(160205) -- WASHINGTON D.C., Feb. 5, 2016 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry ( (Xinhua/Bao Dandan)

Moscow, Feb 21 (IANS) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday discussed issues on Syrian peace process.

The two, over a phone call, discussed humanitarian aid issues and the planned cessation of hostilities in Syria, "with the exception of fighting against terrorist groups".

It was noted that progress was made on humanitarian aid delivery to besieged areas in Syria, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lavrov and Kerry also discussed current practical interaction between the two countries, both being co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group.

"It was confirmed that the establishment of mechanisms to implement tasks (in the Munich agreement reached last Friday) requires military coordination," Russian foreign ministry statement said.

Lavrov also stressed the importance of not allowing Turkey to violate Syria's territorial integrity, as Ankara continued "inadmissible and provocative" bombings against Syrian territories.

In another development, Russia on Saturday urged the US and other NATO countries to responsibly and carefully choose their targets in Syria.

The comment came as the Serbian foreign ministry earlier confirmed two employees of the Serbian embassy, kidnapped last November in Libya, were killed in the US airstrikes against terror outfit Islamic State (IS).

"This is far from the first time NATO airstrikes have killed innocent people," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, expressing deep condolences to the families of the victims.

"Of course, the US and its allies should be guided first and foremost by international law and act not unilaterally, with coordinated steps with all concerned parties in the international community."

The US-led coalition have been conducting airstrikes against terrorist targets in Syria and other Middle East countries since 2014, while Russia started bombing terrorist targets in Syria from last September.

Russia has fallen into "war of words" with western countries on Syrian issues, accusing each other of causing civilian casualties and bombing targets other than terrorists'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday claimed that Russian armed forces in Syria "helped Syrian government army and other participants in anti-terror efforts to defeat terrorists, saved civilians from violence, barbarism and tyranny".

"We have always sought to resolve any disputed issues solely through political and diplomatic means, we have repeatedly contributed to stabilizing the situation in different countries, helped resolve serious conflicts," Putin said.

Reiterating that fighting terrorists in Syria is protecting Russia's national interests, Putin said the Russian army must "always be ready to promptly and efficiently respond to any potential threat, to stop any provocation and aggressive actions".

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Washington, Feb 15 (IANS) US President Barack Obama on Sunday urged Russia to play a constructive role in Syria by halting its air campaign against so-called Syria's moderate opposition forces.

Obama made the call in a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday, the White House said in a statement, Xinhua reported.

The two leaders discussed the decisions and agreements made at the February 11 meeting of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) and stressed "the importance of rapidly implementing humanitarian access to besieged areas of Syria and initiating a nationwide cessation of hostilities".

"In particular, President Obama emphasised the importance now of Russia playing a constructive role by ceasing its air campaign against moderate opposition forces in Syria," it said.

The two leaders agreed that the US and Russia will remain in communication on the important work of the ISSG.

Both the US-led coalition and Russia are conducting military campaigns in Syria.

Russia has been launching air strikes against targets of the terror group Islamic State inside Syria since last September, but the US has accused Moscow of bombing moderate opposition forces in Syria in order to help sustain the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The ISSG meeting, sponsored by the the US and Russia, agreed on a nationwide cessation of hostilities to be implemented soon in Syria, and on humanitarian aid delivery to besieged areas in the country.

Obama also urged "combined Russian-separatist forces to fulfill their Minsk obligations, especially adhering to the ceasefire and ensuring that the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has full access to all areas of eastern Ukraine, including the international border".

"The president reiterated the importance of quickly reaching agreement on the modalities for elections in eastern Ukraine that comply with OSCE standards," the White House statement said.

On Ukraine, Putin expressed the hope that Kiev would take practical steps to meet its obligations under the Minsk deal as soon as possible, including constitutional reform, establishing direct dialogue with the two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, and amendments to the law on special status of the Donbass region, according to an earlier Kremlin statement.

Relations between Russia and the Western countries have been undermined by disputes over the Syria and Ukraine issues, with both sides waging a sanction war and cutting dialogues.

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Moscow, Feb 14 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama on Sunday discussed the Syrian crisis over the phone, the Kremlin said.

During the "frank and business-like" conversation, Putin and Obama positively assessed the results of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) meeting in Munich on February 11-12, Xinhua reported.

Both leaders supported the tasks of achieving a ceasefire and delivering humanitarian aid while agreeing to intensify cooperation through diplomatic and other channels to implement the agreement reached the ISSG meeting.

Putin noted the need to establish regular working contacts between the defence ministries of the two countries in order to ensure a "systematic and successful" fight against terrorism.

Both countries have carried out military campaigns in Syria.

The ISSG meeting, sponsored by the US and Russia, agreed on a nationwide cessation of hostilities to be implemented soon in Syria, and on humanitarian aid delivery to besieged areas in the country.

The two leaders also touched on the situation in Ukraine, especially the implementation of the Minsk accords.

Putin expressed hope that Kiev would take practical steps to meet its obligations under the Minsk deal as soon as possible, including constitutional reform, establishing direct dialogue with the two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine, and amendments to the law on the special status of the Donbass region.

Relations between Russia and the Western countries have been undermined by disputes over the Syria and Ukraine issues, with both sides waging a sanctions war and cutting dialogues.

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Munich, Feb 13 (IANS) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday warned the world has slid into a "new Cold War", criticising the West's "unfriendly" policy against his country.

"Almost every day we are called one of the most terrible threats either to NATO as a whole, or to Europe, or to the US," Xinhua quoted Medvedev as saying at the Munich Security Conference (MSC).

"We have slid back to a new Cold War," he said, adding: "Sometimes I wonder whether it is 2016 we are living in or 1962."

Different positions in Syrian conflicts and Ukraine undermined the relations between Russia and the West. Both sides imposed sanctions against each other.

