Maria Zakharova

Russia on April 23 praised Turkey's efforts in Idlib, northwestern Syria that aim to eliminate terrorists.

Speaking at a news conference in the capital, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow expects the Turkish military to separate opposition groups from what it called "terrorists" in the region.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has denied rumors that Moscow plans to recognize Turkish-occupied Cyprus which, according to some Turkish media reports, would take place in exchange for Turkey recognizing Abkhazia.

Moscow is hosting a series of negotiations on Jan. 12 to find a solution to the Libya crisis.

The top diplomats and defense chiefs of Russia and Turkey gathered in the Russian capital to assist the talks between Fayez al-Sarraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-recognized government in Tripoli, and Khalifa Haftar, eastern Libya-based military commander.

Germany accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs on Dec. 21 for imposing sanctions on companies working on a major project to supply Western Europe with Russian gas.    

A Russian spy expelled from Bulgaria has tried to recruit a director of a Bulgarian service with access to classified information, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said in an interview with BTV. According to PM Borissov, the Bulgarian employee himself informed him of the attempt for recruitment, after which appropriate actions were taken by Bulgarian authorities, BNR reported

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not comment on Bulgaria's refusal to issue a visa to the military attaché to the Russian embassy in Sofia, said ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova. Moscow will act in accordance with the principle of reciprocity in diplomacy, RIA Novosti reported.

The U.S. Central Command is replacing some of its regular troops in northern Syria with employees of private military companies (PMCs), Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Jul7 17 at a news conference in Moscow.       

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed on July 17 a conclusion adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council on the Turkish drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean.     

Moscow "cannot accept" the European Union's decision to slap Turkey with sanctions over its illegal drilling for hydrocarbon deposits in Cyprus' exclusive economic zone, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted by the TASS news agency as saying at a briefing on Wednesday.

This was stated by on Friday by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova.