Russian President Vladimir Putin had a working meeting with members of the Russian government’s economic block and officials from his administration on February 20. They have discussed a plan of support to the Russian economic in 2016, TASS reports.

Russia called for a UN security council meeting on Friday, February 19, over fears of a possible Turkish ground operation in Syria. The meeting is to be called to discuss Ankara's plans for a ground operation in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

Famed American writer Harper Lee, best known for penning the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, has died at the age of 89 in her hometown of Monroeville, Alabama. The beloved Alabama novelist has died only a few months after the sequel to the famous To Kill a Mockingbird book was published, informs The Telegraph.

On February 26, Moscow will host the third session of the Russian-Arab Cooperation Forum (RACF) at the foreign minister level.

It has decided on Thursday to quit the ruling coalition, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to find new allies or risk the collapse of his government, a leader of Ukraine's Samopomich (Self-Reliance) party, Oleh Berezyuk, informs.

Dmitry Kamenshik, the owner of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, was arrested on Thursday as part of the investigation into the 2011 terrorist attack on the airport, informs The Moscow Times. Kamenshik has been charged with providing unsafe services that led to one or more deaths.

Standard & Poor's confirmed the long-term currency credit rating of Russia at the level of "BB+" with the negative outlook. The long-term national currency rating was confirmed at "BBB-", the international rating agency said on February 17.

At least 26 people have been killed and 61 injured in a rush-hour car bombing targeting military personnel in the Turkish capital Ankara, authorities said. The accident happened in close proximity to the Turkish parliament building, the Presidency of the General Staff, and Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard commands.

Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Dmitri Tarasov sported a pro-Vladimir Putin t-shirt to risk the wrath of football fans in Istanbul amid political tensions between Turkey and Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting at Novo-Ogaryovo residence in the Moscow Region with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on February 17.

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela are ready to freeze oil production at January levels if other producer countries do the same, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement after talks in Doha on February 16.

A gas explosion has completely destroyed five apartments, located vertically from the first floor to the fifth floor, in a section of a residential building in Russia's city of Yaroslavl, emergency officials and media reports said on Tuesday.