Medvedev criticised that policies including expansion of NATO towards eastern Europe were "unfriendly" towards Russia.

Facing various challenges including terrorism and regional conflicts, cooperation instead of confrontation was necessary, he said.

"Sanctions are not only against those whom these sanctions are introduced to but also against those who use those sanctions," Medvedev said.

"Active dialogues on the future architecture of security" was particularly important to avoid repeating mistakes in history.

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File picture of the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant which was synchronised with the southern power grid marking a major milestone in power generation of the ambitious Indo-Russian nuclear collaboration at Tirunelveli of Tamil Nadu on Oct.22, 2013. (Photo: IANS)

New Delhi, Feb 3 (IANS) India has agreed to allot a site for a second Russian-built nuclear power plant in the country after Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, according to a senior official of Russia's atomic energy corporation.

Evgeni Griva, director general of Rosatom (South Asia), who has just taken charge of his post in Mumbai, told IANS in an interview during a visit here that India has agreed on allocating a site for a second nuclear power project in India by Rosatom.

"An agreement has been reached on the allocation by the Indian party to one more site for the construction of six new nuclear reactors of Russian design," Griva said. "We hope to get more detailed information about the site as soon as possible," he said.

The Russian official said this was as per the agreement between both countries on nuclear cooperation reached in December 2014, which provides for Rosatom setting up nuclear plants at various locations in the country in the future.

Four reactors are envisaged for Kudankulam, the first of which is already operational, while the second is to be commissioned later this year. The construction units 3 and 4 has been delayed owing to doubts among foreign suppliers about India's nuclear damage liability laws.

Griva said the contract for delivering equipment for units 3 and 4 had been signed and initial permits obtained.

"On September 7, 2015, Atomenergomash Holding, the power plant division of Rosatom, signed the comprehensive delivery contract for reactor equipment for power units 3 and 4," Griva said.

"The permit for excavation works and foundation pit preparation has now been obtained from the Indian regulatory body," he said.

"The first and most important contract has also been signed - the delivery contract of long-lead equipment and priority delivery equipment from the Russian Federation. Besides, the top priority design is practically completed," he added.

The Indian government last year launched an insurance pool of Rs.1,500 crore ($220 million) which is mandatory under the country's Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLND).

Clauses in the CLND Act, which give the operator the right to recourse against suppliers in case of an accident, provoked concern among industry and led to the creation of the insurance pool.

Under the pool, set up by state-run General Insurance Corp and other non-life state-run insurers including New India, Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Insurance, as well as private insurers, policies offered will be a nuclear operators liability insurance policy and a nuclear suppliers' special contingency (against right to recourse) insurance policy.

On the second unit at Kudankulam, Griva said its assembly had been completed.

"The hot-run stage is completed. The physical launch is scheduled for the Indian party (Nuclear Power Corporation of India) for mid-2016," he said.

Noting that the operational first unit at Kudankulam had already generated close to 7,000 million units of electricity, Griva said: "This is the world's first nuclear power plant which has implemented and successfully operated the tightened security measures post-Fukushima."

The Kudankulam nuclear power plant is equipped with state-of-the-art safety mechanisms with unique features that make them foolproof.

In an interview to IANS earlier, Denis Kolchinskiy, chief project engineer of SPbAEP, the developers of the AES 92 nuclear reactor installed at Kudankulam, had said modern Russian designs - developed over a decade - have an optimized balance of active and passive safety systems to provide two layers of protection.

The key to preventing an apocalypse in the event of a core meltdown, said Kolchinskiy, is the "molten-core catcher" - a mandatory safety system included in the Kudankulam project's basic supply package.

(Biswajit Choudhury can be reached at biswajit.c@ians.in)

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Brussels/Istanbul, Jan 31 (IANS) NATO has called on Russia to act responsibly after Turkey summoned the Russian ambassador to protest what it claimed a violation of its airspace by a warplane.

"A Russian combat aircraft violated Turkish airspace yesterday (Saturday), despite repeated warnings by the Turkish authorities," Xinhua quoted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as saying on Saturday.

"Previous incidents have shown how dangerous such behaviour is," he said.

He called on Russia to act responsibly and to fully respect NATO airspace. Turkey has been a member of the alliance since 1952.

Stoltenberg urged Russia to take all necessary measures to ensure that such violations do not happen again. "I welcome the direct contacts between Ankara and Moscow, and I call for calm and de-escalation," he said.

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Russian Ambassador to Ankara late Friday and protested against the violation of Turkey's airspace by a Russian SU-34.

In a written statement, the ministry said Turkish air force warned the Russian aircraft several times on Friday in Russian and English, adding that the violation was also a new and concrete indicator of Moscow's actions which aims at "accelerating problems despite open warnings by our country and by NATO".

The claim was immediately denied by Russia. "There were no violations of Turkish airspace by planes of the Russian air group in the Syrian Arab Republic," Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

"The statements of the Turkish side about the alleged fact of violation by the Russian Su-34 is unfounded propaganda," said Konashenkov.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned Russia of "consequences" if it continues to violate Turkish airspace.

He blamed Russia for acting "irresponsibly" and escalating the tension in the region, while emphasising that the issue was closely followed by NATO.

"These kinds of irresponsible acts not only damage NATO-Russian relations but also the regional and global peace," the president said.

Erdogan said he was trying to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin but to no avail.

Relations between Turkey and Russia plummeted after Turkish air force shot down a Russian jet on November 24, claiming it had violated Turkish airspace, while Moscow insisted the Su-24 did not cross into Turkey.

Following the incident, Russia imposed sanctions against Turkey and deployed S-400 missiles at a Russian air force base in Syria.

