Russia

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: Moscow and Tehran will sign a declaration today on enhancing the role of international law, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday following talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: The Zhukovsky Institute research center will develop a concept and a program for the supersonic passenger jet in Russia by the end of 2021. The company made the relevant contract with the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade on June 3, according to papers on the government procurements website.

The contract price is 213 mln rubles ($3.1 mln for this year) and 504.7 mln rubles ($7.25 mln) for 2021.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: Russia is not interested in delegating its share of responsibility for the Arctic Region to other countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special envoy, senior official in the Arctic Council Nikolai Korchunov said in a video conference entitled An International Element of the Strategy for Development of the Arctic until 2035: Opportunities and Threats.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: NATO steps to expand its sphere of influence on other countries does not ramp up stability and security in Europe, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday, commenting on NATO’s decision to recognize Ukraine as an Enhanced Opportunities Partner.

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/: A total of 8,248 new COVID-19 cases have been identified across Russia over the past 24 hours, which takes the overall number of those who are known to have contracted the virus to 545,458, the anti-coronavirus center told the media on Tuesday. The daily growth rate was 1.5% against 1.6% one day before.

Moscow accounts for 1,416 newly-exposed cases, the Moscow Region, for 694, the Irkutsk Region, for 319, St. Petersburg, for 234, and the Sverdlovsk Region, for 231.

KALININGRAD, June 15. /TASS/: A helicopter regiment of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation kicked off scheduled drills at naval ranges in the Baltic Sea amid NATO’s ongoing Baltops 2020 exercise in the region, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.

"The planned exercise involves over 10 crews of Mi-24 and Mi-8 attack and military transport helicopters, and also Ka-27 and Ka-29 shipborne rotorcraft of the Baltic Fleet’s naval aviation," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/: About 50% of seriously ill coronavirus patients began recovering after blood plasma infusion, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said during his visit to сity сlinical hospital No. 52 Monday.

"As the doctors told me, 50% of [infected] people who for sure would have been placed in the intensive care unit, began recovering after infusion of blood plasma with antibodies. This is great. An unexpected turn we owe to the blood service, which was always needed and always saved people," the Mayor said.

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/: Transneft has gathered 8,420 cubic meters of fluid containing diesel fuel. The bulk of diesel fuel on the river place has been collected, the national oil pipeline operator said on Monday.

"The oil product was collected from the water surface in the volume of 8,420 cubic meters as of 10.00 am of June 15, 2020 - 620 cubic meters over the day. The oil product gathering work continues on six lines (contaminated area of the Ambarnaya River)," the company said.

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/: Moscow is ready for the next stage of lifting restrictions introduced over the coronavirus outbreak, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on his blog on Monday.

"We are registering the continued decline in the incidence of the disease and all its main parameters… We can switch over to the next stage of lifting restrictions scheduled for June 16, 2020. From tomorrow, the summer terraces of restaurants and cafes are allowed to reopen. Restrictions on providing planned assistance at dental clinics will be lifted," the Moscow mayor wrote.

MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/: In the past 24 hours, 8,246 COVID-19 cases were registered in Russia, the lowest daily increase since May 1, coronavirus prevention operational headquarters told journalists Monday.

The daily growth rate was 1.6% versus 1.7% one day earlier. A total of 537,210 people contracted the infection in Russia since the beginning of the pandemic.

A total of 537,210 people have contracted the disease in Russia.