Europe

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: The future of the world cannot be imagined, if the Red Army had not defended it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during the Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Wednesday.

"It is impossible even to imagine what would have become with the world, if the Red Army had not come to its defense," the head of state said.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: Russian-Venezuelan energy and military-technical cooperation is developing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: The issue of returning Russian nationals Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko serving their prison terms in the United States is being discussed but the negotiating process is not yet over, Russia’s ombudswoman Tatiana Moskalkova said on Wednesday.

"The return of Yaroshenko and Bout [to Russia] is being discussed. The issue is being kept confidential as the negotiations have not been completed," she said.

SEVASTOPOL, June 24. /TASS/: The Admiral Makarov frigate of the Black Sea Fleet is heading into the Mediterranean to join Russia’s standing naval force, the Fleet’s press office said on Wednesday.

"The Black Sea Fleet’s Admiral Makarov frigate has begun transiting the Black Sea straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles towards the Mediterranean Sea," the fleet said in a statement.

The frigate crew is on a scheduled trip from the Black Sea into an off-shore maritime zone. The Admiral Makarov is due to join the standing naval force.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza plans to discuss bilateral cooperation with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov in a meeting set to take place later, he said in the run-up to the talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko advised people who have not been infected with the novel coronavirus to exercise caution despite the fact that the epidemic in the country is on the wane.

"The outbreak in Russia is on the wane already," he informed on Wednesday. "We see that the level of population immunity in Moscow is on the rise, which helps lower the infection rate. But we must remember that those who have not been infected must adhere to safety measures," the minister told reporters.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov is leaving Moscow for Bishkek after cases of COVID-19 were detected in his delegation, the Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow informed TASS on Wednesday.

"The president and his team are leaving Moscow for Bishkek. The president himself is fine," the embassy said.

The diplomat noted that the embassy would introduce special sanitary-epidemiological measures in the wake of this situation.

On Tuesday, Jeenbekov arrived in Moscow to attend the Victory Day parade held on June 24.

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/: Russia is ready to sign a new contract on the delivery of S-400 air defense missile systems to Ankara, if Turkish partners express such a desire, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said on Wednesday.

"They have such an option and we will sign the deal, if they express the desire," the vice premier said.

MOSCOW, June 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Columns of tanks and troops will parade through Red Square on Wednesday as President Vladimir Putin oversees grand World War II commemorations to stir up patriotic fervour ahead of a vote on extending his rule.

Forced to postpone the country’s traditional May 9 Victory Day celebrations by the coronavirus pandemic, Putin rescheduled the parade for just a week ahead of a July 1 public vote on controversial constitutional reforms.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday, reversing the previous session’s surge, as record high inventories and worries about a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic outweighed support from a gradual reopening of global economies.

Brent crude were down 43 cents, or 1%, to $42.20 a barrel by 1020 GMT a day after hitting its highest level since a price plunge began in March.

The benchmark crude has climbed from below $16 in April but remains a third lower than its level at the end of 2019.