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Moscow, Jan 29 (IANS) Russia expects the top leadership of the US to provide an explanation of "unacceptable" statements by its officials accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of corruption, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"We find the statement of my colleague in the White House unacceptable from the point of view of the general practice of international relations, and from the point of view of bilateral Russian-American relations. We believe this statement is outrageous and offensive," Xinhua quoted Peskov as saying.

"We will wait for some further explanations on the part of the supreme leadership of the United States," Peskov said.

Earlier this week, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) published a video showing US Department of Treasury official Adam Szubin accusing Putin of being involved in alleged large-scale corruption.

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Szubin's statement "best reflected" the opinion of the US administration.

Peskov said the personal insults against the Russian president are "signs of weakness and impotence," as well as attempts to undermine Russia's diplomatic stances on various international affairs.

"But this will not affect either Putin or Russia in any way," he said.

Russia's relations with the US deteriorated over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis. There have also been disagreements between them on Syria.

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Moscow, Jan 27 (IANS) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday termed as "groundless" recent accusations by a US official that Russian President Vladimir Putin was corrupt.

Earlier British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) published an article and video featuring US Department of Treasury (DoT) official Adam Szubin, who said that Putin was corrupt.

"We've seen him enriching his friends, his close allies, and marginalising those who he doesn't view as friends using state assets.

"Whether that's Russia's energy wealth, whether it's other state contracts, he directs those to whom he believes will serve him and excludes those who don't. To me, that is a picture of corruption," BBC quoted Szub, who "oversees US Treasury sanctions," as saying.

In response, accusing the BBC report as another media hoax, Peskov expressed great surprise that the "unfounded slander" was given by a US official.

"This makes the situation different, this is an official accusation," Peskov said, adding that "content of this BBC report is pure speculation and defamation."

"Proof is needed because the voicing of such accusations from a department like the US Treasury without any concrete facts casts doubt on the department itself," RIA Novosti news agency quoted Peskov as saying.

According to Peskov, the new comments were unlikely to negatively affect US-Russia relations as the bilateral ties are currently "not in their best shape."

"To the extent that such deceitful comments are unlikely to complicate the situation even more," Peskov said.

The US-Russia relations has serious deteriorated over the two-year-old Ukrainian crisis, while both sides also disagreed about various international key issues including Syrian crisis and anti-terrorism fight.

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London, Jan 26 (AFP) A senior US Treasury official has directly accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of corruption.

The US government imposed sanctions against a number of Kremlin insiders in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, but did not accuse Putin of direct involvement in corruption.

However, during a Panorama investigation into Putin's "secret riches", Adam Szubin, the acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury in a BBC programme that aired yesterday said Putin was a "picture of corruption".

"We've seen him enriching his friends, his close allies, and marginalising those who he doesn't view as friends using state assets," Szubin, who oversees US Treasury sanctions, told the Panorama programme, in an unusually strong statement from the government on Putin's personal finances.

"Whether that's Russia's energy wealth, whether it's other state contracts, he directs those to whom he believes will serve him and excludes those who don't. To me, that is a picture of corruption."

The US government has known about this for "many, many years", he added.

The programme cited a secret CIA report from 2007 stating that Putin's wealth stood at around USD 40 billion.

"He supposedly draws a state salary of something like USD 110,000 a year," said Szubin. "That is not an accurate statement of the man's wealth, and he has long-time training and practices in terms of how to mask his actual wealth."

The programme also featured an interview with Dimitry Skarga, who used to run state shipping company Sovcomflot.

He alleged he managed the transfer of a USD 35-million yacht to Putin from Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich, whose lawyers dismissed the claims as speculation.

Putin's spokesman told the BBC that "none of these questions or issues needs to be answered, as they are pure fiction".

The Russian president earned about 3.7 million rubles (USD 104,000) and owns three Russian-made cars, a 77-square-metre flat, a garage and a plot of land, according to a declaration of assets published on the Kremlin's website in 2014.

Putin's modest declared earnings are by far the lowest among Kremlin officials, and below most ministers, many of whom boast fleets of luxury vehicles and multiple houses in European countries.

Putin, a former KGB agent, has previously scoffed at claims he was Europe's richest man, saying: "It's simply rubbish. They just picked all of it out of someone's nose and smeared it across their little papers."

Moscow also on Thursday dismissed as a "joke" a British inquiry's findings that Putin "probably approved" the killing of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko a decade ago in London.

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London, Jan 21 (IANS) The murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 in Britain was "probably" approved by President Vladimir Putin, an inquiry has found.

Putin is likely to have signed off the poisoning of Litvinenko with polonium-210 in part due to personal "antagonism" between the pair, it said, BBC reported.

Home Secretary Theresa May said the murder was a "blatant and unacceptable" breach of international law.

But the Russian Foreign Ministry said the public inquiry was "politicised".

It said: "We regret that the purely criminal case was politicised and overshadowed the general atmosphere of bilateral relations."

Dmitry Preskov, Putin's spokesman, said Moscow's official response to the report will happen through "diplomatic channels", the Russian news agency Interfax was quoted as saying.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain would have to go on having "some sort of relationship with them (Russia)" because of the Syria crisis, but it would be done with "clear eyes and a very cold heart".

The long-awaited report into Litvinenko's death found that two Russian men - Andrei Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun - deliberately poisoned the 43-year-old in London in 2006 by putting the radioactive substance polonium-210 into his drink at a hotel.

Sir Robert Owen, the public inquiry chairman, said he was "sure" Litvinenko's murder had been carried out by the two men and that they were probably acting under the direction of Moscow's FSB intelligence service, and approved by the organisation's chief, Nikolai Patrushev, as well as the Russian president.

He said Litvinenko's work for British intelligence agencies, his criticism of the FSB and Putin, and his association with other Russian dissidents were possible motives for his killing.

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Islamabad, Jan 2 (IANS) Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif said the country would get rid of terrorism in 2016.

