Russia

MOSCOW, December 6. /TASS/: Russia’s Foreign Ministry has slammed the US Department of State’s demand for Russians living in the Kuril Islands to name Japan as their place of birth, stressing that Washington encourages revanchism and revisionist mood.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian pipe-laying ship sailed into position Saturday to resume construction of a German-Russian gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea that the United States has vehemently opposed.

The Akademik Cherskiy vessel reached the area off the coast of Poland where a section of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline remains uncompleted, according to ship monitoring data. Another Russian pipe-laying ship, Fortuna, sailed off from the German port of Wismar, apparently heading to a different location where another pipeline section is to be built.

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/: All Russian regions will join the vaccination campaign against the coronavirus infection at the end of next week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Friday.

"I would like to say that the vaccination campaign has already been launched in the Russian army, in the city of Moscow. By the end of the week, all regions of the country will join this campaign," she said, adding that President Vladimir Putin tasked the government and regional authorities to kick off free voluntary vaccination campaign against the coronavirus infection.

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/: Moldova’s outgoing President Igor Dodon believes that his successor, president-elect Maia Sandu, is trying to destabilize situation in the country by urging citizens to protest on Sunday.

"They won the presidential polls. We recognized the result. We are not making any attempts to hamper them from entering the president’s office. On December 10, literally next week, the Constitutional Court will approve the election results, and the new president will be sworn in on December 24. What’s the problem?" the outgoing president said.

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/: Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov have held a telephone conversation to discuss the implementation of a trilateral statement on Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"The parties discussed progress in the implementation of the November 9 statement adopted by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, including the parties’ cooperation with Russian peacekeepers, as well as pressing matters on the bilateral agenda and certain international issues," the ministry pointed out.

MOSCOW, December 5. /TASS/: Russia’s Health Ministry has fixed the maximum cost price of the coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V at 1,942 rubles for two doses (about $26.20), Alexei Kuznetsov, an aide to the health minister, told reporters on Saturday.

"Russia’s Health Ministry has registered the maximum cost price of a producer for the vaccine to prevent novel coronavirus infection - Sputnik V, which was developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology. It is 1,942 rubles for two doses," he said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of doctors, teachers and others in high-risk groups have signed up for COVID-19 vaccinations in Moscow starting Saturday, a precursor to a sweeping Russia-wide immunization effort.

The vaccinations come three days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the launch of a “large-scale” COVID-19 immunization campaign even though a Russian-designed vaccine has yet to complete the advanced studies needed to ensure its effectiveness and safety in line with established scientific protocols.

05 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The Russian presidency has confirmed that Turkey's position on the legal status of Crimea is still one of the biggest discords between Moscow and Ankara.

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/: Russia’s Defense Ministry will keep the intensity of combat training next year and over 4,800 drills are planned, Defense Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu said at the ministry’s conference call on Friday.

"A new training year began in the troops on December 1. In 2021, we will keep the intensity of combat training. Over 4,800 drills and practical measures are planned," Shoigu said.

MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/: Electronic registration for inoculation against the coronavirus has been launched in the capital. In all, 70 vaccination stations were opened in the city, the Moscow Mayor’s official website said.