Russia

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: A spike in tensions in the south of Armenia due to the establishing a new border with Azerbaijan is a "border incident," it does not fall under the provisions of the Charter of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on collective defense, CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas has told reporters.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: The number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases reported worldwide in July dropped 1.5 times as compared to June, to levels observed in October 2020, according to TASS calculations.

Overall, 11.2 million confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus were registered on the planet in June, compared to 18.4 million cases in May. The number of active cases currently stands at 11 million, which is among the lowest monthly figures in 2021.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 24,439 in the past 24 hours, this is the highest number since January 15, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Saturday.

The relative growth rate stands at 0.44%. As many as 5,585,799 people in Russia have been infected so far.

The Moscow Region confirmed 2,596 new COVID-19 cases, St. Petersburg - 1,733, the Nizhny Novgorod Region - 411, the Voronezh Region - 357 and Buryatia - 329.

MOSCOW, July 3. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation. An executive order to this effect was posted on the official legal information website on Saturday.

"To approve the attached National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation," the document said.

The executive order comes into effect from the date of its signing.

MOSCOW, Jul 3 (NNN-SANA) – Russian Defence Ministry, said that, the terrorist organisation of Jabhat al-Nusra, with the help of “White Helmets” terrorists, prepare to fabricate a chemical attack in Idleb.

Deputy Head of the Russian Coordination Centre in Hmeimim, General Vadim Kolit, said in a press statement that, information indicates that terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra, prepare for a provocation in the de-escalation zone in Idleb, based on the fabrication of a chemical weapons attack, to accuse the Syrian Arab Army of the act.

MOSCOW, July 3 (Reuters) - Russian warplanes practiced bombing enemy ships in the Black Sea during training exercises, Russia said on Saturday, amid friction with the West over NATO drills in the region and following a recent incident with a British warship.

Moscow last week challenged the right of HMS Defender to pass through waters near Crimea, something London said it had every right to do. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 but most of the world still recognises it as part of Ukraine.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: Moscow has no wish to see the Russian flag hoisted in Ukrainian territory, because it respects the country's sovereignty, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media on Friday.

"No, we have no wish to see our flag hoisted in Ukraine," the Kremlin official said in reply to a corresponding question.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: Washington’s actions regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline are an example of unfair competition, any gains of which would be lost sooner or later, and the tenacity of US lawmakers is worthy of a better cause, Russian State Duma Committee on International Affairs Chairman Leonid Slutsky opined in his Telegram channel Friday. 

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: Russia’s higher education institutions plan to admit foreign students, who have received any available vaccine against COVID-19, Pavel Shevtsov, deputy head of the Russian Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation, said at an online conference on Friday.

"As for the vaccines. Universities will have a common policy in this issue. I think we will accept any vaccine," he said.

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/: The Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist organization is swallowing up territories in Afghanistan amid NATO’s withdrawal from the region and an irresponsible approach by a number of officials in Kabul, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday.