By , OSLO/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Norway said on Wednesday it had expelled a Russian diplomat on suspicion of espionage, drawing a rebuke from Russia’s embassy, which said the accusation was groundless.Norway’s decision followed the recent arrest in Oslo of a Norwegian citizen suspected of illegally handing information to the diplomat, whom police believe to be an intelligence officer.“He has engaged in actions that are incompatible with his role and status as a diplomat,” Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman Trude Maaseide said of the Russian man.Norway’s PST security police said on Monday...…By , OSLO/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Norway said on Wednesday it had expelled a Russian diplomat on suspicion of espionage, drawing a rebuke from Russia’s embassy, which said the accusation was groundless.Norway’s decision followed the recent arrest in Oslo of a Norwegian citizen suspected of illegally handing information to the diplomat, whom police believe to be an intelligence officer.“He has engaged in actions that are incompatible with his role and status as a diplomat,” Norwegian foreign ministry spokeswoman Trude Maaseide said of the Russian man.Norway’s PST security police said on Monday...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he wanted neighbouring Belarus to reactivate stalled plans for more integration with Russia after a contested election win left Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, an on-off Russian ally, on the defensive.Putin made his suggestion as the opposition in Belarus rejected official election results handing Lukashenko a landslide re-election victory, saying that talks needed to begin on a peaceful transfer of power.Thousands of people unhappy with the results clashed with police across Belarus on Sunday night.The Russian leader...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he wanted neighbouring Belarus to reactivate stalled plans for more integration with Russia after a contested election win left Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, an on-off Russian ally, on the defensive.Putin made his suggestion as the opposition in Belarus rejected official election results handing Lukashenko a landslide re-election victory, saying that talks needed to begin on a peaceful transfer of power.Thousands of people unhappy with the results clashed with police across Belarus on Sunday night.The Russian leader...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday Russia might need to call in the army to help tackle the coronavirus crisis and warned the contagion was getting worse after the number of confirmed cases rose by a record daily amount.Slideshow Russia reported 2,558 new cases on Monday, bringing the overall nationwide tally to 18,328. Eighteen people diagnosed with the virus died overnight, pushing the death toll to 148. Though rising, the number of deaths remains much lower for now than in countries such as the United States and Italy.Moscow, the worst-hit area, and several...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Monday Russia might need to call in the army to help tackle the coronavirus crisis and warned the contagion was getting worse after the number of confirmed cases rose by a record daily amount.Slideshow Russia reported 2,558 new cases on Monday, bringing the overall nationwide tally to 18,328. Eighteen people diagnosed with the virus died overnight, pushing the death toll to 148. Though rising, the number of deaths remains much lower for now than in countries such as the United States and Italy.Moscow, the worst-hit area, and several...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, April 26 (Reuters) - Russia ordered jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny's network of regional offices to suspend activities on Monday as a court behind closed doors began to consider outlawing them and his Anti-Corruption Foundation.Moscow's state prosecutors want the court to ban the network as extremist, dealing a body blow to the activists led by President Vladimir Putin's most high-profile opponent, who last week ended a more than three-week hunger strike. If it is declared extremist, authorities will gain the legal...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, April 26 (Reuters) - Russia ordered jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny's network of regional offices to suspend activities on Monday as a court behind closed doors began to consider outlawing them and his Anti-Corruption Foundation.Moscow's state prosecutors want the court to ban the network as extremist, dealing a body blow to the activists led by President Vladimir Putin's most high-profile opponent, who last week ended a more than three-week hunger strike. If it is declared extremist, authorities will gain the legal...WW…

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden would be contingent on U.S. behaviour after reportedly telling Washington to scrap a plan to impose new sanctions on Russia.Biden, in a phone call on Tuesday, proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes and told Moscow to reduce tensions over Ukraine triggered by a Russian military build-up. Moscow says the build-up is a three-week snap military drill in response...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comMOSCOW, April 14 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said on Wednesday that a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden would be contingent on U.S. behaviour after reportedly telling Washington to scrap a plan to impose new sanctions on Russia.Biden, in a phone call on Tuesday, proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes and told Moscow to reduce tensions over Ukraine triggered by a Russian military build-up. Moscow says the build-up is a three-week snap military drill in response...WW…