The new year will be the year when terrorism will end in Pakistan, Dawn online quoted Sharif as saying on Friday.

General Sharif, however, stressed the need for the entire nation to extend support to the armed forces in this regard.

He said there was a nexus between terrorism, corruption and crime. The elements involved in terrorism and financial corruption had developed close relations to help each other out.

All the "negative forces" in the nexus would be defeated, Sharif said.

The new year would be the "year of national solidarity", he said. The nation would witness the birth of peace and justice in the year.

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Tripoli, Jan 1 (IANS/AKI) Muammar Gaddafi tried to engineer a 'political' marriage between his second son and planned heir and one of Russian president Vladimir Putin's daughters, a former advisor to the late Libyan dictator has claimed.

Gaddafi approached a bemused Putin to ask if one of his daughters could wed his second son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, with the aim of strengthening ties between Libya and Russia, Mohammed Abd El Motaleb al-Houni told al-Arabiya.

"Gaddafi talked about it with Putin, proposing his son as a future son-in-law, but the Russian president was taken aback and said his daughter did not know Saif al-Islam," al-Houni said.

Gaddafi was ousted and killed in an NATO-back revolt in 2011. Saif al-Islam was in July sentenced to death by a court in Tripoli in a mass trial of former regime figures widely criticised by human rights groups.

Saif al-Islam has been in custody in the Libyan mountain town of Zintan since he was caught trying to flee Libya in the aftermath of the 2011 revolution. The militia holding him has refused to hand him over.

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Vienna, Dec 29 (AP) A landmark nuclear deal with Tehran moved closer to implementation with US Secretary of State John Kerry announcing that tons of enriched uranium that could potentially be turned to use in atomic arms were on a ship heading from Iran to Russia.

Kerry yesterday hailed the development as "one of the most significant steps Iran has taken toward fulfilling its commitments" under the July 14 nuclear agreement, in comments that expanded on information The Associated Press received from a senior Russian diplomat earlier in the day.

That envoy, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorised to be cited by name, said Iran had permitted Russia to take possession of and ship out most of its low-enriched uranium. Low-enriched uranium is suitable primarily to generate nuclear power and needs substantial further enrichment for use in the core of a nuclear warhead.

But Kerry said that the shipment also included the remaining stock of Iranian uranium that already had been enriched to higher levels, just a technical step away from what is needed to form the fissile core of a nuclear bomb.

The July 14 deal aims to reduce Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons something Tehran says it has no interest in.

Under the agreement, Iran committed to shipping out all except 300 kilograms (about 650 pounds) of its low-enriched uranium and to either export the uranium it has that is enriched to near 20 percent, process it into low-enriched uranium or turn it into fuel plates to power a research reactor.

Kerry indicated both steps were completed Monday, announcing that more than 25,000 pounds (12.5 tons) of enriched "uranium materials" were in the hold of a Russian ship steaming toward Russia. He said the shipment included the near-20 percent enriched uranium that had not yet been turned into fuel plates.

The nuclear deal aims at increasing the time Tehran would need to make a nuclear weapon from present US estimates of a few months to at least a year. Kerry said the export of enriched uranium means a significant move toward that goal by more than tripling "our previous two-three month breakout timeline."

The July agreement also commits Iran to sharply reduce the number of its centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium, as well as to re-engineer a reactor to cut its output of plutonium another pathway to nuclear weapons. The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, which is monitoring the progress of the Iranian implementation, says both of those measures are well underway.

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London, Dec 28 (IANS) A top Afghan militant commander has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin held an unpublicized meeting with

Mansour, the current Taliban chief, to discuss possible Russian support against the IS insurgents who in recent weeks have been advancing in Afghanistan, a media report said.

Putin is known to be concerned that the IS militants are gaining a foothold in Afghanistan, which borders the former Soviet satellite states of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

A Taliban commander told The Sunday Times that his group had been promised Russian arms and financial support only weeks before a resurgence in violence that has seen key districts in the southern province of Helmand fall under the Taliban control.

Putin is said to have met Mulla Mansour over dinner at a late night meeting on a military base in Tajikistan in September.

The Russian president was present in Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, on September 14 and 15 to attend a regional counter-terrorism meeting, however, the Taliban denied reports that their representatives met Russian officials to discuss the common threat from the IS in Afghanistan.

In a statement, the Taliban said they were in contact with countries in the region but had not discussed support against the Islamic State.

“The Islamic Emirate has made and will continue to make contacts with many regional countries to bring an end to the American invasion of our country and we consider this our legitimate right,” it said, using its formal name.

“But we do not see a need for receiving aid from anyone concerning so-called Daesh and neither have we contacted nor talked with anyone about this issue.”

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Moscow, Dec 28 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to abolish the Federal Space Agency, the Kremlin's website said.

A state-run space corporation will be created instead, Tass news agency cited the decree as saying.

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Moscow: Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with the President of Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin in a private tete-a-tete at Moscow airport, in Russia on Dec 23, 2015. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

Moscow, Dec 24 (IANS) India and Russia on Thursday signed 16 agreements, including in areas of helicopter and nuclear reactor manufacturing, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited business leaders to be a partner of India's prosperity.

“As I look to the future, I see Russia as a significant partner in India’s economic transformation and in shaping a balanced, multi-polar world,” Modi said while addressing a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin here after the annual summit-level meeting between the two sides.

He also voiced his appreciation for the strong India-Russia partnership in defence, diplomacy and development.

“President Putin and I are moving towards expanding India-Russia economic ties,” he said, while expressing confidence that there would be an increase in trade and investment.

Referring to the 16 agreements signed, he said: “The agreement on manufacture of Kamov 226 helicopter in India is the first project for a major defence platform under 'Make in India' mission.”

“The pace of our cooperation in nuclear energy is increasing,” he said.

