week that prosecutors in the special counsel’s office made a "prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations."

According to the media outlet, the determination into claims that former President Donald Trump knowingly misled his legal representatives about mishandled sensitive documents at his Florida residence would mean that "attorney-client privileges invoked by two of [Trump’s] lawyers could therefore be pierced."

Read more

Over 850 People Detained in France at Protests Against Pension Reform - Interior Ministry

Over 850 protesters have been detained in France during demonstrations against recently-passed pension reform legislation, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Tuesday.

"Since Thursday, 855 people have been detained in France, including 729 in Paris. Some 843 people have been placed in custody," Darmanin told French media.

Read more