Russia

MOSCOW, March 28. /TASS/: A meeting of the European Council on March 24-25 confirmed that Ukraine remained a territory under the control of Washington and a ‘geopolitical battering ram’ against Russia, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary on Monday.

"The results of a European Council meeting, held jointly with the US leadership, confirmed once again that the collective West needs Ukraine which is fully under the control of Washington and is gripped by Russophobia only as a geopolitical battering ram against Russia," the diplomat stressed.

MOSCOW, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The Russian and Ukrainian delegations will likely meet in Turkey on Tuesday, the Kremlin said Monday.

"The very fact that it was decided to continue in-person negotiations is important," local media reported, citing Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"Today, the delegation is leaving for Turkey... we expect that theoretically, talks could continue tomorrow," he said, adding that the negotiations would unlikely resume today.

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 23,280 over the past day to 17,762,742, a new low since January 13, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

In absolute terms, it reached 0.13%.

As many as 2,203 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, 48.5% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 79 regions.

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/: Head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov believes that now it is not the right time to hold the LPR’s referendum on becoming part of Russia.

"I think it is not the right moment for this now. There is no need to be concerned about such issues for the time being, when the fate is decided at the front," he told TASS on Sunday.

MOSCOW, March 27: Another round of offline talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations will be held on March 29-30, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who leads the Russian delegation to the talks, said on Sunday.

"Another round of talks with Ukraine in the videoconference format was held today. As a result, a decision was made to meet offline on March 29-30," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: Houthi rebels revealed their terrorist nature again when they attacked the civilian infrastructure of the Saudi city of Jeddah, Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky told TASS on Saturday.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces have entered the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh and launched four strikes on the Nagorno-Karabakh armed formations, using a Bayraktar TB2 drone, near the village of Furukh, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law recognizing participants in a special military operation in Ukraine as combat veterans. The document is published on the official website of legal information.

On Wednesday, the law was unanimously adopted by the State Duma and approved by the Federation Council.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia increased by 24,072 over the day to 17,739,462, the federal headquarters against coronavirus told reporters on Saturday.

In relative terms, the growth in the number of coronavirus cases was 0.14%.

Meanwhile, the number of hospitalizations due to coronavirus in Russia increased by 4,275 per day, the headquarters said. The increase in the number of hospitalizations happened in 37 regions, the headquarters said. A day earlier, 4,212 hospitalizations were reported.

MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/: US President Joe Biden’s personal insults to Russian President Vladimir Putin narrow the window of opportunity for improving relations between Moscow and Washington, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS on Saturday.

"Still, a state leader should keep their temper," Peskov said commenting on another of the US president’s remarks.

"And, of course, each time such personal insults narrow the window of opportunity for our bilateral relations under the current [US] Administration. It is necessary to be aware of this," Peskov stressed.