Russia

ST. PETERSBURG, June 7. /TASS/: Russia and Germany have signed a declaration on bilateral initiative ‘Partnership for efficiency’, TASS correspondent reports from the signing ceremony.

The document was inked by Russia’s Economic Development Minister Maksim Oreshkin and Germany’s Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/: Mlitants have shelled seven settlements in Syria in the past 24 hours, chief of the Russian Center of reconciliation for the conflicting sides Viktor Kupchishin said on Thursday.

"Over the past 24 hours, militants operating in the Idlib de-escalation zone shelled the settlements of Ruyeset Eskander, Al-Areym, Safsafa, Iqqo, Qinsibba, Nahshebba and Jubb ez-Zarur in the province of Latakia," Kupchishin said.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday reaffirmed his staunch denial that his government meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election despite the extensive evidence to the contrary, and insisted Moscow has no intention of interfering in any future votes, either.

Speaking in response to a question from The Associated Press during a meeting with chief executives of international news agencies in St. Petersburg, the Russian leader said that “we didn’t meddle, we aren’t meddling and we will not meddle in any elections.”

MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/: The recent visit by a delegation of the Taliban, a radical Sunni Muslim group (banned in Russia), poses no threat to Russia’s global image but, instead, confirms Moscow's role in Afghan settlement, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman has said.

On May 28, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with a delegation of the Taliban political office in Qatar on the sidelines of an official event in Moscow to mark the 100th anniversary of establishing the Russian-Afghan diplomatic relations.

MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/: Relations between Russia and China serve as a guarantor of international peace and set a positive example for other nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a celebration to mark the 70th anniversary of Russian-Chinese diplomatic ties on Wednesday night.

"The Russian-Chinese relations, which are entering a new stage, are based on solid mutual trust and strategic bilateral support," the Chinese leader said, adding that the most important distinctive feature of bilateral relations was "solid mutual trust in politics and firm bilateral support."

MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. /TASS/. Cuba is one of Russia's main allies in Latin America and the Caribbean, and Moscow will provide assistance to Havana in the conditions of US sanctions against the island nation, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said on Tuesday at the meeting with Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas.

"Our relations are traditionally friendly, and we consider Cuba as one of our main allies in Latin America and the Caribbean" Borisov said.

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. Over 30 intercontinental ballistic missiles will assume combat duty with the Strategic Missile Forces by the end of 2019, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"Over 30 intercontinental ballistic missiles will assume combat duty by the end of 2019, which will allow to bring the share of modern missile weapons to 76% and will provide Strategic Missile Forces with new capabilities to solve tasks of nuclear deterrence," the defense ministry said.

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. The Russian Defense Ministry has repudiated reports by the press service of the US 6th Fleet about the ‘unsafe intercept’ of a US reconnaissance plane by Russia’s Sukhoi Su-35 jet over the Mediterranean.

"All flights by Russian aircraft were conducted in accordance with international rules for the use of airspace. There were no complaints from the American aviation flight de-confliction center in Syria addressed to the Russian command," the Defense Ministry told reporters on Wednesday.

YALTA /Republic of Crimea/, June 5. /TASS/. Speaker of the Russian Federation Council (upper house) Valentina Matviyenko has said that the issue of Crimea’s status is closed, and Russia will not discuss it with anyone.

MOSCOW, June 5. /TASS/. Russia and Slovakia have agreed on supplies of Russian nuclear fuel to Slovak nuclear power plants in 2022-2030.

TVEL Corporation (part of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom) and Slovak Power Plants (Slovenske Elektrarne) signed a relevant additional document to the bilateral general contract on Wednesday.