️TASS News Roundup, February 17:

️TASS News Roundup, February 17:

▪️ The trilateral closed-door talks on the Ukrainian settlement involving Russia, the United States, and Ukraine have ended in Geneva after six hours of discussions. Participants in the trilateral negotiation on Ukraine in Geneva have agreed to continue discussions tomorrow

▪️ Tehran engages in consultations with Washington with the approval of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said.

▪️ Iran and the United States achieved “good progress” during their indirect negotiations on the nuclear dossier, Foreign Minister of Oman Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi said

▪️ The US insists that all nuclear powers, not only Russia and the United States, engage in arms control and nuclear disarmament talks, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation Christopher Yeaw said

▪️ US President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on whether to return to full-scale nuclear weapons tests, said Christopher Yeaw, Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Nonproliferation

▪️ Any Western attempts to impose a naval blockade on Russia are illegal,Russian Presidential Aide, Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolay Patrushev said. The creation of a multinational NATO offensive force in the Baltic region complicates the situation for Russia, he stated. Protection against Western piracy is the main focus of the BRICS joint naval exercises, Patrushev added

▪️ The proposal of the European Commission to penalize foreign ports and banks involved in Russian oil sales ran into resistance, Bloomberg reported

▪️ The Baltic Fleet’s corvette Stoiky participated in a Passex naval exercise with Iranian Navy vessels in the Gulf of Oman, according to the Baltic Fleet’s press service

▪️Media outlets reported information about a complete block of the Telegram messenger in Russia starting from April 1 without specifying a reason

Source: Telegram "tassagency_en"