IRANIAN CRITICISM OF RUSSIA: An Iranian official on Tuesday accused the Kremlin of giving Israel the coordinates of its air defence systems during its 12-day war last month. Seyed Mohammad Sadr, who advises Iran's Supreme Leader, told Iranian media that the "strategic alliance" between Russia and

PUTIN-ZELENSKY TALKS: Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, suggested on Thursday that a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky wasn't imminent. He challenged Zelensky's legitimacy as Ukraine's president because he has not faced an election since 2019 and said that all the

PUTIN-ZELENSKY TALKS: Frantic diplomatic preparations are continuing to try to set up a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Switzerland and Hungary have both been put forward as potential venues. (COMMENT: The Kremlin hasn't officially commented on moves

PEACE TALKS: After meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky and several European leaders in the White House, Donald Trump telephoned Vladimir Putin to ask for a trilateral meeting. Yuri Ushakov, Putin's top aide, said the telephone conversation lasted 40 minutes. US media even reported that Trump hopes that this meeting

WEAK MEDIA LINE ON TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING: The Kremlin still appears to have dodged giving its media a strong editorial line for the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska on Friday. Stories linked to the meeting focus on side issues, such as Putin's security detail, rather than policy outcomes. (COMMENT: This

OPTIMISM AHEAD OF TRUMP-PUTIN MEETING: Russia's main TV channels have told viewers to "plan for the end of the Special Military Operation" ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska on Friday. Newspapers have been couching their commentary, though, clearly unsure what to expect ahead of the