Topic: RIA Novosti

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Russia's outreach to Syria's opposition hints at policy pivot

Russian officials will meet with two Syrian opposition members later this month, as well as UN envoy Kofi Annan, raising hopes that Moscow's support for the Syrian regime is weakening.
Terrorism & Security Russian effort to send helicopters to Syria hits snag

A British insurer revoked coverage from a Russian ship that was delivering helicopters to Syria. Without insurance, ships cannot enter port.
Putin's China visit shows warming ties between neighboring giants

The historically tense relationship has warmed in recent years, leading to flourishing bilateral trade. Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing Tuesday to discuss everything from trade, to Iran's nuclear program, to Syria's bloody war.
Terrorism & Security Syria likely to overshadow agenda as EU leaders gather in Russia with Putin

The summit is intended to allow EU leaders to reacquaint themselves with President Vladimir Putin, but they are expected to lean on him to take a stronger stand on Syria.
Global News Blog Russian plane goes missing in Indonesia, dealing blow to aviation industry (+video)

The late-model Russian Sukhoi SuperJet-100 was meant to revive Russia's aging and accident-prone airplane fleet. It disappeared on a demonstration flight.
Medvedev's legacy in Russia: small victories in Putin's shadows

Despite making little headway on corruption or human rights, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev did change Russia. 'The ice began to melt and Putin won't be able to refreeze it,' said one expert.
Russia urges NATO to stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the timeline for a NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. Russia fears a spillover of Islamist militancy into the former Soviet republics on its border.
Global News Blog Is Russia now the strongest backer of peace in Syria?

Russia has emerged as a strong backer of Kofi Annan's peace plan for Syria, and is now hammering Western nations for not doing enough to support it.
After election setback, anti-Putin opposition takes struggle to the provinces

The intervention of Moscow's most prominent anti-Putin activists in a city 800 miles from the capital has put a local mayoral race on the national stage.
Terrorism & Security Arms dealer Viktor Bout, blamed for arming Al Qaeda, receives 25 years in prison (+video)

An angry Moscow has vowed to repatriate Russian arms merchant Viktor Bout, whom a US court convicted of conspiring to kill American citizens.
Moscow Ambassador McFaul's 'reset' with Kremlin stumbles

Michael McFaul's appointment as US ambassador to Russia was expected to be a home run, but he has ruffled feathers and the Kremlin is lashing out.
Obama asks Russia to cut him slack until reelection

On the sidelines of a nuclear security summit today, President Barack Obama asked outgoing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to delay any major moves until after November.
Terrorism & Security Russia says it won't offer asylum to Syria's Assad

But that doesn't mean that President-elect Vladimir Putin will soften Russia's opposition to intervention in Syria, as the US had hoped.
Russia says it offers alternative path to peace in Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said he convinced Assad to make concessions, but Russian experts say his visit to Damascus was more about saving face for Russia than ending the violence.
Russian team drills into 14-million-year-old Antarctic lake

The lake is the object of a years-long project to study its waters, which may house life forms new to science.
Russia: Why the fury over UN veto on Syria?

Responding to global criticism of Russia's UN veto, Russia's foreign minister said the vote was 'hasty.' He will travel to Damascus Tuesday to meet President Assad.
Why Russia is so opposed to asking Assad to go

Russia is taking a hard line against a UN resolution asking Syrian President Assad to step down, saying the possibility of military intervention must first be ruled out.
Putin's answer to polling fraud: lots of webcams

Russian Prime Minister Putin is trying to head off charges of polling fraud in March presidential elections – and potential protest – by installing 90,000-plus web cameras at polling sites.
Russian probe crash sparks conspiracy theories, confusion

Russia's Phobos-Grunt space probesuffered a debilitating malfunction shortly after its November 2011 launch, which stranded it in low-Earth orbit for more than two months before it succumbed to gravitational forces and plummeted through the atmosphere on Jan. 15.
Russia's dead Mars probe crashed in unknown location

So far, no eyewitness accounts of the Phobos-Grunt re-entry have surfaced, and there have been no verified sightings of any pieces of the 14.5-ton spacecraft that may have survived.
Why opposition is urging voters to sabotage ballots in Russia election

Voters should spoil their ballots in Russia's elections Sunday to protest a stage-managed process, says a leader whose party has been banned. One poll finds that 80 percent of Russians say voting has no impact.
12/02/2011 12:55 pm
Ahead of Russian elections, quashed Ossetia vote embarrasses Moscow

The crushing of an apparently legitimate election victory in South Ossetia, a key client state of Moscow, could bring a fresh wave of unwanted attention to Russia's own problematic democracy.
12/01/2011 11:16 am
Terrorism & Security Syria warns world against recognition of opposition, even as it alienates Kurds (VIDEO)

Damascus faces a double threat: growing international support for the Syrian National Council and the prospect that Syria's Kurd population could join the opposition's ranks.
10/10/2011 10:48 am
String of accidents could leave International Space Station without crew

When the International Space Station's crew departs this fall, the station could be left unmanned. Flights there have been halted until the cause of last week's space freighter crash is determined.
08/29/2011 03:24 pm
Russian spacecraft falls from the sky. Is the International Space Station in trouble?

The second embarrassing loss of a Russian space vehicle in a week spells trouble for Russia's space program and its ability to maintain the International Space Station.
08/25/2011 12:45 pm