By , BERLIN/MOSCOW (Reuters) -German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to pull back the Kremlin’s military build-up near the border with Ukraine, while he in turn accused Kyiv of “provocative actions” in the conflict region.Slideshow Ukraine has raised the alarm over an increase in Russian forces near its eastern border as violence has risen along the line of contact separating its troops from Russian-backed separatists in its Donbass region.“The Chancellor demanded that this build-up be unwound in order to de-escalate the situation,” Germany’s...…By , BERLIN/MOSCOW (Reuters) -German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to pull back the Kremlin’s military build-up near the border with Ukraine, while he in turn accused Kyiv of “provocative actions” in the conflict region.Slideshow Ukraine has raised the alarm over an increase in Russian forces near its eastern border as violence has risen along the line of contact separating its troops from Russian-backed separatists in its Donbass region.“The Chancellor demanded that this build-up be unwound in order to de-escalate the situation,” Germany’s...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it would extend a punitive slowdown of Twitter until May 15, though it acknowledged the U.S. social media company had speeded up deletion of what Moscow calls banned content.Moscow has traditionally taken a more hands-off role in policing the internet than neighbouring China. But as friction has grown this year over the arrest and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, it has signalled a tougher line.Russia has since March impeded the speed of Twitter for not removing content it deems illegal, and threatened to block it entirely. Photos and...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it would extend a punitive slowdown of Twitter until May 15, though it acknowledged the U.S. social media company had speeded up deletion of what Moscow calls banned content.Moscow has traditionally taken a more hands-off role in policing the internet than neighbouring China. But as friction has grown this year over the arrest and jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, it has signalled a tougher line.Russia has since March impeded the speed of Twitter for not removing content it deems illegal, and threatened to block it entirely. Photos and...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and U.S. President Joe Biden should hold live online talks in coming days after Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and diplomatic ties sank to a new post-Cold War low.Putin, speaking on television, cited a Russian children’s playground chant to scathingly respond to Biden’s accusation with the comment that “he who said it, did it.”In an ABC News interview broadcast on Wednesday that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations, Biden said “I do” when asked if he believed...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and U.S. President Joe Biden should hold live online talks in coming days after Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and diplomatic ties sank to a new post-Cold War low.Putin, speaking on television, cited a Russian children’s playground chant to scathingly respond to Biden’s accusation with the comment that “he who said it, did it.”In an ABC News interview broadcast on Wednesday that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations, Biden said “I do” when asked if he believed...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and U.S. President Joe Biden should hold live online talks in coming days after Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and diplomatic ties sank to a new post-Cold War low.Putin, speaking on television, cited a Russian children’s playground chant to scathingly respond to Biden’s accusation with the comment that “he who said it, did it.”In an ABC News interview broadcast on Wednesday that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations, Biden said “I do” when asked if he believed...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he and U.S. President Joe Biden should hold live online talks in coming days after Biden said he thought the Russian leader was a killer and diplomatic ties sank to a new post-Cold War low.Putin, speaking on television, cited a Russian children’s playground chant to scathingly respond to Biden’s accusation with the comment that “he who said it, did it.”In an ABC News interview broadcast on Wednesday that prompted Russia to recall its Washington ambassador for consultations, Biden said “I do” when asked if he believed...WW…

By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state prosecutors said they would ask a court on Tuesday to jail opposition politician Alexei Navalny for up to three and a half years, and the Kremlin said it would not listen to U.S. complaints about his case.Riot police detained more than 5,300 people who took part in protests across Russia on Sunday calling for the release of Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin who was detained last month on his return from Germany.The political unrest is a headache for Putin, 68, who has dominated Russian politics for over two decades. The case has...…By , MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian state prosecutors said they would ask a court on Tuesday to jail opposition politician Alexei Navalny for up to three and a half years, and the Kremlin said it would not listen to U.S. complaints about his case.Riot police detained more than 5,300 people who took part in protests across Russia on Sunday calling for the release of Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin who was detained last month on his return from Germany.The political unrest is a headache for Putin, 68, who has dominated Russian politics for over two decades. The case has...WW…