Russia

MOSCOW, January 16. /TASS/: The United States’ future administration may leave in effect the trade restrictions against China, although President-elect Joe Biden’s election rhetoric was far more peaceful than statements by his rival in the race Donald Trump, the deputy chief of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, wrote in his op-ed published by tass.com on Saturday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian authorities said on Saturday that flights between Moscow and the capitals of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar, suspended since the early weeks of the pandemic, would restart from Jan 27, after certain epidemiological criteria were met.

A statement shared following a meeting of the government’s coronavirus HQ said that the four countries were seeing fewer than 40 new cases per fortnight per 100,000 people.

MOSCOW, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- It is "a lie" that Cuba supports terrorism, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday, commenting on the U.S. recent decision to add the island nation to its list of "State Sponsor of Terrorism."

"When Washington accuses Havana of sponsoring terrorists, isn't it the very fake news that the United States is collectively fighting against? This is a lie that has been granted the official state status," said Maria Zakharova, the ministry's spokesperson.

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: The introduction of ‘immunity certificates’ due to the pandemic is on the table and the discussions are underway, Head of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing Anna Popova said at the Gaidar Forum on Friday.

"We are definitely moving towards that. However, the question of form, the question of the absence or inadmissibility of discrimination of any of the vaccines, of any drug is a matter of today’s discussions," Popova said referring to the introduction of ‘immunity certificates.’

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Russia expects that Czech authorities will take every measure possible to prevent any incidents similar to the one that took place near Ostrava and involved a monument to the Red Army soldiers, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a briefing Friday.

"We resolutely condemn the outrageous acts of vandalism that took place on January 5 in the outskirts of the Czech city of Ostrava against the monument to the Red Army soldiers, who liberated this region in April 1945," she noted.

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Russian blogger Ilya Varlamov has informed that all Russians detained in South Sudan’s Juba have been freed and are waiting for their flight to return home.

"Everyone is freed," he wrote on Telegram without adding any details. "All that is left now is to leave this fantastic place."

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Russia is aware that threats of deterioration in the relations with the United States still remain, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova told a briefing Friday, commenting on the post published by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Twitter.

MOSCOW, January 15. /TASS/: Russia is launching domestic procedures to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Given the lack of progress in efforts to remove obstacles preventing the future functioning of the treaty in a new situation, the Russian Foreign Ministry is entitled to announce the start of domestic procedures to pave the way for Russia’s withdrawal from the Treaty on Open Skies," the statement reads. "Once the procedures are completed, notifications will be sent to the treaty depositories," the ministry added.

14 Jan 2021; MEMO: The US decision to declare Houthis rebels, who fought the central government in Yemen's civil, a "terrorist organisation" could negatively affect the political process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Lavrov said he hopes the move does not affect the political settlement in Yemen and he welcomed the formation of a new government in Yemen.

14 Jan 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday denounced Iran's "interventions" in the Middle East region, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Reuters reports.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Moscow with Lavrov, broadcast on Saudi TV, the Saudi minister said Tehran's proxy militias were obstructing a solution for the war in Syria.