Russia

MOSCOW, July 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) —Russians have strongly supported constitutional reforms that could keep President Vladimir Putin in power until 2036, partial results indicate.

With about 87% of ballots counted, more than 77% of voters backed the measures, the electoral commission said.

The reforms would reset Putin’s term limits to zero in 2024, allowing him to serve two more six-year terms.

Opposition members have said he is trying to become “president for life”, a claim Putin denies.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Thursday the government would consider increasing budget spending by 1.8 trillion roubles ($25.6 billion) to fight the coronavirus and support the economy.

Some economists have said Russia’s regulations surrounding budget spending have hindered its ability to adequately fund anti-crisis measures.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: The international community needs to increase assistance to Syrians without preconditions, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in a joint statement following a video conference on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Expanded US sanctions against Nord Stream 2 will block about 700 mln euro of investments for completing the pipeline, the project's operator Nord Stream 2 AG told TASS.

"Additional sanctions proposed by the US will directly affect more than 120 companies from over 12 European countries. In the difficult economic situation, the sanctions will block about 700 mln euro of investments for completing construction of the pipeline," the company said.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the nationwide vote on the amendments to the Constitution on Wednesday.

The head of state visited a polling station at the Russian Academy of Sciences building in southwestern Moscow, where he traditionally votes at elections.

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases grew by 6,556 in the past day reaching 654,405, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Wednesday.

For the sixth day in a row, less than 7,000 cases of infection were confirmed in the country. The daily growth rate did not exceed 1% in the past two days.

Some 306 new cases were reported in the Moscow Region, 262 in St. Petersburg, 261 in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Region, 256 in the Sverdlovsk Region and 248 in the Irkutsk Region.

MOSCOW (AP) — A vote on amendments to Russia’s constitution that could allow President Vladimir Putin to hold power until 2036 entered its final day Wednesday amid widespread reports of pressure on voters and other irregularities.

For the first time in Russia, polls were open for a week to bolster turnout without increasing crowds casting ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic — a provision that Kremlin critics denounced as an extra tool to manipulate the outcome.

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/: Experts at the Sechenov University have not observed any adverse side effects on volunteers injected with the domestically-made vaccine against the coronavirus. All the subjects are in good health, the main researcher, Yelena Smolyarchuk, who heads the Sechenov University Center for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products told TASS.

MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/: Nord Stream 2 investors will be able to estimate the completion time for the pipeline after the introduction of new US sanctions against the project, CEO of Austria’s OMV Rainer Seele (one of European partners of the project) said at the press conference on Tuesday.

SEVASTOPOL, June 30. /TASS/. The team of the Bal coastal defense missile system successfully struck a naval target during tactical drills at the Opuk practice range in Crimea, the press office of the Black Sea Fleet reported on Tuesday.

"The team of the Bal coastal defense missile system of the Black Sea Fleet’s large unit held a tactical exercise with missile firing against a naval target at the Opuk multiservice combat training range in Crimea. The target was destroyed by an accurate hit," the press office said in a statement.