Russia

March 31 (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that a ceasefire in Ukraine would not enable it to achieve the goals of its "special military operation" at the moment.

The Kremlin was reacting after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko - Russia's closest ally - called for an immediate ceasefire, without preconditions, and for both Moscow and Kyiv to start negotiations on a lasting peace settlement.

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/: Russian air defense forces intercepted a Ukrainian Grom-2 ballistic missile and shot down a Mi-8 helicopter over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Thursday.

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/: Moscow and Beijing have to take adequate measures in current geopolitical circumstances in order to protect their multifaceted cooperation from the harmful effect of illegal unilateral sanctions, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing Thursday.

"In current geopolitical circumstances, Moscow and Beijing have to take adequate measures in order to protect the positive groundwork of multifaceted cooperation, which took many years to accumulate, from the harmful effect of illegal unilateral sanctions," the diplomat noted.

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will chair a high-level open debate at the UN Security Council on effective multilateralism in defense of the organization's Charter principles, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/:  Russia is going to demand reports from the countries conducting national investigations into the sabotage at Nord Stream pipelines, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing on Thursday.

"We will continue to raise this topic, which is inconvenient for the West. We will continue to return to it and make these countries return to it, demanding a report on national investigations," she said.

MOSCOW, Russia. (AP) —Russia’s top security agency has arrested an American reporter for the Wall Street Journal on espionage charges, the first time a U.S. correspondent was put behind bars on spying accusations since the Cold War.

The Federal Security Service said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was detained in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg while allegedly trying to obtain classified information.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/:  By holding a "summit for democracy" the US is trying to lecture other countries, but such admonitions are not taken seriously by many states, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Wednesday.

"America, which still claims no matter what to be the world's mentor when it comes to so-called democracy, [is making] already a second attempt to gather a number of countries it sees as its students in order to engage in moralizing," Peskov said about the "summit for democracy."

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 11,128 over the past day to 22,614,774, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Wednesday.

A day earlier, 8,447 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 968 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 39.7% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 21 regions, while in 57 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in seven regions. A day earlier, 1,604 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Wednesday he hoped that the draft of a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement between Tehran and Moscow will be finalized next month.

"I am very grateful that the draft of a comprehensive agreement on strategic partnership between our countries has been reviewed and finalized in Russia," he said at a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

March 29 (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday that Washington's decision to stop sharing some data on its nuclear forces under the New START arms control treaty will not prompt Moscow to review its own decision to suspend its participation in the pact.

The United States announced on Tuesday it would stop exchanging some information on its nuclear forces after President Vladimir Putin ordered Moscow to suspend its own participation in February.