Europe

MINSK, February 1. /TASS/: The United States stands ready to supply Belarus in full with the energy resources at competitive prices, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday after his talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei on Saturday.

"Our energy producers stand ready to deliver 100% of the oil you need at competitive prices," Pompeo said.

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/: Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces will be involved in the evacuation of Russian citizens from China, Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

"By order of the President of Russia, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin, the Russian Aerospace Forces will be involved in the evacuation of Russian citizens from the areas of China most affected by the coronavirus, which will begin operating flights today," Peskov told reporters.

LONDON (Reuters) - Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft maker, will pay just under 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion)in a British settlement to draw a line under a three-and-a-half year criminal investigation into allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption.

The deal under a three-year Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA), ratified in London’s High Court on Friday, means the European planemaker avoids prosecution in London in a case that spanned transactions involving more than a dozen countries.

LONDON, Feb 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United Kingdom has officially left the European Union (EU) after 47 years of membership and a tough and complicated Brexit negotiations the past few years.

The BBC reported that the event, which officially took place at 11pm London time was marked with both partying by the Brexiters and candlelight vigils in Scotland and protests by those who had been against leaving the EU.

DUBLIN, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Brexit provides an "opportunity of a lifetime" to unite the island of Ireland and transform the country, said an Irish political party leader here on Friday.

The remark was made by Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the Irish third largest political party Sinn Fein, while speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, according to local media RTE.

KIEV, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine is ready to expand cooperation with the United States in the field of defense and security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday during a joint press briefing with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"Ukraine is ready to develop new forms of partnership with the United States in the field of security," Zelensky said during the briefing, according to the website of the Ukrainian president's press service.

MOSCOW (AP) — When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the White House after the unveiling of President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan, which hugely favors Israel, he and his entourage could barely contain their glee as they boasted of realizing their dream of swiftly annexing large swaths of the West Bank.

But by the time his plane had flown across the Atlantic Ocean, the mood had taken a downturn, with Netanyahu’s annexation plan suddenly in question and an embarrassing criminal trial casting a cloud over his re-election hopes.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: The delayed repairs of the Black Sea Fleet’s Project 877 diesel-electric submarine Alrosa will continue until the autumn of 2020, a source in Crimean defense circles told TASS on Friday.

"Under the updated plans, the submarine’s technical readiness will be restored in the fourth quarter of this year," the source said.

REUTOV /Moscow Region/, January 31. /TASS/: Russia’s Research and Production Association of Machine-Building (part of the Tactical Missiles Corporation) is working on extending the service life for carriers of Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicles on order from the Defense Ministry, Company CEO Alexander Leonov said on Friday.

The work is ongoing on UR-100N UTTKh intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that carry the Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, he said on the sidelines of the annual readings devoted to Soviet Rocket Designer Sergei Korolyov.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: The Northern Fleet’s naval group led by the missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov will hold drills to fight a notional enemy’s underwater saboteurs during its anchorage in the Seine Bay, the Fleet’s press office reported on Friday.