Diplomacy

The Estonian Foreign Ministry summoned the charge d'affaires of the Russian Embassy to hand him a diplomatic note on the expulsion of an employee of the Russian embassy from the country.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken proposed to strengthen the role of diplomats in determining the future borders of Ukraine, stressing that any peaceful decisions should not be taken without taking into account the opinion of Kiev.

The authorities of Saudi Arabia and Iran signed an agreement on the resumption of diplomatic relations following the talks in Beijing. The mutual opening of embassies should take place within the next two months.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (pictured) said that Russia will not allow the West to "blow up gas pipelines again" and will refuse to orient its energy policy towards the West in the future.

The Afghan authorities, represented by members of the Taliban movement*, announced the liquidation of the commander of the Islamic State branch** (DAESH**) — "Velayat Khorasan"**, who led attacks on mosques and foreign missions in the country.

US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, in an interview with reporters, said that the Chinese authorities are secretly helping Russia in conducting a special operation, despite words about supporting peace in Ukraine.

The resolution on the inclusion of the Russian Federation in the list of states "supporting international terrorism" was prepared by the Slovenian Democratic Party led by former Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

Wang Yi stated about the inviolability of relations between the two countries during a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev.

Prague has revoked the work permit of the Consulates General of the Russian Federation in Karlovy Vary and Brno.

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that Japan adheres to the course of concluding a peace treaty with Russia, and also supports sanctions against Moscow.

Russia's diplomatic missions in Turkey and Syria have not yet received information about Russians affected by earthquakes on the territory of these states.

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Feng said that the destruction of a Chinese scientific balloon that accidentally flew into the United States caused damage to relations between the two countries.

The Austrian authorities are expelling four representatives of the diplomatic corps of the Russian Federation from the country.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the lowering of the level of diplomatic relations with Estonia as a response to the actions of Tallinn. The level of diplomatic representation on both sides is lowered to the charge d'affaires. Estonian Ambassador Margus Laidre has been ordered to leave Russia by February 7.

The diplomat said that the call concerned the tragedy in Dnepropetrovsk.

Former US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan, in an interview with Foreign Policy, expressed skepticism about reports of health problems with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also noted that American intelligence has repeatedly made mistakes in such assessments.

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared the Lithuanian diplomat persona non grata after the expulsion of an employee of the Russian Embassy in Vilnius from the republic.