Russia

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: The situation in Syria was in focus of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin press service said on Tuesday.

"The president discussed in detail the situation in Syria. Mutual concern was expressed over the escalation of the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone," the press service said.

MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/: Rosneft and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) have signed a contract to supply up to 2 mln tonnes of oil to India via the port of Novorossiysk by the end of 2020, Russia’s oil major said in a statement on Wednesday.

The contract was signed as part of the visit of Chief Executive Officer of Rosneft Igor Sechin to New Delhi. During that visit, a working meeting was also held with Indian minister of oil and gas Dharmendra Pradhan.

SEVASTOPOL, February 5. /TASS/: Over 500 Black Sea Fleet marines are practicing a tactical air assault force’s airdropping from a helicopter during drills, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

The marines are landing from a low-flying helicopter at an altitude of 2-3 meters, the press office said in a statement.

Also, the marines "are making parachute jumps with their full combat gear from an altitude of up to 800 meters from a Mi-8 helicopter." "The marines are making parachute jumps in the daytime in permissible weather conditions," the statement says.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: Reports about a Russian military police post coming under shelling by pro-Turkish groups in Syria’s Aleppo governorate are not true, Major General Yury Borenkov, chief of the Russian Center for reconciliation of the conflicting sides in Syria, said on Tuesday.

"Reports circulated by a number of media outlets on February 4 alleging that a Russian military police post north of the city of Tell Rifat in Syria’s Aleppo governorate came under shelling by pro-Turkish groups are not true," Borenkov said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will begin delivering S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India by the end of 2021, agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday quoted a Russian official as saying.

India signed a $5 billion deal for S-400 missiles in 2018, drawing warnings from the United States that such an acquisition would trigger sanctions as part of a wider program against Russia.

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Venezuela on Friday in a show of support for President Nicolas Maduro, who Washington wants out of power.

Russia has helped Maduro weather a political crisis as the United States has targeted Caracas with sanctions and, like dozens of other countries, recognises opposition politician Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s legitimate interim leader.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will not decline an invitation to attend the events to mark the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism no matter who represents Israel, Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told reporters on Tuesday.

"The president has accepted the invitation to the events to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory Day. We don’t know who exactly will be present from Israel. It makes no difference to us," he said.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: Units of the Syrian armed forces entered the village of Ternaba west of Saraqib in the Idlib governorate, cutting the Latakia-Aleppo highway used as a resupply route for militant groups, the SANA news agency reported.

According to the agency, Syrian troops are now stationed eight kilometers from Idlib, the administrative center of the eponymous governorate captured by militants in 2015.

MOSCOW, February 4. /TASS/: Russia’s Foreign Ministry has released a collection of documents on the 1945 Yalta Conference of the Big Three, the first one in a series of such collections compiled for the 75th anniversary of the Victory in World War II.

CHEREPOVETS, February 4. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China is still planned for the latter half of 2020, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday, answering a question on whether the coronavirus outbreak has affected the Russian leader’s plans to visit China this year.

Peskov noted that the year had just begun, "so it is too early to discuss any changes to the president’s plans." "[Putin’s] visit [to China] was outlined for the latter half of the year, and this visit is on the agenda," the spokesman said.