“We are making progress on 12 Russian nuclear reactors at two sites.”

According to a programme of action agreed between India's Department of Atomic Energy and the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), there will be localisation of manufacturing in India of Russian-designed nuclear reactor units.

Modi also said that the world must unite to fight terrorism without distinguishing between terror groups.

“The world must unite and combat terror without distinguishing between terror groups and target countries,” he said, adding both India and Russia "are one in our belief that world must unite against terrorism”.

The prime minister stressed on the necessity for a dialogue for an early political settlement in West Asia.

Among the other agreements signed on Thursday are on railways, solar energy, heavy engineering, hydrocarbons

Following the summit-level talks, Modi and Putin jointly addressed chief executives of Indian and Russian companies.

“I am here to invite our partner in security to become our partner in prosperity also,” Modi said.

“Russia has and will always be a vital & long-term partner, not only in energy and mineral resources, but in cutting edge technologies too,” Modi said, according to tweets posted by external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup.

“The good news is that our trade and business relations are becoming vibrant. A number of Russian and Indian companies are working together,” he said.

According to the prime minister, nature has destined India and Russia to work together.

“From hydrocarbons, our cooperation is moving to the hardest form of carbon - diamonds,” he said.

On his part, President Putin said that high technology, innovation, energy, aircraft building, pharmaceuticals and diamonds are promising areas for India-Russian cooperation.

Around 19 Indian CEOs have travelled with Modi for this meeting. According to sources, around 34 business leaders from various Russian companies participated in the meeting.

Earlier on Thursday, Modi visited Russia's National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC), also known as EMERCOM, a multi-level coordination centre designed to provide inter-agency coordination and alert people about the threat of emergency situations.

According to an official statement, Modi was given an overview of the actual functioning and real-time monitoring operations of the centre. He was informed in detail about the coordination among various disaster-relief agencies, which is done by this centre.

Before heading for the Kremlin, Modi laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier here.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed in World War II and is located by the Kremlin wall in the Alexandrovsky Garden.

Modi also addressed a gathering of Friends of India and met members of the Indian community in Russia.

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Moscow: Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with the President of Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin in a private tete-a-tete at Moscow airport, in Russia on Dec 23, 2015. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

Moscow, Dec 24 (IANS) India sees Russia as a reliable friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin as the 16th annual summit between the two countries got underway here on Thursday.

After exchanging greetings at the start of the talks with the Putin, Modi said India and Russia were now cooperating in the international and political arenas more actively, TASS news agency reported.

The prime minister said he saw Russia as a reliable friend that had always supported India at difficult times, adding that his country aimed to continue its strategic partnership with Russia.

Putin, on his part, said that Russia and India were consistently and confidently developing the strategic partnership.

"I am pleased to note, and I am happy to do that, that we are consistently and confidently developing the privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia," he said.

The Russian president noted that the bilateral relations were developing in all directions - in international politics, economy and the humanitarian area.

He added that a number of issues required special attention, "especially in today's challenging economic environment."

According to Putin, Modis visit was very timely and would make it possible to "synchronise watches" on the main areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Modi also offered his condolences to Putin over a terrorist attack against a Russian A-321 passenger airliner in the Sinai and the downing of a Su-24 warplane over Syria saying the Indian people were mourning together with Russia.

Russian Kogalymavia Flight 9268 came down about half-an-hour after leaving the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh while on the way to St. Petersburg in a terrorist attack on October 31. All 224 people on board the plane were killed.

In another tragic development on November 24, a Turkish F-16 fighter jet brought down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber, which, Ankara alleges, violated the country's airspace near the Syrian border. The Russian defence ministry said the warplane was flying over Syrian territory and had never violated Turkey's airspace.

Ahead of Thursday's talks, Modi laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier located by the Kremlin wall in the Alexandrovsky Garden.

Earlier in the day, Modi visited Russia's National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC), also known as EMERCOM, in Moscow and was given a rundown on how its works.

Modi and Putin are scheduled to meet a delegation of Indian and Russian CEOs in the Kremlin.

Modi will address a gathering of Friends of India and also meet members of the Indian community in Russia.

Modi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday and was hosted for a private dinner by President Putin.

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Moscow, Dec 24 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin presented visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a page from the diary of Mahatma Gandhi and an 18th-century Indian sword, an official statement said on Thursday.

Putin presented the items to Modi while hosting the latter for a private dinner on Wednesday evening

President Putin presented to the Prime Minister a page from the diary of Mahatma Gandhi. The page contains Gandhiji's handwritten notes, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.

Putin also gifted Modi a late-18th-century Indian sword from Bengal province that features intricate silver artwork.

Modi arrived in Moscow on Wednesday to a red carpet welcome for a two-day visit during which he will attend the 16th India-Russia annual summit meeting.

During this visit, a raft of agreements spanning a broad spectrum of sectors are expected to be signed following summit-level talks on Thursday between the two countries with trade being a major focus area.

Modi and Putin are scheduled to meet a delegation of Indian and Russian CEOs in the Kremlin.

Modi will address a gathering of Friends of India and also meet members of the Indian community in Russia.

The prime minister's itinerary includes a visit to Russia's National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) in Moscow on Thursday.

The NCMC is a multi-level coordination centre designed to provide inter-agency coordination and alert the people about the threat of emergency situations. The capabilities of the NCMC include state-of-art real time monitoring, data collection, analysis and modelling.

Putin Gifts Modi Gandhi's Notes, Indian Sword

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New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the Russian capital for summit-level talks on Wednesday, a $600 million deal with Moscow for the purchase of Kamov helicopters is on the cards, with a large "Make in India" component, sources here said.

"This project will be implemented under the inter-governmental pact between India and Russia," a source said.

"Out of 200 Kamovs, some 60 will be made in Russia and the remaining will be assembled and manufactured in India under the public-private partnership mode."

