An aggravation of the situation in Donbass

1 India. Negotiations

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov paid a working visit to New Delhi. A negotiation took place with the Indian Foreign Minister, Subramaniyam Jaishankar. At a joint press conference after the negotiation, Subramaniyam Jaishankar stated that the ministers had discussed the preparations for Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to India in 2021. He added that during the negotiation they discussed the matters of the nuclear energy, defense, ecology, and space. The parties also discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific region.

2 India. Negotiations

During the press conference after the talks with the Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniyam Jaishankar, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Russia is ready, if necessary, to hold an international Moscow-format meeting on the Afghan peace settlement in order to intensify the process of the inter-Afghan negotiations. Sergei Lavrov noted that Russia and India have very close positions on Afghanistan. He added that the special representatives of Russia and India for Afghanistan will remain in a close contact on a regular basis.

3 Iran. Attack on Abbas Aragchi

The ’Jamaran’ news agency reported that the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Abbas Aragchi, was attacked in Vienna. It was reported that he held talks with the Secretary General of the EU Foreign Service, Enrique Mor. After that, a representative of the Iranian opposition insulted the diplomat, and tried to attack him. The attack was stopped. The representatives of the Iranian non-systemic opposition have gathered in front of the hotel in Vienna where the meeting of the Joint Commission on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action took place. They protested against the negotiation on the nuclear deal. The first meeting of the Joint Commission of Iran and five states — Russia, the UK, Germany, China and France, takes place in Vienna. The participants of the meeting will discuss the resumption of the implementation of the Iranian nuclear deal in full, and decide the tasks to be considered by the two expert groups.

4 Iran. Uranium enrichment

The official spokesman of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Behruz Kamalwandi, stated that Tehran started testing the improved IR-9 uranium enrichment centrifuges. «The equipment is locally produced. It was created and it functions in accordance with the new standards» — the ISNA news agency quoted his words.

5 Israel. Attack

The Israeli state-run radio station ’Kan’ reported while citing the military and representatives of the Palestinian Ministry of Health that a Palestinian in a car tried to crash into a group of Israeli servicemen at a checkpoint in the West Bank. The man was shot. The IDF press service reported that “during the Israeli military operations in the village of Bir Nabala, south of the West Bank administrative center of Ramallah, the IDF soldiers set up a checkpoint on the road in the area. They noticed a car that stopped on the side of the road, and then suddenly accelerated, and began to move towards the servicemen, which put their lives at a risk. They opened fire to prevent the threat» — the press service reported.

6 Donbass. Shelling

The DPR office at the Joint Center for the Control and Coordination of the Ceasefire reported that the Ukrainian troops fired from mortars at the village near the Abakumov mine, to the west from Donetsk. “The shelling took place from the Kiev-controlled village of Nevelskoye. Four 82mm shells were fired at the village. During the shelling, a grenade launcher was used as well» — the ’Donetsk news agency’ quoted the report. The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Berlin and Paris must calm down the Ukrainian authorities due to the escalation in Donbass. Previously, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, stated that some contacts with the US administration on the situation in Donbass took place. He noted that there is provocative rhetoric from the western patrons of Kiev, mostly the USA, regarding the situation in the eastern Ukraine. «Washington should be concerned about the consequences of this policy» — the ’TASS’ news agency quoted Ryabkov. Constantine Reztsov, specially for the ANNA NEWS.