21:40
EU DEBATING ARMS SALES TO NORTHERN ALLIANCE
A request by the United Kingdom for the European Union to raise sanctions on Afghanistan to allow arms supplies to reach the Northern Alliance opposition forces has been accepted by the 15 member states. More details...

17:14
MOSCOW AND OSLO PREPARE FOR PRESIDENTS PUTINS VISIT TO NORWAY.
A considerable task faces Moscow and Oslo in preparations for the visit of President Vladimir Putin to Norway. This was disclosed by Igor Ivanov, the Head of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, speaking in Norway en route to Washington. More details...

17:00
COMMUNISTS WERE DEVELOPING AFGHANISTAN
Opposition General Homayun Baha declares that if the Soviet Union did not conquer Afghanistan because it was not interested, and claims that the Communists were developing the country well before the Mujaheddin began the process which culminated in the Taleban. More details...

16:58
TALKS UNDERWAY IN US STATE DEPT BETWEEN IVANOV AND POWELL
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and US Secretary of State Colin Powell are now negotiating in the US State Department in Washington, D.C. More details...

13:00
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IGOR IVANOV MEETS PALESTINIAN LEADER YASSER ARAFAT IN OSLO
At a Wednesday meeting in Oslo with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov called on both sides to fulfil their commitments on resumption of high-level direct contacts. More details...

12:53
DELEGATION OF RUSSIAN PARLIAMENTARIANS ARRIVES IN SLOVAKIA
A delegation of Russian parliamentarians headed by State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov arrived on an official visit in the Slovak republic on Thursday. More details...

12:47
FOREIGN MINISTER OF RUSSIA MEETS HIS NORWEGIAN COUNTERPART IN OSLO
Foreign Minister of Norway Jan Petersen stressed at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov the continuity of the policy course by his country's new Cabinet of Ministers country for priority development of relations with Russia. More details...

11:12
COLLATERAL DAMAGE VI
Wednesday October 31st – United States military aircraft have destroyed another hospital in Afghanistan. More details...

10:45
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS FOR "SERIOUS ANALYSIS" OF ABM ISSUES
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov called for serious analysis of 1972 ABM Treaty issues being discussed as part of preparations for the summit of Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and George Bush. More details...

19:37
RUSSIA'S DEFENCE MINISTER, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY ON RUSSIAN-BRITISH CONTACTS
Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have given a high assessment of the intensity of Russian-British contacts at all levels in the current complicated international situation. More details...

18:30
PREPARATIONS FOR RUSSIA-RUMANIA BASIC TREATY DISCUSSED IN MOSCOW
Preparations for a Russian-Rumanian treaty of friendship and cooperation were discussed at consultations in Moscow between Alexander Avdeyev, Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister, and Christian Djakonescu, State Secretary of the Rumanian Foreign Ministry. More details...

18:14
RUSSIA'S MUFTI COUNCIL CHAIRMAN MEETS WITH LEBANON'S PRIME MINISTER
On Wednesday a meeting was held in Moscow between Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin, Chairman of the Russian Mufti Council, and Rafiq Hariri, Prime Minister of the Lebanese Republic. More details...

17:39
TOP AMERICAN DIPLOMAT CAME TO MOSCOW FOR CONSULTATIONS
US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage arrived Wednesday in Moscow to take part in the regular meeting of the Russian-American working group for countering the threats from Afghanistan. More details...

16:52
VISIT OF RAFIQ HARIRI IS THE HIGHEST RANKING IN HISTORY OF INDEPENDENT LEBANON
The status of the present visit of Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri to Russia and the talks in Moscow are "the highest in the history of Lebanon since the proclamation of independence in 1943," the Lebanese Ad-Diyar daily reported on Wednesday. More details...

16:46
BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY TO MEET RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER ON WEDNESDAY
Jack Straw, the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, who is currently in Moscow on a short visit, will meet on Wednesday Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, the British embassy in Moscow reported. More details...