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is the lead for the Indian side.

Recently, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had visited Moscow and the Kamov project was among the items on his agenda for discussions with the Russian side. Ahead of the visit, the minister had specifically mentioned the Kamov project.

"For example, the project for joint production of Kamov Ka-226 helicopter -- I hope to use my visit to have it inked on paper when the prime minister arrives. Also the purchase of S-400 missile systems. We anticipate these projects to be coordinated by next month," he had said.

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Moscow, Dec 23 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday arrived in Moscow on a two-day visit during which he will attend the 16th India-Russia annual summit.

After alighting from the aircraft, he was welcomed with a ceremonial guard of honour at the airport.

During the visit, a raft of agreements spanning a broad spectrum of sectors are expected to be signed following summit-level talks on Thursday between the two countries with trade being a major focus area.

Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet a delegation of Indian and Russian CEOs in the Kremlin.

Modi will address a gathering of Friends of India and also meet members of the Indian community in Russia.

The prime minister's itinerary includes a visit to Russia's National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC) in Moscow on Thursday.

The NCMC is a multi-level coordination centre designed to provide inter-agency coordination and alert the people about the threat of emergency situations. The capabilities of the NCMC include state-of-art real time monitoring, data collection, analysis and modelling.

In a pre-departure statement, Modi said he was very optimistic about his visit.

"Today I will commence my visit to Russia, my first bilateral visit after we formed the Government. I am very optimistic about the outcome of this visit," Modi said in the statement.

"History is witness to the close ties India and Russia have had over the decades. Russia remains one of India's most valued friends in the world," he stated.

"My visit will deepen the cooperation between India and Russia in the economic, energy and security spheres. We also want to increase cooperation in science and technology, mining among other sectors. Trade ties between India and Russia can increase even further, to benefit not only our two nations but also the world."

He also stated that there would be extensive deliberations with President Putin.

"There will be an interaction with Russian businesspersons to invite them to invest in India. I will also attend a 'Friends of India’ programme. I am certain that this visit will substantially take forward the already strong people to people ties between our nations",” the prime minister said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File Photo: IANS)

New Delhi, Dec 23 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he is very optimistic about his two-day visit to Russia starting Wednesday during which he will attend the 16th India-Russia annual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin

"“Today I will commence my visit to Russia, my first bilateral visit after we formed the Government. I am very optimistic about the outcome of this visit",” Modi said in a pre-departure statement.

"“History is witness to the close ties India and Russia have had over the decades. Russia remains one of India's most valued friends in the world",” he stated.

He recalled the time when as Gujarat chief minister in 2001 he accompanied then prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Russia.

“"This was, perhaps, one of the first India-Russia annual Summits, a practice that goes on till date",” Modi stated.

“My visit will deepen the cooperation between India and Russia in the economic, energy and security spheres. We also want to increase cooperation in science and technology, mining among other sectors. Trade ties between India and Russia can increase even further, to benefit not only our two nations but also the world.”

He also stated that there would be extensive deliberations with President Putin.

“"There will be an interaction with Russian businesspersons to invite them to invest in India. I will also attend a ‘Friends of India’ programme. I am certain that this visit will substantially take forward the already strong people to people ties between our nations",” the prime minister said.

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Kolkata, Dec 21 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take up the issue of declassifying secret Russian files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit to Moscow, a Bose family member said here on Monday.

Modi will leave for Moscow on Wednesday for a two-day visit to the country.

Some members of the Bose family recently held a meeting with Modi and urged him to raise with Putin the matter of declassifying secret files on Netaji maintained by erstwhile spy agency KGB.

The family members, who have long been campaigning for publication of all classified files on Netaji, claim that the Russian files contain vital information and have a decisive role to play in unravelling Netaji's whereabouts post August 18, 1945, when he was alleged to have been killed in a plane crash in Taiwan, but the theory has been disputed by many.

"Modi is committed to resolving the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Netaji. During our meeting, Modi said the declassification of the files is a part of the agenda of his meeting with Putin," Netaji's grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose said on the sidelines of a book launch here.

"The two governments are already engaged in dialogue over the issue with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj seeking her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov's cooperation.

"But we urged Modi that it needs to be taken up at the level of respective heads of the state, to which he consented," added Chandra Kumar Bose.

In October, Modi announced that the Centre will begin declassifying secret files on the nationalist leader beginning January 23, his birth anniversary.

The Bose family has also urged the central government to make similar requests to the governments of Japan, Britain and Germany, over claims that they also possess classified files on Netaji.

The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal in September made public 64 secret files which revealed extensive spying on some of Netaji's close family members after independence.

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Washington, Dec 18 (IANS) Republican presidential frontrunner and Russian President Vladimir Putin seem set to form a mutual admiration society going by their high praise for each other.

First, the Russian leader, during an annual news conference in Moscow, described Trump as "an outstanding and talented personality", adding: "He is a bright and talented person without any doubt."

And mirroring real estate mogul's own assessment of his campaign, Putin called Trump "the absolute leader of the presidential race", according to news reports from Moscow.

Trump was quick to return the compliment, saying it was a "great honour" to get praise from Putin and that he would "get along very well" with the Russian leader.

"It is always a great honour to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond," Trump said in a statement released by his campaign.

"I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect."

Unlike other Republican presidential contenders, Trump has often touted his ability to improve Washington-Moscow relations by working with Putin.

He has also called Putin his "stable mate" since both were featured on the same episode of a recent edition of CBS' "60 Minutes".

He and the Russian leader "are very different" Trump said in October. But "I think that I would at the same time get along very well with him".

"He does not like Obama at all. He doesn't respect Obama at all. And I'm sure that Obama doesn't like him very much," Trump said then.

"But I think that I would probably get along with him very well. And I don't think you'd be having the kind of problems that you're having right now."

