Russia

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has confirmed that Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will be held in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). The host city for the 65th contest was announced on Saturday, on the night the Grand Final of Eurovision 2020 was supposed to be held, during the 'Europe Shine a Light' show.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: Joint participation in projects related to exploration of the Moon could be a serious factor for expanding cooperation between Russia and the United States, Deputy Director General for International Cooperation at Roscosmos Sergey Saveliev said on Saturday.

"Ambitious projects related to exploration of the Moon could become a serious factor in cooperation of the two countries in difficult times," Saveliev said, according to Roscosmos statement.

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/: Vietnam plans to continue providing aid to Russia in tackling the coronavirus infection spread by supplying medical masks, a source in the embassy of the republic told TASS on Saturday.

"Due to the complicated situation with the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia, Vietnamese departments, agencies and organizations plan to continue supplies of medical products to the Russian people," the source said.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: The Russian Ministry of Transport hopes for resumption of international air service in July this year, domestic transportation can begin gradual recovery in mid-June, Minister of Transport Yevgeny Dietrich told reporters on Saturday.

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/: The Moscow Region will comply with three criteria necessary for partially launching economic sectors by Monday, Governor of the Moscow Region Andrey Vorobyov told a program Nedelya v Gorode (Week in the City) on Rossiya-1 TV channel.

MOSCOW, May 17. /TASS/: The number of COVID-19 cases in Russia has risen by 9,709 over the past day, and this is the second day in a row when the growth in cases is less than 10,000 since May 1, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

The total number of coronavirus cases in all Russian regions now stands at 281,752, the center reported. The daily growth is 3.6% against 3.5% a day earlier.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: Russia has launched the production of its advanced Su-35 fighter jets under a contract with Egypt, a military diplomatic source told TASS on Saturday.

"The Gagarin Aircraft Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur has launched the production of Su-35, intended to be delivered to the Egyptian Air Force under the contract signed in 2018," the source said.

"The timeframe for first batch’s delivery to the Egyptian side has not been set yet, due to restrictions imposed by the novel coronavirus outbreak," he added.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: The third Il-76 aircraft carrying Russian military specialists who helped fight the coronavirus outbreak in Serbia has landed near Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The plane arrived at Chkalovsky Airfield in the Moscow Region. According to the Defense Ministry, "mandatory sanitary and epidemiological measures are being taken."

Earlier reports said that over 40 military servicemen and four units of equipment would be transported to Russia from Serbia.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: The coronavirus vaccine might be registered in Russia in August, Director of the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology Alexander Gunzburg said in an interview with Rossiya 1 channel.

"I believe by the end of the summer [a vaccine will be registered]. I would say so. In August, I hope that everything will go as planned and there will be no surprises," he said.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: The first payments of subsidies to Russian airlines affected by the coronavirus pandemic are scheduled to begin before the end of May. The total volume of subsidies will amount to 23.4 bln rubles ($318.5 mln), of which Aeroflot may claim 7.9 bln rubles ($107.54 mln), Russian Transport Minister Yevgeny Dietrich told reporters.