16:02
KREMLIN REPORTS ON UPCOMING NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA'S PRESIDENT, INDIA'S PRIME MINISTER
On November 4 through 7, 2001 Prime Minister of the Republic of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee will come to Russia on a state visit. The press service of the Russian president reports that during this visit negotiations will be held between the Indian premier and the Russian head of state. More details...

15:54
A PACKAGE OF KEY AGREEMENTS TO BE SIGNED DURING A VISIT OF PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA TO RUSSIA
A package of documents is to be signed during a state visit of Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Russia which is slated for November 4-7. This was announced at a news conference on Wednesday by Ambassador of India to Russia Krishnan Raghunath. More details...

15:45
PUTIN TO MAKE PUBLIC DATE OF HIS VISIT TO BRITAIN SOON
Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon make public the date of his forthcoming visit to Great Britain, said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov with reference to the president's words Wednesday, opening negotiations with British Foreign secretary Jack Straw. More details...

15:37
INDIAN PRIME MINISTER TO VISIT MOSCOW AND ST. PETERSBURG DURING STATE VISIT TO RUSSIA
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will visit Moscow and St. Petersburg during his state visit to Russia on November 4-7, Indian Ambassador to Russia Krishnan Raghunath told a news conference in Moscow Wednesday More details...

14:52
GEORGIAN MINISTER OF STATE SECURITY RESIGNS
On Wednesday the Georgian Minister of State Security, Vakhtang Kutateladze submitted his resignation, according to the ministry's press-service. More details...

14:41
LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER COMES TO RUSSIA ON A WORKING VISIT
Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri came to Russia with a three-day working visit on Wednesday. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov was at the airport to welcome the Lebanese Prime Minister. More details...

14:24
RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN USA IS WORKING NORMALLY BUT IN A SPECIAL SECURITY REGIME
The Russian embassy in the USA is working normally but in a special security regime due to the situation in Washington. The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said this on Wednesday when asked to comment on reports by some media on the closure of the Russian embassy in Washington, reports the RIA Novosti correspondent. More details...

14:03
RUSSIA'S IVANOV, US POWELL TO MEET IN WASHINGTON THURSDAY
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will be heading for Washington later in the day for talks with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. More details...

13:31
RUSSIAN PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO MONGOLIA SCHEDULED FOR FIRST HALF OF 2002
At the Government House on Wednesday Vice Premier Aleksei Gordeyev and Mongolian Foreign Minister Luvasangiin Erdenechuluun discussed preparations for Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov's visit to Mongolia scheduled for the first half of 2002. More details...

12:22
PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT: RUSSIA MUST BECOME MORE INVOLVED
Ending his visit to the Russian Federation, Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio declares that Russia must be involved in all decision-making processes, rather than playing the role of a bystander. More details...

12:13
US SECRETARY FOR DEFENSE DONALD RUMSFELD TO COME ON WORKING VISIT TO MOSCOW SATURDAY
US Secretary for Defense Donald Rumsfeld is to come on a working visit to Moscow on Saturday. The principal aim of Rumsfeld's trip is the preparation for Russian President Vladimir Putin's official visit to the USA scheduled for mid-November, informed military-diplomatic sources in Moscow told RIA Novosti. More details...

11:39
LEBANESE PREMIER LEAVES FOR WORKING VISIT TO MOSCOW
On Wednesday Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri left for Russia for a working visit, a RIA Novosti correspondent. More details...

10:53
LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER TO COME ON THREE-DAY WORKING VISIT TO RUSSIA
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri comes on a three-day working visit to Russia on Wednesday, informed diplomatic sources told RIA Novosti. More details...

10:31
ICELAND'S MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND EXTERNAL TRADE HALLDOR ASGRIMSSON COMES ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA
Iceland's Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Halldor Asgrimsson is to come on an official visit to Russia to last till November 3 on Wednesday. More details...

09:54
HEAD OF BRITISH FOREIGN OFFICE TO ARRIVE IN MOSCOW ON A WORKING VISIT
Head of the British foreign office Jack Straw arrives in Moscow on Wednesday on an one-day working visit. More details...