Putin referenced Trump's reported desire "to reach another, deeper level of relations" with Russia in his remarks Thursday.

"What else can we do but to welcome it? Certainly, we welcome it," Putin said.

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New Delhi, Dec 17 (IANS) Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Russia, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday approved a deal to buy Russian S-400 missile systems, defence ministry sources here said.

India will be buying five units of the missile system.

The sources said negotiations for the deal will be done during the prime minister's visit, and a preliminary agreement is expected at that time.

The DAC meeting was chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Modi will be in Russia on a state visit from December 23 to 25.

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Damascus, Dec 16 (IANS)

Warplanes, believed to be Russians, carried out an air strike on the Islamic State (IS)-held town of Maskaneh in the eastern countryside of Aleppo on Tuesday, targeting a marketplace, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Xinhua reported.

The number of deaths is expected to rise due to the high number of critically wounded people, the Britain-based watchdog group added.

Other activists placed the death toll in Maskaneh at 30.

Opposition activists often accuse the Russian air force, which has been striking IS positions for over two months, of targeting civilian areas, a claim totally denied by Moscow.

Meanwhile, the Observatory said clashes continued on Tuesday in the southern countryside of Aleppo, where the army backed by the Russian air strikes have been trying to advance against an array of jihadi groups.

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Cairo, Dec 14 (IANS)

"The technical investigative committee has not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action," Xinhua cited the civil aviation ministry as saying.

A Russian passenger airliner crashed in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on October 31 killing all 224 people on board.

The US and other Western officials have maintained that a bomb blew the Russian plane apart about 25 minutes after it took off from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh.

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Moscow, Dec 9 (IANS) Russia attacked the Islamic State positions in Syria with Kalibr missiles fired by the submarine deployed in the Mediterranean Sea, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"It was the first time that Kalibr cruise missiles were fired by the Rostov-on-Don submarine from the Mediterranean Sea," Tass news agency quoted Shoigu as saying during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to Shoigu, the missile launch was carried out by the sub from a submerged position, striking two major targets of the IS.

"The objectives were two major points of terrorists in Syrian Raqqa province ... We are confident to say that the strikes brought quite significant damage to an ammunition warehouse and a mine plant, as well as to the oil infrastructure," Shoigu said.

According to him, both Israel and the US were informed of Russia's plans of striking terrorist positions using missiles from the submarine.

The Russian minister also said that in the past three days, more than 300 sorties were made by Tu-22 long-range bombers and other Russian aircraft deployed at Syria's Hmeimim airbase, hitting more than 600 targets.

During the meeting, Putin urged an analysis of the damage and functions of new high-precision weapons which were used in Russian airstrikes in Syria.

"Both Kalibr and Kh-101 missiles have performed well. These are new, state-of-the-art highly efficient weapons, and now we see it, " Putin said. "These weapons can be equipped with both conventional and special, even nuclear, warheads. Naturally, such weapons will not be needed in anti-terrorist efforts and I hope they will not be needed at all."

Moreover, the black box of the downed Russian Su-24 warplane in late November was presented to Putin at the meeting.

"As I understand, the flight data recorder will give us the opportunity to confirm the Su-24's trajectory from the moment of its take-off to its crash," Putin said. "This means we will be able to understand where it was (at the moment of the downing) and where the treacherous strike from the Turkish Air Force was conducted."

Putin urged a "thorough, attentive and high-professional" study of the flight recorder with international experts, inviting "anybody who would like to join."

The Su-24 was shot down on November 24 by Turkey over purported airspace violation of Turkey by the Russian fighter jet and ignorance of multiple warnings, while Russia insisted the Su-24 flew over Syrian skies during the whole flight.

According to Putin, the information obtained from the flight recorder would not change Russia's attitude to what the Turkish authorities did.

"I repeat that we used to regard Turkey not only as a friendly country also as an ally in fighting terrorism. No one expected such a mean and treacherous stab in the back," Putin said.

Ties between Moscow and Ankara worsened drastically after the incident, with Russia imposing a series of sanctions on Turkey and calling off its military contacts with Turkey.

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Moscow, Dec 3 (IANS)

Accusing the Turkish leadership of supporting terrorism, Putin said Russia is aware of who in Turkey was earning money from illegal oil trade and abetting terrorism, Xinhua reported.

Meanwhile, the Russian leader noted that Russia considers the Turkish people friendly, and that Moscow has no intention to engage in saber-rattling with Ankara over the downing of Russian jet.

In a signal of imposing more sanctions against Ankara, Putin said Turkey will not just suffer from limitations on agricultural products and construction companies.

Russia has slapped a set of sanction measures on Turkey in response to Ankara's refusal to make any apology for the incident.

Currently, there were no signs of any rapid recuperation of the ties between the two countries.

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Moscow, Dec 2 (IANS)

The resolution signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, bans from January 1 imports of foodstuffs as well as cloves and table salt, Xinhua reported.

It suspends activities of the Russian-Turkish trade and investment negotiations.

The resolution cuts the number of annual licenses for 2016 granted to Turkish cargo transporters by road to 2,000 with a prospect of cancelling them altogether.

Meanwhile, according to the resolution, Turkish citizens without a labour contract or a civil contract signed before December 31, 2015, would not be allowed to work in Russia from January 1, 2016.

The bilateral agreement on visa-free travel was suspended, together with charter flights between the two countries except those meant to repatriate Russian tourists from Turkey.

Also on Tuesday, the ministry of education and science said it was curtailing cooperation with Turkey's universities and planned shortly to repatriate all Russian students in the near future.

The detailed sanctions came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a decree on economic sanctions against Turkey.

Turkish air force shot down the Russian jet on November 24, saying it had violated the country's airspace, whereas Moscow insisted the Su-24 stayed over Syria during its flight.

