Russia

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russia will suspend air service with South Korea, except Aeroflot flights, starting March 1, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, who leads the coronavirus prevention task force, informed on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has supported the proposal to ban high ranking officials, including ministers, senators and governors, from having foreign assets and bank accounts abroad and suggested expanding the list of such individuals to include the head of state.

"I fully agree. However, all officials need to be mentioned, including the head of state, the country’s president. Therefore, I suggest that this official be added to it as well," Putin said at a meeting with the working group to draft amendments to the Constitution.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russian scientists have developed five vaccine prototypes against the novel coronavirus but they are still at the initial stage of research, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said on Wednesday.

"Five vaccine prototypes have been developed but the work is at the initial stage. I would like to add that colleagues are working assiduously on that and when we have more concrete results we will tell about them," she said.

KAZAN, February 26. /TASS/: The Kazan Helicopter Plant (part of the Russian Helicopters Group) is ready to produce no less than 12 Mi-38 multi-purpose helicopters a year, Group CEO Andrei Boginsky said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Moscow will provide the necessary assistance to Poland’s delegation that plans to visit Smolensk and Katyn in early April, a Russian Foreign Ministry official told TASS on Wednesday.

"Russia will provide the necessary assistance to the Polish delegation to facilitate its visit to Smolensk and Katyn on April 10," the official said.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Donbass will never be part of Ukraine again because Kiev does not deserve it, former Russian Presidential Aide Vladislav Surkov said in an interview with Head of the Center for Current Politics Alexei Chesnankov, published in the "Aktualniye Kommentarii" (or Relevant Comments) online newspaper.

"I can’t imagine it happening, my imagination is just not strong enough. Donbass does not deserve this kind of humiliation. And Ukraine does not deserve such an honor," Surkov replied to a question.

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a tough response to arbitrary actions and falsification by law enforcement officers.

"[It is essential] to pay particular attention to maintaining law by inquiry and preliminary investigation bodies," he said at a meeting of the Russian Interior Ministry’s board. "I demand a tough response to any instances of arbitrariness, falsification and forgery, which are a criminal offense in themselves. It is necessary to foil such activities and get rid of those employees who break the law."

KALININGRAD, February 26. /TASS/: The Baltic Fleet’s naval task force comprising the guard ship Yaroslav Mudry, the tanker Yelnya and the sea tug Viktor Konetsky practiced repelling a terrorist attack during its deployment to the Indian Ocean, the Fleet’s press office reported on Wednesday.

"The anti-terror squad participating in the long-distance deployment has held a training exercise to repel a notional terrorist group’s attack on the naval group," the press office said in a statement.

26 Feb 2020; MEMO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday rejected calls to stop the Russia-backed Syrian regime’s offensive on Idlib, northwestern Syria, saying a ceasefire would amount to giving in to terrorists.

He told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva that a halt in the offensive “is capitulating before terrorists and even a reward for their activities in violation of international treaties and numerous UN Security Council resolutions.”

MOSCOW, February 25. /TASS/: Non-oil and gas exports from Russia to China increased by 19% year-on-year in monetary terms in 2019 and amounted to $14.5 bln, the Russian Export Center (REC) said in a statement on Tuesday.

According to the results of 2019, non-resource exports to Kazakhstan amounted to $12.04 bln, which is up 10% year-on-year.

Non-oil exports to Belarus grew by 2% to $10.56 bln, exports to Turkey grew by 10% to $ 7.79 bln, to the Netherlands - by 17% to $7.67 bln, to the UK - by 229%, up to $7.58 bln.