Russia

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/: Washington frequently threatens African countries with sanctions demanding they should avoid purchasing Russian military hardware, the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS on Thursday.

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/: Russia and India have settled the issue of the Indian side’s advance payment for the delivery of S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, the press office of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation told TASS on Thursday.

"The contract for S-400s will be implemented in compliance with the accords reached and the documents signed. The issue of making an advance payment under the contract has been resolved. We are not commenting on the details," the press office said.

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/: Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov, convicted in Russia of plotting terrorist attacks in Crimea, has been transferred to Moscow from a penal colony in Labytnangi, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, in order to be exchanged, a source familiar with the situation told TASS.

"Sentsov has been transferred to Moscow from the Labytnangi colony and taken to a pre-trial detention center," the source said without going into detail.

NOVOSIBIRSK, August 28. /TASS/: Three people were killed after a wall collapsed in the Russian city of Novosibirsk, according to the Emergencies Ministry.

A search and rescue operation involving sniffer dogs is underway at the site as more people may be trapped under the rubble.

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/: Russian Railways and the consortium German Initiative for the Development of High-Speed Rail Lines in Russia, which includes Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bahn and others, have signed a memorandum of cooperation on the design, financing and implementation of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway, TASS reports from the signing ceremony.

General Director of Russian Railways Oleg Belozyorov and CEO of Siemens Mobility GmbH Sabrina Soussan signed the document.

ZHUKOVSKY /Moscow region/, August 28. /TASS/: Moscow and Ankara are in talks on the delivery of Russian electronic warfare systems, as well as the Sukhoi Su-35 and Su-57 fighter jets to Turkey, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev told reporters on the sidelines of the MAKS 2019 International Aviation and Space Salon.

ZHUKOVSKY /Moscow Region/, August 28. /TASS/: The Russian Defense Ministry’s transport planes will make several dozen flights during the second phase of the delivery of air defense missile systems S-400 to Turkey, the director of the federal service for military-technical cooperation, Dmitry Shugayev, told the media on the sidelines of the 14th international aerospace show MAKS.

He said that the second delivery, launched on August 27, will be by air. "Several dozen flights will be made, in the first place, by Defense Ministry planes," he said.

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/: Discussing Russia’s potential comeback to the Group of Eight (G8) is "a small, yet important" signal for business, AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) President Alexis Rodzianko told TASS.

"I can say that from the standpoint of business, the fact that discussions started on the possible return of Russia to the G8 is a positive signal in itself," Rodzianko said.

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/: The Kremlin welcomes a Kiev court’s decision to release RIA Novosti Ukraine Chief Editor Kirill Vyshinsky from custody, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"The Kremlin welcomes the decision to release Vyshinsky. We will refrain from making assessments for now. We welcome the decision," he said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Jailed Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinsky was freed from custody in Ukraine on Wednesday after a court ordered his release on bail, the TASS news agency reported.

Vyshinsky, the head of Russia’s state-backed RIA Novosti news agency in Ukraine, was arrested last year and accused of supporting pro-Russian separatists. Vyshinsky faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted of the charges.