Russia

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: Washington has not yet given an official answer to the proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin on holding a summit of the leaders of the UN Security Council’s permanent member states, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists on Monday, responding to a question from TASS.

"Not yet. We proceed from the fact that the answer to the head of state’s message will follow. The question of when and how should be addressed to the American side," the senior Russian diplomat said.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: Security experts have inspected a Moscow-bound aircraft, which had to return to Khabarovsk due to a bomb threat, and found no trace of an explosive device, a transport police spokesperson in the Far Eastern Federal District told TASS.

"The aircraft was checked and the bomb threat turned out to be a false alarm," he said.

According to data from flightradar24.com, an Aeroflot Airbus A330 bound for Moscow declared Mayday an hour after departing from Khabarovsk and began turning back to the airport of departure.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: The Kremlin has sent messages containing proposals for a meeting of the heads of state representing the permanent members of the UN Security Council last Friday, on January 24, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that a response should be expected starting from Monday.

SARATOV, January 27. /TASS/: Young pilots flew Tupolev Tu-160 strategic missile-carrying bombers during training flights in the Saratov Region in Russia’s south, the Defense Ministry reported on Monday.

The training flights "involved young pilots, graduates of 2018-2019, who performed the assignments of aircraft assistant commanders and navigators," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/: Afghan Airlines passenger plane crashed in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province, Ariana News TV channel reports.

The province governor spokesman disclosed that the plane crashed in Deh Yak district, the report says.

According to latest reports, 110 people were onboard. The plane reportedly headed from Herat to Kabul. Other reports suggest the plane was headed from Herat to India’s New Delhi.

Afghan Airlines spokesman denied reports about a plane crash in Ghazni province, Ariana News report says.

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky have established a working and effective contact, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Moscow. Kremlin. Putin program on Rossiya-1 television.

"The two presidents have already established a working and rather effective contact, as recent events have shown," Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesman stressed that the contact between Putin and Zelensky was not sensational. "This is a working and meticulous process," Peskov noted.

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/: New Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has a certain freedom of actions to form his team, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" program on Rossiya-1 TV channel on Sunday.

"Certainly, there is some candidate pool, from where if needed candidates are picked or proposed. However, since Mishustin received a proposal to head the cabinet, definitely, I believe he had and has a certain carte blanche to form his team," Peskov said.

MOSCOW, January 26. /TASS/: Russia’s Investigative Committee has ended a criminal case against former head of Russia’s nanotechnologies state corporation Rusnano Leonid Melamed and former financial director Svyatoslav Ponurov, who were earlier accused of embezzling 220 mln rubles ($3.5 mln), a source in the law enforcement agencies told TASS.

"The criminal case opened in 2009 against Melamed and other suspects has been terminated over the expiry of the period of limitation for reasons other than exoneration," the source said.

MOSCOW, January 24. /TASS/: The crews of Caspian Flotilla ships employed the latest sonars to detect hostile underwater drones in the areas of the ships’ naval bases, the press office of Russia’s Southern Military District reported on Friday.

"The Flotilla’s minesweepers dropped robotized deep-water submersibles, after which the ships’ crews and sonar-operating teams were given the command for their search and detection," the press office said in a statement.

MOSCOW, January 8. /TASS/: 80 people were killed in Iran’s missile attack on US bases in Iraq, Reuters reported with reference to Iran’s state television.

Earlier, CNN said citing sources that the missiles launched by the Iranian side hit the part of the Ain al-Asad air base in Iraq where no American troops were stationed.