DAMASCUS, Syria — A delegation of Russian officials arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for the first such visit to Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. Assad, an ally of Moscow, took refuge in Russia after his ouster in December in a lightning rebel offensive.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a special envoy arrived in Damascus. Theirs was the first such visit since President Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to Russian state news.

A Russian government delegation has arrived in Damascus for the first time since Moscow's ally President Bashar al-Assad was toppled, Russia's TASS state news agency reported on Tuesday. The delegation,

The European Commission has proposed Russian primary aluminium imports be included in its 16th package of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the proposal document seen by Reuters showed.

The European Union is preparing another package of sanctions against Russia, which is expected to include further restrictions on banks being cut off from the SWIFT system. Additionally, discussion surrounds the targeting of another 70 ships from the so-called "shadow fleet" and imposing a ban on the import of Russian aluminium,

In its latest round of sanctions, the European Union (EU) is proposing to introduce a phased ban of Russian aluminium, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 28 citing unnamed sources. The bloc, which covers 8% of its annual aluminium needs by Russian imports,