It’s less than a week until Donald Trump becomes the president of the United States – a change that could lead to a major development on the battlefield in Ukraine and Russia.
At around 8.30am UK time, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov held his annual news conference in Moscow.
Lavrov is asked about recently strengthened ties with Tehran.
“It is constructive and it is aimed at strengthening the capacities of both of Russia and Iran,” he says.
The broad idea is “to make us more capable of developing our economies, resolving social issues and ensuring our defence capabilities”.
He also says the ties are not “aimed” against any country.
Vladimir Putin is set to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow this week to sign a “comprehensive” strategic partnership agreement.
Last year, more than 350 journalists were given access to the conference.
His previous annual conferences lasted for around three hours, with reporters allowed to ask questions at the end of his speech.
Mr Trump has vowed to bring a swift end to the war, and one of his top advisers has said a call is planned with Vladimir Putin in the coming days or weeks.
US Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, told ABC that the war had become a First World War-style “meat grinder of people and resources” with “World War Three consequences”.
“Everybody knows that this has to end somehow diplomatically,” Mr Waltz said.
Asked specifically about contacts between Mr Trump and the Russian president, Mr Waltz said: “I do expect a call for, at least in the coming days and weeks. So, that would be a step and we’ll take it from there.”
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the day, but before we do, here’s what you might have missed from the last 24 hours:
- Some 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed while fighting for Russia in Ukraine, South Korea’s spy agency said;
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his forces were willing to hand over two capture North Korean soldiers in return for Russian releasing Ukrainian captives;
- Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack a pipeline used to transport Russian gas to Turkey and parts of Europe;
- Ukrainian army spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said Russian forces were bypassing the city of Pokrovsk – a key stronghold in eastern Ukraine.
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