Topic: Dmitry Peskov

U.S. President Joe Biden met in Belgium with the top leaders of the European Union on Tuesday to begin two days of diplomacy that will culminate with his first in-person sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Due to a doping ban, an official Russian team is prohibited from competing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, but Moscow said Wednesday wins by Russian athletes at the event will compensate for the absence.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday the Kremlin will expel 10 U.S. diplomats in response to President Joe Biden imposing sanctions against nearly three dozen Russian individuals and entities.

The U.S. government announced sanctions Thursday against nearly three dozen Russian individuals and entities for attempts to interfere in and influence the 2020 presidential election.

Russia reacted sternly Thursday to a television interview in which U.S. President Joe Biden said he thinks Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a "killer" and that he will "pay a price" for interfering in the 2020 election.

Russian officials said Friday that they "strongly condemn" U.S. airstrikes on Iranian-backed targets in eastern Syria and added that they're "closely monitoring" developments.

The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected claims by opposition leader Alexei Navalny that he duped a Russian intelligence officer into admitting there was a plot to poison him several months ago.

After refusing for several days to acknowledge former Vice President Joe Biden's election victory, the Chinese government on Friday congratulated him on becoming the president-elect of the United States.

China and Russia on Monday said they're holding off on congratulating Joe Biden as the winner of the U.S. presidential election while a defiant President Donald Trump still refuses to concede the race.

The European Union has sanctioned several members of the Russian government over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.