Russia

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/: Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos plans to place telescopes on its future lunar base in the southern pole of the Earth’s natural satellite to monitor dangerous asteroids and comets, Roscosmos Executive Director for Science and Long-Term Programs Alexander Bloshenko told TASS on Monday.

"There are plans to install equipment on this [lunar] base to study deep space and special telescopes to track asteroids and comets that pose a danger of their collision with Earth," he said.

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/: The Kremlin has not recorded any rise in protest activity in Russia this year, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

A recent study carried out by Center for Social and Labor Rights and published by Kommersant revealed that in the third quarter of 2019 more than 580 protests were reported across Russia and their number reached 1,443 since the beginning of this year. This is the highest number seen over the past several years, the study said.

MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/: Russia conducts negotiations with Norway to deliver SSJ-100 planes, Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov told TASS on Saturday.

"Indeed, talks [about deliveries of SSJ-100 planes] are underway. Of course, there have been no decisions yet," he said.

In October, the RBC daily reported that the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft company inked a memorandum of understanding with the low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle on deliveries of 40 SSJ-100 planes for a Trans-Siberian route, which the airline had been seeking to fly in recent years.

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/: Moscow will do the best it can to pass on the experience of prominent Soviet diplomat Oleg Troyanovsky to younger generations and carry on the traditions started by him, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a commentary on Sunday in connection with Troyanovsky’s 100th birth anniversary.

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/: A Mi-8 helicopter made an emergency landing in northwestern Siberia’s Yamal, local emergencies services told TASS on Sunday.

"The Mi-8 helicopter made an emergency landing on Novoportovsky oil field, there are no casualties," the source said.

The helicopter, operated by Yamal airline, was en route from the oil field to Novy Urengoy. Three crew members and 22 employees of a construction company were onboard. The helicopter’s chassis and tail were damaged.

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/: Members of several terror groups, including the Islamic State (outlawed in Russia), were among the most active participants of riots that hit Iran in the past days, Press TV reported on Sunday, citing Governor of Kermanshah Province Hooshang Bazvand.

"Adherents of terror groups were identified among those who instigated riots," the governor said. These individuals were linked to the Islamic State and the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (recognized as terror group in Iran).

MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/: Iran has filed a request for a loan of $2 billion from Russia to build power plants, railroads and to purchase subway cars, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Saturday.

"They did make a request for intergovernmental loans to implement certain projects. The Finance Ministry is considering the issue. Among them are the construction of power plants, hydroelectric power plants and railroads and the delivery of subway cars. It is approximately $2 billion (the requested amount of the new loan - TASS)," Novak said.

MOSCOW, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Moscow is open for constructive cooperation with Washington on the basis of mutual respect for each other's interests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday.

The minister held talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, who was appointed as U.S. ambassador to Russia last month, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nagoya, Japan.

MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/: The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is likely to agree with recommendations of its Compliance Review Committee to strip the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) of its compliance status, RUSADA President Yuri Ganus told TASS on Saturday.

MOSCOW, November 23. /TASS/: The United Russia party should show the best result at the upcoming elections in Russia in 2020-2021 and retain its political leadership in the country, Party Chairman, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at the party congress on Saturday.

The United Russia party congress is set to make decisions on the party’s priorities in the near future, Medvedev said.