Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday warned that anti-white racism might be building in the United States and said that political correctness "taken to the extreme" would have lamentable consequences.

Russia said Tuesday that Western sanctions are ineffective and vowed to respond in kind following reports that the European Union and the United States are preparing new penalties against Moscow.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday denied recent media investigations that alleged the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) had followed and poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Russia's foreign minister on Thursday accused the West of interfering in Belarus as he met strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko who has faced months of protests over his disputed re-election.

The EU on Wednesday agreed to impose sanctions on six people and one entity over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny with a Novichok nerve agent, diplomats told AFP.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday warned of the risks of Washington sending mixed signals on an American withdrawal from northern Syria.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced Wednesday that he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov this week, as part of efforts to save a key arms control treaty that is on the point of collapse.

The foreign ministers of Russia and Japan met in Moscow on Monday pushing ahead with efforts to strike a peace deal and end a decades-old dispute over four strategic islands.

The Kremlin on Friday rejected as unfounded the US case against Russian national Maria Butina, who has pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal foreign agent in the United States.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Saturday that the arrest of a Russian gun rights enthusiast on espionage charges in the United States was "unacceptable", his ministry said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a top North Korean official are set to continue talks in New York on Thursday to try to salvage next month's nuclear summit, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov flew into Pyongyang for discussions with Kim Jong Un.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Thursday called for dialogue between Israel and Iran following Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria that marked a sharp escalation between the two enemies.