Russia

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/: Russia confirmed 8,828 daily COVID-19 cases, bringing the total caseload to 4,753,789, the anti-coronavirus crisis center told reporters on Saturday.

The growth rate stood at 0.19% in relative terms.

The number of the so-called active cases, meaning patients receiving treatment now, has gone down to 265,421.

Russia’s COVID-19 deaths rose by 399 over the past day versus 398 on the previous day, bringing the total death toll to 107,900. The mortality rate in relative terms remained at 2.27%, according to the crisis center.

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have discussed the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh in a telephone conversation, the Kremlin’s press service said in a statement on Saturday.

"The parties continued their discussion on Nagorno-Karabakh. They noted with satisfaction that thanks to the efforts of the Russian peacekeepers the situation in the region remains stable and calm," the statement said.

The sides also shared opinions "on current issues of bilateral cooperation, including in energy."

MOSCOW, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed a decree on countermeasures to "unfriendly actions" of foreign states amid an intensified diplomatic row with the United States and some European countries.

In accordance with the decree published by the Kremlin, Putin ordered the government to make a list of foreign countries "committing unfriendly actions" toward the Russian Federation, Russian citizens or legal entities.

MOSCOW (AP) — Imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny said Friday he is ending his hunger strike after getting medical attention and being warned by his doctors that continuing it would put his life at risk.

In a message posted to his Instagram account, Navalny said he will continue to demand a visit from his doctor to address numbness in his legs and arms -– his main demand. But he said he would halt the strike on its 24th day after having been examined by doctors who were not affiliated with the prison, something he called “a huge progress.”

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko did not discuss merging the two countries into a single state at their talks in Moscow on April 22, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"No, a merger of the states into a single one [was] not [discussed]," he affirmed when responding to a question on the issue. "As for integration issues, integration is a permanent process, it is a living mechanism. Integration issues are on the agenda all the time."

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/: The Moscow City Court sentenced Alexei Vorobyov Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI), to 20 years in prison over charges of treason, the court press service told TASS Friday.

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to discuss bilateral relations at a possible meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky, the Crimea issue does not exist, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"The president himself said that it was possible to discuss bilateral relations, there is no such issue as Crimea," he said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian troops began pulling back to their permanent bases Friday after a massive buildup that caused Ukrainian and Western concerns.

On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu declared the sweeping maneuvers in Crimea and wide swaths of western Russia over, and ordered the military to pull the troops that took part in them back to their permanent bases by May 1.

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/: The Kremlin believes that the situation surrounding the conspiracy to assassinate Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and pull off a coup d’etat can’t affect integration with Russia.

"I don’t think these things are interrelated," Peskov told reporters on Thursday, commenting on whether the situation in Belarus could influence the pace of integration between Moscow and Minsk, and if the two countries needed closer ties in order to avoid such threats.

MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/: US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan has arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport, from where he will travel to Washington for consultations, a TASS correspondent reported.

The American diplomat’s car drove up to the terminal with a lounge for government delegations.

According to the timetable, a suitable flight to Washington is a connection flight through London, which will depart from Sheremetyevo at 10:00 Moscow time.