❗️ Lavrov: US and NATO will be rebuffed if they threaten Russia with missiles

The United States and NATO will receive a decisive rebuff in the form of military-technical countermeasures from Moscow if they create new missile threats for Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"We are ready for any scenario. If new missile threats are created, the opponents will receive a decisive rebuff in the form of military-technical countermeasures. In turn, hypothetical steps to create acceptable conditions for an equal dialogue will be taken into account," Lavrov said.

Minister emphasized Russia's interest in reducing conflict potential and addressing fundamental security issues, "with an emphasis on eliminating the root causes of fundamental security contradictions."

"These include, first of all, the long-term expansion of NATO to the East. This is what provoked the Ukrainian crisis in many ways and continues to pose a threat to Russia's security. Hypothetically, arms control issues could also be discussed, but only as one of the elements of a broader agenda," Lavrov said.

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❗️ Lavrov: Russia will have to abandon its moratorium on the deployment of the INF

"Today it is obvious that, for example, our moratorium on the deployment of the INF is already practically nonviable and it will have to be abandoned," Lavrov said.

At the same time, today Russia's moratorium on the deployment of ground-based intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles "remains in force," the minister stressed.

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🇷🇺🇸🇾 Lavrov: Russia has not received any requests about the Russian military presence from Syria

"Syria is a sovereign country that has the right to conclude and terminate contracts with foreign partners... At the same time, we are not aware of the work carried out by its new authorities on the inventory of such acts and their revision. The Russian side has not received any appeals in this regard," Lavrov said.

Minister noted that this makes sense since a "transitional period" has been declared in Syria until March 1, 2025.

"These topics could be the subject of negotiations with the new Syrian leadership," Lavrov said.

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Lavrov: Both US administrations have all powers to launch negotiations on Ukraine

Both the current and the incoming US administrations have all the levers to itself and Kiev regime to launch negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"If Washington really wanted to end the conflict, it would have stopped supplying weapons to Kiev, demanded that their satellites do the same and ordered their Kiev puppets to cease fire, resume the negotiation process without any conditions," Lavrov said.

Minister added that Russia is ready for such negotiations, but they should be aimed at "eliminating the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and taking into account the real situation on the ground."

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⚡️ The death toll from the plane crash in South Korea has risen to 62, Ryonhap reports.

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🔥 Russian UAVs enable swift and effective assaults

The Russian Defense Ministry shared footage of Crimean paratroopers capturing a Ukrainian stronghold in the border area of the Kursk region.

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❗️Presumably, only two of the 181 passengers onboard the plane that crashed in South Korea survived, Yonhap reports.

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❄️🎉 The giant complex of ice "The World of Ice and Snow" in Harbin, China, is ready to welcome the New Year

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Key statements by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview to Sputnik:

🇷🇺🔥🇺🇸On relations between Russia and the US:

💬In the process of rearming its strategic nuclear forces, Russia strictly adheres to the limits set out in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START Treaty)

💬Russia is ready to implement a number of measures to maintain an acceptable level of predictability, in relation to the US, in the nuclear missile field.

💬Russia will not conduct any negotiations with the US on arms control until Washington abandons its anti-Russia course.

⚔️On the Ukrainian conflict:

💬Kiev and the West need to discuss the possibility of establishing a ceasefire in Ukraine to get a respite and increase the potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces - this is a dead end; the conflict can only be ended by implementing the proposals of Russian President Vladimir Putin

💬The transfer of the second batch of F-16 fighters to Kiev by Denmark provokes a further escalation of the conflict around Ukraine, forcing Russia to take relevant measures, including military-technical ones

🇷🇺✍️🇮🇷On the partnership treaty between Russia and Iran:

💬Russia and Iran will record a desire for security, defense, and anti-terrorism cooperation in a new treaty on relations

💬The strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran is ready for signing and does not require any amendments in light of the situation in Syria.

💬The new agreement between Russia and Iran will consolidate the desire of Moscow and Tehran to cooperate in the field of security and defense.

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The death toll from a plane crash in South Korea has risen to 96, Yonhap reports.
 
Local media footage reportedly shows the moment the Boeing 737 plane collided with a flock of birds.

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Hamas highly appreciates Putin's condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza — Hamas politburo member to Sputnik
 
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Israel's goals in the Gaza Strip are unknown, but its actions deserve only condemnation.
 

"Russia has historically been one of the states friendly to the Palestinian people and supportive of their legitimate rights. This statement by President Putin is a confirmation of the continued support and new impetus at the international level for a just Palestinian position," Basem Naim, a member of the movement's politburo, told Sputnik.

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Israeli military detains director of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have arrested Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the last major functioning health facility in northern Gaza, in a raid that was allegedly targeting a Hamas command center.

The Kamal Adwan Hospital head was detained along with dozens of staff and taken to an interrogation center after the IDF stormed the facility and forced many employees and patients outside, telling them to strip in the winter weather, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

The patients were relocated to the damaged Indonesian Hospital, where conditions were "extremely difficult," the ministry pointed out.

The Israeli military confirmed Safiya’s detention and called him a suspected Hamas terrorist operative without providing any evidence. His current whereabouts remain unknown.

Hamas, in turn, urged the UN “and all relevant international institutions to urgently intervene” and send international observers to the facility “to ascertain the truth of what is happening and to refute the lies and claims of the occupation regarding its use for military purposes.”

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❗️Russia's FSB detains man who handed photos of Russian fuel and energy complex facility to Ukraine's intelligence service

As a result of the operational search measures, information was obtained about the suspect's contacts with a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) informed. On the instructions of the curator, for a monetary reward, the attacker collected and handed over photographic materials of a fuel and energy complex facility located in the Moscow region.

A criminal case on treason has been opened, and the suspect has been arrested, the FSB Central Control Center said in a statement.

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🔶Key statements by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview to Sputnik

🔶A plane skidded off a runway in South Korea, the death toll mounts

🔶Israeli military detains director of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital

🔶Outgoing Georgian president stays overnight in presidential palace

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🇬🇪The inauguration ceremony of the sixth President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, has begun in the parliament building

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Salome Zourabichvili said she would leave the Georgian presidential residence after Mikheil Kavelashvili's inauguration

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The sixth President of Georgia, Mikheil Kavelashvili, takes the oath:
 

"I, the President of Georgia, swear before God and the people, that I will defend the Constitution of Georgia, the independence, integrity and indivisibility of the country; faithfully fulfill the duties of the President; take care of the security, well-being, and standing of the citizens of my country; and the rebirth and power of my people and the Fatherland."

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❗️Mikheil Kavelashvili takes office as President of Georgia

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