Europe

PATRIOT PARK /Moscow region/, September 19. /TASS/. Russian Defense Ministry is making steps to upgrade security on Russian military bases in Syria and installation of automated control instruments is one of the technical solutions it is currently working at, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told reporters on Wednesday.

BERLIN (AP) — Germans are beginning to embrace electric cars, with experts predicting the country will have a million hybrid or battery-electric vehicles on the road by 2022.

The government originally aimed to have that many e-cars in Germany by 2020, but slow uptake in the land of the Autobahn forced it to abandon that goal.

A government advisory panel said Wednesday that recent additional financial incentives for buyers have helped provide the necessary jolt for Germany to reach the million mark two years late.

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. The chief military investigation department of the Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case into the crash of Russia’s Il-20 plane above the Mediterranean Sea, committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko told reporters.

"Russian Investigative Committee investigators and forensic experts work at the accident scene together with representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry," she said.

All circumstances surrounding the accident are being established.

SOCHI, September 17. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expects that Ankara will create favorable conditions for the advancement of Russian products to the Turkish market.

"Russia, in accordance with the wishes of the Turkish partners, has lifted restrictions on the supply of a number of agricultural products from Turkey. In turn, we are counting on creation of favorable conditions for the advancement of Russian products in the Turkish market," Putin said after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. The Israeli embassy in Russia does not comment on an incident involving a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft downed in Syria on the night of September 17, an embassy spokesman told TASS.

"We don’t comment on this incident," the spokesman said.

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. Moscow views Israeli steps, which led to the downing of Russian military jet Il-20 over the Mediterranean Sea, as hostile and reserves the right to retaliate, Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday.

"We view these provocative steps by Israel as hostile. Due to the Israeli military’s irresponsible actions 15 Russian servicemen were killed. This is absolutely against the spirit of the Russian-Israeli partnership," Konashenkov said.

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/. A Russian military Ilyushin-20 aircraft was shot down by Syria’s air defense over the Mediterranean Sea because Israel’s F-16 fighters used it as cover, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told the media on Tuesday.

THE HAGUE, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Following recent threats by the U.S. administration to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC), the Dutch government has considered promoting the court's legitimacy.

According to Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok's recent remarks, if the United States indeed proceeds with the measures undermining the ICC or sanctioning its personnel the Dutch government will take a stand.

MOSCOW, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Turkey have decided to set up a demilitarized zone between the armed opposition and the government troops in Syria's Idlib province by Oct. 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

The demilitarized zone with a depth of 15-20 kilometers will be created along the contact line of the armed opposition and the government forces, Putin said at a joint press conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Russia's Sochi.

Bremervorde, Sep 17 (AFP) Germany on Monday rolled out the world's first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but more eco-friendly technology.

Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, began running a 100-kilometre route between the towns and cities of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerde and Buxtehude in northern Germany -- a stretch normally plied by diesel trains.