Russia

MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/: The chief of the Center of Heat Transfer and Aerogasdynamics at the Central Research Institute for Machine Building (TsNIIMash), Roman Kovalyov, who has pled guilty of high treason, has been sentenced to seven years in prison, a source in the special services has said.

"Kovalyov was found guilty under article 275 of the Criminal Code (high treason) and sentenced to seven years in a maximum security penitentiary," the source said.

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/: Russia and Belarus negotiate patiently their economic disagreements, which will have no effect on their alliance, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a televised interview on Russia’s Channel One on Saturday.

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/: Russia has managed to begin clinical testing of the vaccine against the novel coronavirus faster due to its experience in developing an Ebola vaccine, the Russian Defense Ministry informed reporters on Saturday, citing Alexander Ginzburg, director of the Gamalei National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology.

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/: Russia hopes that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline will be finalized and it will help step up energy security in Europe in the future, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a televised interview on Russia’s Channel One on Saturday.

"Unconditionally, we are hoping that the project will be finalized and that this project will eventually make its own contribution to the strengthening of energy security in Europe," he said.

Peskov pointed out that Washington does not act as a fair competitor as far as the gas pipeline is concerned.

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/: Contrary to ideas spread in the US, many Americans know that it was the Soviet Union who played a key role in defeating Nazism and liberating Europe, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said Saturday in an open interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman.

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/: Russia will not pressure China into acceding to the Russian-US nuclear arms reduction treaty (New START), Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said Saturday in an open interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman, commenting on Washington’s calls to get Beijing to the negotiating table.

MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/: Approval of amendments to Russia’s constitution will enhance the country’s position as a strong and sovereign state, so the other nations will have to agree to this state of affairs, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a televised interview on Channel One on Saturday.

Peskov pointed out that certain Western countries had never approved of Russia's growing independence.

MOSCOW, June 21. /TASS/: The number of coronavirus patients recovered in Russia for the first time exceeded new cases this week, according to TASS estimates based on the anti-coronavirus crisis center’s data.

On June 15-21, the crisis center reported 55,716 new COVID-19 cases and 59,661 recoveries. Last week, this number stood at 61,291 and 53,319, respectively.

The growth in infections in the past seven days reached 10.5% versus 13% a week earlier. The average daily growth dropped from 1.8% to 1.44%.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin is considering running for a new term as Russia’s president if voters approve constitutional changes that would enable him to do so, Russian news agencies quoted him as saying in an interview on Sunday.

Russia will hold a nationwide vote from June 25 to July 1 on proposed changes to the constitution, including an amendment that would allow Putin to seek two more six-year terms as president when his current mandate ends in 2024.

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: Russia ready to discuss problems of activities in outer space within the Russian-US dialogue the agreement on which was reached in January, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday following the release of the United States’ defense space strategy.