During a phone conversation, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, conveyed to Russian President Vladimir Putin an oral message from Chinese President Xi Jinping confirming the course of strengthening bilateral ties, the Kremlin said on Tuesday

Russia reserves the right to expel a Ukrainian diplomat as a response to Kiev's recent move to declare a staffer of the Russian embassy persona non grata, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday