Reliance on Russia’s military offerings has become increasingly prevalent in parts of Africa, amid an aggressive push by Moscow to lessen Western influence on the continent.

Russia said on Friday that any placement of British military assets in Ukraine under a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London would be of concern to Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the possibility of Britain setting up military bases in Ukraine under the agreement announced on Thursday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday declined to comment on a report by Bloomberg about limited talks between Russia and Ukraine in Qatar on protecting nuclear facilities from attacks.

“Any settlement that leads to a ceasefire and an end to the suffering of the people in Gaza, that contributes to Israel’s security, can only be welcomed,” Peskov said on Thursday, commenting on the deal at a daily briefing, Xinhua news agency reported.

Russia said on Monday it had downed nine Ukrainian drones that tried to attack part of the infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline, through which Russian gas flows to Turkey and Europe, and called the attack an "act of energy terrorism".

Russia on Monday said security guarantees are an “integral part” of the settlement of the Ukraine war, which is set to mark its third year next month.

The Kremlin on Thursday rejected claims by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk about alleged Russian plans to carry out terrorist attacks on airplanes worldwide.

"In general, we have discussed the sanctions before, we forecast that until the very last day of his stay in the White House, Mr Biden and his administration would do everything to leave the worst legacy in terms of bilateral relations with Russia.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that Russia values its close relations with Armenia and that the United States, which is set to sign a strategic partnership agreement with Armenia, had never played a stabilising role in the region.

Russia said on Friday that any placement of British military assets in Ukraine under a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London would be of concern to Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the possibility of Britain setting up military bases in Ukraine under the agreement announced on Thursday by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Dmitry Peskov remarked that "it would be strange if Bessent, as a minister, did not support his president’s decision"