Turkey was Russia's fifth largest trade partner this year before setting of the sanctions, according to the most recent Russian customs data.

Russia's imports from Turkey were $3.1 billion in January-September 2015, with Ankara's turnover of goods with Moscow equalling $18.1 billion (4.6 percent) of all Russian trade.

Russia's exports to Turkey consist mainly of mineral resources, including hydrocarbons, while main import items were vegetables, fruit and textiles.

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Ankara, Nov 24 (IANS)

According to Tukish authorities, two F-16 warplanes shot down the Russian jet after it failed to heed at least 10 warnings within the rules of engagement, state-run Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The Rusian defence ministry refuted the claim that the fighter violate the Turkish airspace.

The jet crashed into tents in Latakia's Yamadi village near the Syrian border where Turkmens are currently staying, according to Turkmen sources. Its two pilots were seen landing with the aid of parachutes, witnesses said.

One of the pilots was killed and the other was captured by Turkmen forces in the region.

Video footage showed the plane crashing into mountains in Latakia province.

The Turkish General Staff released the radar trace analysis of the Russian jet. It shows the plane entered the Turkish airspace over the southern province of Hatay while circling over northern Syria.

However, the Russian defence ministry said the downed jet, which was at an altitude of 6,000 metres, did not violate Turkish airspace.

The ministry stressed that "throughout its flight, the aircraft remained exclusively above Syrian territory," BBC reported.

"Objective monitoring data shows it," the ministry added.

Turkey is a member of the NATO military alliance, which views an attack on one member as an attack on all.

A NATO official told CNN on Tuesday that the alliance was monitoring the events closely.

"We are in contact with Turkish authorities and will have to wait to see how it develops," the official said.

Turkey has warned against violations of its airspace by Russian and Syrian aircraft.

Last month, Ankara said Turkish F-16s had intercepted a Russian jet that crossed its border and two Turkish jets had been harassed by an unidentified Mig-29.

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador last week to warn him that there would be "serious consequences" if the Russian air force did not immediately stop bombing "civilian Turkmen villages" in Latakia province.

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The photo, which was released in a latest version of the group's English-language magazine, Dabaq, showed an improvised explosive device made from three parts: a soda can, something of a detonator and a remoter.
Also included in the magazine were pictures of purported passports that the IS said were obtained from Russian victims, with debris of the downed Russian plane as the background.

The group said in the magazine that the original plan was to bring down a plane that belongs to the Western anti-IS coalition led by the US, but after Russia started directly bombing IS targets in September, their target changed.

"After having discovered a way to compromise the security at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport and resolving to bring down a plane belonging to a nation in the American-led Western coalition against the Islamic State, the target was changed to a Russian plane," the group said.

"A bomb was smuggled onto the airplane," it added.

Just one day before the IS released those photos, Russia confirmed on Tuesday that a bomb caused the Russian airliner crash after taking off on October 31 from Egypt's Red Sea resort Sharm el-Sheikh, in the Sinai peninsula.

All 224 people on board were killed.

Moscow has said it had seen those pictures released by the IS and was still investigating.

Egypt said on Tuesday that it would consider the Russian findings on the plane crash, but an Egypt-led probe team has yet determined the cause.

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Moscow, Nov 17 (IANS)

"Traces of foreign explosives" were found on the debris from the Airbus and passenger belongings, Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Alexander Bortnikov told Russian President Vladimir Putin, media reports said.

Putin vowed to find and punish those responsible for the October 31 attack over the Sinai peninsula, the reports said.

An Islamic State affiliate had claimed responsibility for the act of terror. Nearly all the dead were Russians.

According to Bortnikov, the attack was caused by a self-made explosive device that had a power of up to one kg in TNT equivalent, TASS reported.

Details of the Bortnikov-Putin meeting were posted on the Kremlin’s website.

"It can be unambiguously said that this is a terrorist act," the security chief was quoted as saying.

"In the estimates of our specialists, a self-made explosive device with its power of up to one kg in TNT equivalent went off aboard the airliner, due to which the plane broke up in the air and this explains the spread of the plane's fuselage parts over a large distance," he said.

The Russian Kogalymavia’s A321 plane, flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, crashed around 30 minutes after take-off, 100 km to the south of Al-Arish.

The victims included all 217 passengers and seven crew members.

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"The information we have heard about the cause of the crash has not been shared with Egyptian security agencies in detail," Xinhua cited Foreign Minister Sameh Shokri as saying.

"We understand the worries of some countries ... We expected that the technical information would be provided to us," Shokri said at a joint press conference.

Shokri also said the Egyptian government has responded in cooperation and coordination amid similar international criteria on plane crash accidents.

As an investigation is still underway, Russia on Friday suspended all flights to Egypt as speculation rose over possible terrorist attacks on the Russian plane that crashed over Sinai peninsula on October 31.

The suspension has left some 79,000 Russians currently in Egypt, mainly in the resorts of Hurghada and Sharm al-Sheikh, according to Russia's state tourism agency Rostourism on Saturday.

Meanwhile, British planes have landed in Cyprus in readiness to start evacuation of some 20,000 British tourists stranded in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Cypriot authorities said on Friday.

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Washington, Nov 1 (IANS)

Kerry spoke to Rusian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday "to express deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the crash in Egypt of Kogalymavia Flight 9268," US State Department said in a statement.

Kerry also offered to provide US assistance, if needed, it added.

The Airbus A-321 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia, with 217 Russian passengers and seven crew members onboard, crashed early Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea Resort Sharm el-Sheikh. No survivor has been reported from the crash.

The Sinai-based group "Sinai State" that announced loyalty to the terror group Islamic State (IS) said in a statement posted on Twitter that its militants managed to target the Russian plane and killed all its passengers, in revenge for Russia's recent military operations against the IS in Syria.

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