Russia

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: The invitation of the sister of US citizen Paul Whelan, who was convicted in Russia on espionage charges, to attend a meeting of the UN Security Council chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is nothing but a PR stunt by the US Department of State, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/:  The first secretary of the Moldovan embassy in Moscow, Valeriu Manea, has been declared persona non grata, a Moldovan diplomatic source told TASS on Tuesday.

"Valeriu Manea has been declared persona non grata in Russia," the source said.

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/: The secession of certain states from the United States of America could be a distinct possibility, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev told participants in the Znanie (Knowledge) educational marathon on Tuesday, adding that he would "be rooting for [the state of] Texas" should it decide to opt for independence.

MOSCOW, April 25 (Reuters) - An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the world was probably on the verge of a new world war and the risks of a nuclear confrontation were rising.

"The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war," Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Putin's powerful security council, told a conference in Moscow.

He said such a new world war was not inevitable but the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing and more serious than concerns about climate change.

24 Apr 2023; MEMO: Russia's oil output this year is on course to top 480 million tonnes, or about 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd), a Russian government source familiar with the data told Reuters.

The figure, which excludes gas condensate, is in line with Russia's pledge to cut production by 500,000 bpd to 9.5 million bpd from March until year-end, according to Reuters calculations and the source.

23 Apr 2023; MEMO: Russia will increase its pipeline gas supplies to China by "almost 50%" this year, according to Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Anadolu reports.

Russia's oil, gas and coal supplies to China increased last year, Novak told news channel Rossiya-1 in an interview aired on Sunday.

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 6,389 over the past day to 22,810,264, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

A day earlier, 7,030 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 487 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down by 49.2% against the previous day. The overall figure of hospitalized people diagnosed with the COVID-19 increased in 13 regions of the country, while in 56 regions the figure decreased and also remained unchanged in 16 more regions.

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/: Russian assault teams liberated two areas in Artyomovsk over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Sunday.

"In the Donetsk direction, assault teams liberated two areas in the western parts of the city of Artyomovsk in the past 24 hours," the spokesman said. "The Russian Airborne Force units rendered support to the assault teams in the northern and southern districts of the city".

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/: American entry visas were never issued to Russian media representatives, who were set to travel with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the UN Security Council meeting in New York, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on her Telegram channel on Sunday.

"Speaking about the US real treatment of journalists. There are 40 minutes left before their departure. They [journalists] are all at the airport. They have no visas. The US Embassy replied to a our relevant request that ‘they work on it’."

April 23 (Reuters) - Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that if the G7 moved to ban exports to Russia, Moscow would respond by terminating the Black Sea Grain deal that enables vital exports of grain from Ukraine.

The Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported last week, citing Japanese government sources. Russia has repeatedly threatened to scrap its participation in the grain deal, which is due to expire on May 18.