Russia

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: The delayed repairs of the Black Sea Fleet’s Project 877 diesel-electric submarine Alrosa will continue until the autumn of 2020, a source in Crimean defense circles told TASS on Friday.

"Under the updated plans, the submarine’s technical readiness will be restored in the fourth quarter of this year," the source said.

REUTOV /Moscow Region/, January 31. /TASS/: Russia’s Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation) is working on extending the service life for carriers of Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicles on order from the Defense Ministry, Company CEO Alexander Leonov said on Friday.

The work is ongoing on UR-100N UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that carry the Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, he said on the sidelines of the annual readings devoted to Soviet Rocket Designer Sergei Korolyov.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: The Northern Fleet’s naval group led by the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov will hold drills to fight a notional enemy’s underwater saboteurs during its anchorage in the Seine Bay, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the US Israeli-Palestinian conflict settlement plan, which Washington dubbed "the deal of the century," during a phone call, initiated by Berlin, the Kremlin press service said.

"Among other topics, they hashed over the developments in Ukraine and Syria, as well as the Middle East peace process issue. In this context, the leaders exchanged opinions regarding the US plan for the settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," the press service commented.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: Moscow is in full compliance with its obligations concerning the Idlib de-escalation zone in Syria but the situation is far from perfect, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"We don’t agree with this view," Peskov said, commenting on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement that Moscow had allegedly failed to abide by Syria agreements. "Russia is in full compliance with the Sochi agreements on the Idlib zone. At the same time, we regret to say that the situation is far from perfect," he added.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visits to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are a sovereign affair of the USA, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"In this case, this is a completely natural phenomenon, it is a sovereign right of every state to pursue international relations on a global or regional scale," Peskov told reporters.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: Russia’s Almaz-Antey defense manufacturer will feature the latest Viking surface-to-air missile system at the DefExpo-2020 arms show in India for the first time along with the export version of Kalibr cruise missiles, the company’s press office said on Friday.

The Viking is the export version of Russia’s Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system, the press office specified.

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/: Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has suspended its investigation into Ukrainian Navy sailors detained during the Kerch Strait incident in November 2018 for an indefinite period, the sailors’ lawyer Nikolai Polozov told TASS.

"The investigation has been suspended for an indefinite period because the whereabouts of the defendants are known but investigators are unable to ensure the participation of all the 24 sailors," he pointed out.

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/: An official ceremony took place in the Republic of Dagestan to hand over the first Bal coastal defense missile system to the Caspian Flotilla, the press office of Russia’s Southern Military District reported on Thursday.

"The first Bal coastal defense missile system has entered service with the Caspian Flotilla. Its official handover has taken place in the Republic of Dagestan," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/: Naama Issachar, the Israeli national sentenced in Russia for hashish smuggling and pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin, did not admit guilt when she filed the pardon plea, says the defense statement.

"There has been no admission of guilt - neither full nor partial, nothing. There is no admission of guilt in the pardon plea. What could she admit if she never crossed the Russian border?" The statement says.