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Putin Receives Message from Macron before Meeting with Trump, Erdogan

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
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Putin Receives Message from Macron before Meeting with Trump, Erdogan

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

Russian President Vladimir Putin received a message from his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, mainly focusing on the Syrian crisis.

The French government’s special envoy for relations with Russia, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, conveyed Macron’s message on Syria during a meeting on Wednesday with the chairman of the Russian Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee.

In remarks to RIA Novosti, Chevenement said the message was about Syria in particular, as “France seeks to play a more influential role in the Syrian settlement.” 

Macron has adopted certain stances in preparation for cooperation with Russia on the Syrian issue, saying in previous comments that the departure of Bashar al-Assad was no longer a condition for France, as the focus must be on countering terrorism.

Meanwhile, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that Moscow was ready to hold a substantive meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vietnam on Nov. 11-12.

He noted that the two leaders would take part in the summit, and “it is logical that they can meet and discuss certain issues”, adding: “We are ready to hold a separate substantive bilateral meeting.”

Putin will also discuss the Syrian settlement with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi on November 13, Ushakov said. 

“The next international event (after the Trump meeting in Vietnam) will be on November 13, when Russian and Turkish presidents will discuss all areas of bilateral relations, and in the second part will tackle the issue of the Syrian settlement.”

“Talks will be mainly devoted to these issues,” he added.

Meanwhile, disagreements persevered between the permanent members of the Security Council over the results of a report on the chemical weapons attacks in Syria.

Head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (OPCW-UN JIM) said on Thursday that ISIS was responsible for using sulfur mustard in a September 2016 attack in Umm Hawsh, and the Syrian Government was accountable for the release of Sarin gas in an April 2017 attack in Khan Sheykhoun.

“There has been sufficient evidence of a credible and reliable nature to make its findings,” said Edmond Mulet, during a briefing on the entity’s latest findings, released on October 26.

In Moscow, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said his country could not keep silent about attempts to use the joint investigation mechanism as a tool to increase pressure on Damascus. He stressed the need to modify the JIM work mechanisms.

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Russia Hits Kyiv with Deadly Attack after Vowing Retaliation

A building burns after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A building burns after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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Russia Hits Kyiv with Deadly Attack after Vowing Retaliation

A building burns after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
A building burns after a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia pounded Kyiv with a large missile and drone attack early on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 20, authorities said, after Moscow threatened retaliation for strikes in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Multiple rounds of loud explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital throughout the early hours of the morning, according to AFP journalists.

"Tonight Kyiv region is once again enduring a mass enemy attack with strike drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles," said Mykola Kalashnyk, the head of the regional ministry administration.

The blasts caused a residential building near the government district to shake, while dozens of people took shelter in an underground metro station in the city center, AFP reporters witnessed.

Residents were instructed to stay in shelters as city authorities warned fires had broken out and city military administration head Tymur Tkachenko said one person had been killed and at least 20 wounded.

Ukrainian authorities and the US embassy had earlier warned of a possible significant attack on Kyiv after Russia said it would "punish" those responsible for deadly strikes in a part of eastern Ukraine under its control.

"The capital has come under a mass ballistic missile attack," Tkachenko wrote on Telegram early on Sunday.

He later said the air raid alert had been lifted.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said damage had been recorded in every district of Kyiv, adding that a strike on a school had sparked a fire, and another on a business center had led to people being trapped in a shelter.

- Missile attack warning -

Ukraine had been expecting a major attack after its own forces launched a drone barrage in the Russian-occupied east of the country, which Moscow said hit a college dormitory and killed at least 18 people.

Launched overnight on Thursday to Friday, the drone salvo -- one of Ukraine's deadliest such strikes in months -- also wounded 42 in Starobilsk, in the occupied Lugansk region, trapping people beneath the debris.

Ukraine denied targeting civilians, saying it had hit a Russian drone unit stationed in the Starobilsk area.

Russia's foreign ministry said on Friday that those responsible would face "inevitable and severe punishment".

On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Ukraine was "seeing signs of preparation for a combined strike on Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv".

He said on social media that Moscow may deploy "various types of weaponry" including the nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile. There were no initial reports that an Oreshnik had been used.

Similarly, the US embassy said it had "received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next 24 hours".

Ukraine regularly targets Russian-controlled areas of the country with drones, saying the strikes are retaliation for Russian attacks.

- Dormitory death toll -

Russia's emergency ministry said on Saturday it had pulled two more bodies from the rubble of the dormitory, taking the death toll to 18.

