Russia

MOSCOW, March 15. /TASS/: US sanctions against Iran limit Tehran's capacities of fighting against the novel coronavirus, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali wrote on his official Twitter account on Sunday.

"At my recent talks with Russian officials, I said that the international community should understand and put an end to cynical, illegal and cruel US sanctions which represent a crime against humanity. Sanctions limit Iran's financial sources and capacities of fighting against the coronavirus," Jalali said.

SEVASTOPOL, March 16. /TASS/: There is no use to apply electronic warfare systems against NATO ships in the Black Sea, because this would make foreign intelligence services’ work easier, says Vladimir Solovyov, the executive director of Sevastopol’s Institute of CIS Studies, counter-admiral in retirement.

Earlier, the media reported that NATO ships that approach Russian waters in the Black Sea are effectively unable to conduct reconnaissance because of Russian coastal radio electronic counteraction.

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/: The Russian authorities will openly inform society of the situation regarding the spread of the novel coronavirus and the measures taken in view of that, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Monday.

Speaking at a meeting with the deputy prime ministers, he noted that the government had so far taken only initial steps, adding that citizens would be informed about subsequent actions in detail later.

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/: Russia and Europe both have endured losses as a result of the sanctions standoff, but the losses that Europe has encountered are far more serious in some respects, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted.

"The fact is our partners also lose approximately the same. Europe has lost roughly the same, according to their estimates. Actually, they’ve been losing even more sensitive things," he told TASS in an interview for the special project "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin".

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/: Russia has lost about $50 billion as a result of foreign sanctions, but it has managed to offset the losses by various means, including import substitution, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"To hell with those sanctions," Putin told TASS in an interview for the project entitled "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin". "According to various estimates, we have lost 50 billion but we have earned the same amount."

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/: There are no grounds for introducing a state of emergency in Russia over the spread of the novel coronavirus, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

"There been neither ideas nor grounds for this [introducing a state of emergency - TASS] nor decisions," Peskov said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday that militants in Syria’s Idlib region are not complying with a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, the Interfax news agency reported.

The foreign ministry said the militants were taking counter-offensive action in the region.

MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/: Russia’s government has ordered to close the Russian-Polish and Russian-Norwegian land border for foreign nationals on Sunday to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, the government said in a statement on Saturday.

ST. PETERSBURG, March 14. /TASS/: The law on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which after approval by the Federation Council was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in the procedural part on Saturday, was submitted to the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the press service of the court said.

MOSCOW, March 14. /TASS/: Russia has established a council coordinating anti-coronavirus efforts across the country, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on Saturday.