News and Announcements

  • Vladimir Putin's Meeting with actor Steven Seagal

    November 25, 2016

    Vladimir Putin met with US actor Steven Seagal. The President presented the actor with his new Russian passport and congratulated him on receiving Russian citizenship.

  • Excerpts from the Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova

    November 24, 2016

    Developments in Syria
    The United States, the United Kingdom and France block Russia’s proposal to include Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam on the UN sanctions list
    Developments in Mosul

  • Comment by Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov on the situation around Viktor Bout

    November 23, 2016

    We are disappointed by reports that a New York Court of Appeals has denied a motion seeking a new trial for Viktor Bout, a Russian citizen who was sentenced to a long prison term on trumped up charged in the United States, and has rejected his claim that new evidence justified overturning his conviction.
    We have repeatedly called attention to the biased nature of Viktor Bout’s persecution and the openly politically motivated verdict against him, which is clear from the extensive materials collected by Bout’s lawyers and the admission made by US Judge Shira Scheindlin last spring that the 25-year sentence she imposed on Mr Bout in 2012 was excessive and inappropriate.
    The latest developments have confirmed the bias of US jurisdiction, serious infringements on Viktor Bout’s rights and open unwillingness by the US authorities to correct this grievous situation.
    For our part, we will continue to provide consular and legal assistance to our compatriot, who has fallen victim to arbitrary action, and to his lawyers. We demand that Washington return Viktor Bout, who was illegally seized by US secret services outside the United States, to Russia. We hope the new US administration will take a constructive view on this case.

  • Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry

    November 22, 2016

    On November 22, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the latter’s request. The sides continued discussing ways of resolving the conflict in Syria, including the need to fulfil the UN Security Council’s demand to start intra-Syrian talks without preconditions and the task of normalising the situation in eastern Aleppo where illegal armed formations led by the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group have dug themselves in. Other pressing international issues were discussed, among them the situation in Yemen and Ukraine and the Middle East peace process.

  • Response to a media question regarding the statements of U.S. Administration officials

    October 21, 2016

    With regard to requests from our press colleagues to comment on the statement made by the White House and the Department of State on the U.S. Administration’s position regarding our interest in learning the American experience in organizing and managing elections, we would like to note the following.

    We are baffled, to say the least, with how the American side is describing the facts. They even qualify the situation as if the Russians are trying to set up a “PR-stunt”.

Russian-American Relations

  • Russian-American Business Cooperation

    Despite the White House initiative to impose a freeze on the activities of the Presidential Commission and a series of the U.S. sanctions aiming at Russian individuals and legal entities, business contacts among our countries continue. Russian companies develop their businesses in the US. American businesses are interested in safeguarding their positions in Russia. In addition to that, major investors plan to expand their projects in our countries, especially now when the Eurasian economic union is established.

  • Russian-American Relations

    rusam1.jpgThe state of Russia-U.S. relations remains far from being perfect. A series of confrontational steps, which official Washington has taken under the pretext of the Ukrainian crisis has seriously affected our bilateral relations.The state of Russia-U.S. relations remains far from being perfect. A series of confrontational steps, which official Washington has taken under the pretext of the Ukrainian crisis has seriously affected our bilateral relations.

  • Russian-American cultural cooperation

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    Russia pays significant attention to the development of its international cultural and humanitarian ties. Generally, this field of the Russian-American relations is successfully caught out of the White House policy that aims to minimize bilateral contacts. Tours of Russian musicians, including classical music, theater, and ballet performances, traditionally have enormous success in the U.S.