Video shared by the ministry showed dozens of rescuers sifting through what remained of a section of the five-storey building.

Most of those killed and missing were young women born between 2003 and 2008, according to a list of casualties published by the Moscow-backed governor of occupied Lugansk, Leonid Pasechnik.

"The region and the entire country share the fate of these people and the pain of their families," he said on Telegram.

The United Nations said on Friday it "strongly condemns any attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, wherever they occur", adding it could not verify details due to restricted access to the area.

Starobilsk lies about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the front line in eastern Ukraine. It was captured by Russian forces in the early months of the offensive in 2022.

Kyiv has recently expanded its drone capabilities and stepped up strikes on undisputed Russian territory, including residential areas and oil export infrastructure.

Moscow has launched mass barrages of missiles and drones at Ukraine almost daily since the full-scale offensive began in 2022, also hitting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths. It denies targeting civilians.

US-led efforts to negotiate an end to more than four years of war have slowed in recent months with Washington's attention diverted towards its conflict in the Middle East.

World

Erdogan: Türkiye Ready to Support Potential Iran Deal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
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Erdogan: Türkiye Ready to Support Potential Iran Deal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters)

Türkiye is ready to provide every kind of support during implementation of a potential ‌deal with Iran, ‌President Tayyip ‌Erdogan ⁠said in a ⁠call with US President Donald Trump and regional leaders, reported Reuters.

Erdogan's ⁠office on ‌Sunday ‌cited him ‌as saying ‌during the call that an agreement to secure ‌free passage through the Strait of ⁠Hormuz ⁠would support stability in the region, providing relief to the global economy.

World

Rescuers Race to Find Survivors after a Deadly Chinese Coal Mine Blast Kills at Least 82

TOPSHOT - A general view of rescue team members and emergency vehicles arriving at the Liushenyu coal mine after a gas explosion in Changzhi, in northern China's Shanxi province on May 23, 2026. (Photo by CNS / AFP) / China OUT
TOPSHOT - A general view of rescue team members and emergency vehicles arriving at the Liushenyu coal mine after a gas explosion in Changzhi, in northern China's Shanxi province on May 23, 2026. (Photo by CNS / AFP) / China OUT
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Rescuers Race to Find Survivors after a Deadly Chinese Coal Mine Blast Kills at Least 82

TOPSHOT - A general view of rescue team members and emergency vehicles arriving at the Liushenyu coal mine after a gas explosion in Changzhi, in northern China's Shanxi province on May 23, 2026. (Photo by CNS / AFP) / China OUT
TOPSHOT - A general view of rescue team members and emergency vehicles arriving at the Liushenyu coal mine after a gas explosion in Changzhi, in northern China's Shanxi province on May 23, 2026. (Photo by CNS / AFP) / China OUT

Rescuers in northern China looked for survivors Sunday after the country's deadliest coal mine explosion in recent years killed at least 82 people.

An Associated Press reporter witnessed police and security guarding the entrance to the mining facility located in Qinyuan county in the city of Changzhi as emergency vehicles were on site.

Hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel were sent to help with rescue efforts, state media reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a thorough investigation and accountability of those responsible, after the deadly gas explosion happened Friday evening at the Liushenyu coal mine in the province of Shanxi.

Two were missing and dozens of miners were hospitalized, local officials said late Saturday at a news conference. The death toll was revised down from 90, with officials blaming “chaotic” scenes in the aftermath and inaccurate information provided by the mine operator as the reason.

Some hospitalized miners recalled seeing smoke when the accident happened and blacking out, according to state media reports.

The coal mine has “seriously” violated the law, according to local officials, although they did not elaborate on the specific violations. China’s state broadcaster CCTV earlier reported that blueprints provided by the Liushenyu coal mine did not match the actual layout, which hampered rescue efforts.

The official Xinhua News Agency said those responsible for the company behind the mine accident had been “placed under control.”

Local authorities said following the accident that there would be a “comprehensive, blanket” inspection of the coal mining sector that would include checks of coal mines’ gas drainage, ventilation, safety monitoring systems and their underground layouts.

The inland Shanxi province, located southwest of China’s capital, Beijing, with a population of around 34 million, is China’s main coal-mining province where hundreds of thousands of miners work.

A broader inspection of coal mines could put pressure on the province’s ability to produce its annual capacity of around 1.3 billion tons of coal, which accounts for nearly a third of China’s total.

Coal remains a major energy source in China, given its high availability and low cost, even as the country accelerates its green energy transition. Mining accidents were common and authorities had implemented measures to help improve safety over the past years.