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2 mins ago
Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi met, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry
By Anna Chernova
Pictured in this photo are Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and Chinese Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, on February 22. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images)
A meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and China's top diplomat Wang Yi began in Moscow on Wednesday, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Ministry and state media.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted a photograph on Telegram of Wang and Lavrov shaking hands.
Wang arrived in Moscow just days after US officials made public their concerns about how China's continued partnership with Russia could impact the war in Ukraine.
The Chinese leadership has called for impartiality in the conflict but refused to condemn Russia's invasion, instead expanding trade ties and continuing joint military exercises, including this week.
4 mins ago
Hackers Hack Russian Radio Stations, Broadcast False Information About Missile Strike, Authorities Say
By Gianluca Mezzofiore and Anna Chernova
Commercial radio stations in parts of Russia falsely broadcast news about an air strike alert and a possible missile attack on Wednesday after their servers were attacked by hackers, the country's Emergency Situations Ministry said.
News of the false warning spread on social media Wednesday morning.
It is unclear who is behind the alleged hack.
“Following a hacker attack on the servers of several commercial radio stations in some regions of the country, information about the alleged announcement of an air raid alert and the threat of a missile attack was broadcast on the air,” the Ministry said on Telegram.
“This information is false and does not correspond to reality.
We kindly ask you to control messages on official sources."
10 mins ago
Russian frigate docks in port ahead of joint naval exercises with China and South Africa, state media report
By Hannah Ritchie, Eve Brennan, Stephanie Busari and CNN's Ghazi Balkiz
A general view of the Russian military frigate 'Admiral Gorshkov' docked in the port of Cape Town, South Africa, on February 13, 2023. (AFP/Getty Images)
Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate, armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles, arrived at the South African port of Richards Bay on Wednesday, ahead of planned naval exercises with South Africa and China, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
The exercises, scheduled to begin on February 27, will take place off the coast of the KwaZulu-Natal province in the area between Richards Bay and the port of Durban, which serves as the main base of the South African Navy in the India Ocean, according to TASS.
The trilateral drills will focus on “countering maritime security threats and demonstrating the readiness of fleets to jointly maintain regional peace and stability,” the report says.
China will use a destroyer, a frigate and a support ship during the exercises, while South Africa will participate with a frigate and two support ships, TASS said.
Joint exercises:
Earlier this month, TASS quoted a source close to Russia's defense industry as saying the frigate "will conduct a training launch of a Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic missile during a joint exercise with the South African and Chinese navies." ”.
The joint maritime exercise is expected to include some 350 South African National Defense Force personnel along with their Russian and Chinese counterparts, according to South Africa.
A previous exercise between the three navies took place in 2019.
It is the first time that the drills will include the Admiral Gorshkov frigate carrying Zircon hypersonic missiles, which were first tested in late 2021.
Long-range weapons travel more than five times the speed of sound and are more difficult to detect and intercept.
The frigate took an active part in testing the missiles, which are designed and produced by the Machine-Building Research and Production Association, part of Russia's Tactical Missile Corporation, according to TASS.
13 mins ago
Xi Jinping plans to meet Putin in Moscow, according to The Wall Street Journal
By Pauline Lockwood in Hong Kong
Xi Jinping addresses an academic conference on February 7. (Li Xueren/Xinhua/Getty Images/FILE) )
Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in "the next few months," The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the plan.
Arrangements for the trip are at an "early stage" and the schedule has not been finalized, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the visit, adding that Xi could travel to Russia in April or early May.
The Russian state news agency TASS referred to the Journal's report, saying that Xi “may soon” visit Russia.
Putin extended an invitation to Xi during a regular year-end call between the two leaders, but China's Foreign Ministry has yet to confirm any plans.
Partnership "without limits":
Although China has claimed impartiality over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to condemn Moscow and has repeated Kremlin lines by blaming NATO for provoking the conflict.
Beijing and Moscow are closer than ever since their leaders declared their friendship "without limits" a year ago, partly because of their shared animosity toward the United States.
And as the US and its allies reaffirm their support for Ukraine and increase military aid, China's deepening partnership with Russia has raised alarm bells in Western capitals.
19 mins ago
Chinese top diplomat meets with head of Russia's Security Council in Moscow
By Wayne Chang, Simone McCarthy and Nectar Gan
Wang Yi speaks during a meeting with the Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister in Budapest on Monday. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images/FILE)
China's top diplomat Wang Yi met with Nikolai Patrushev, head of Russia's Security Council, in Moscow on Tuesday, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
The reading said the two officials agreed to oppose "Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological opposition," a thinly veiled criticism of the United States.
They also agreed to make more efforts to "improve global governance," in an apparent reference to Beijing and Moscow's ambitions to reshape the global order in its favor.
Wang and Patrushev also "exchanged their views" on the Ukraine issue, the statement added, without elaborating.
Wang will meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday, Russian state media TASS reported, citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.
While neither country has specified whether Wang will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that we "do not rule out" such a meeting.
China-Russia Partnership:
Wang arrived in Moscow just days after US officials made public their concerns about how China's continued partnership with Russia could impact the war in Ukraine.
The Chinese leadership has called for impartiality in the conflict but refused to condemn Russia's invasion, instead expanding trade ties and continuing joint military exercises, including this week.
war in ukraine
