Russia

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/: The transit of Russian gas via Austria has been suspended due to the refusal of an Austrian operator to confirm nominations over changes in regulations, Gazprom said.

The Russian company is currently working on resolving the issue together with its customers in Italy.

MOSCOW, October 1. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the UK’s offer to assist Denmark in the investigation into sabotage at the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines resembled "foxes fighting for chickens’ rights."

"The UK offered Denmark its help in investigating sabotage at Nord Streams, the office of [UK] Prime Minister [Liz Truss] reported. Foxes are fighting for chickens’ rights," the diplomat wrote on her Telegram channel on Saturday.

Sept 30 (Reuters) - The Russian ambassador to the United Nations on Friday told the Security Council that the U.S. has much to gain in gas trade from damage to the Nord Stream pipeline system under the Baltic Sea but stopped short of blaming Washington for this week's explosions.

A council meeting convened at Russia's request addressed leaks discovered on Tuesday on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines on which Russian-controlled Gazprom (GAZP.MM) and its European partners spent billions of dollars.

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/: Russia is fighting for its historical future and for a fair and free path now, so that dictatorship and despotism will be forever left behind in the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday at a ceremony of accession of four new regions to Russia.

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 37,286 over the past day to 20,985,756, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Friday.

A day earlier, 38,739 daily cases were recorded.

As many as 2,723 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, down 13.7% from a day earlier. The number of hospitalized patients increased in 24 regions, while in 55 regions the figure decreased. The situation remained unchanged in six regions. A day earlier, 3,154 people were rushed to hospitals.

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/: The euro exchange rate fell below 51 rubles at some point during foreign currency trading on Moscow Exchange on Friday for the first time since October 2014, according to trading data.

As of 1:02 pm Moscow time the euro exchange rate was down by 8.18% at 51 rubles, while the dollar was down by 6.8% at 53.31 rubles.

By 1:22 pm the euro narrowed losses to 3.7% trading at 53.48 rubles. Meanwhile, the dollar was down by 3.83% at 55.01 rubles.

MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions have signed treaties on uniting these territories with Russia.

The ceremony took place on Friday in the Grand Kremlin Palace's St. George's Hall. Before signing the historic documents, Putin delivered a speech about these territories joining Russia.

MOSCOW, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia registered 37,286 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking its national tally to 20,985,756, the official monitoring and response center said Friday.

The national death toll increased by 106 to 387,269, while the number of recoveries grew by 61,225 to 20,040,988, the center said.

Meanwhile, Moscow reported 3,341 new cases, taking its total caseload to 3,195,548.

YUZHNO-SAHALINSK, September 29. /TASS/: Repairing the ruptures that occurred on the lines of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines may take more than six months, Pavel Zavalny, who heads the State Duma’s (lower house) Committee on Energy, believes.

In his opinion, there are two ways to fix the damage: making a caisson (a watertight chamber used in underwater construction work or as a foundation - TASS), or hoisting the gas pipelines to the surface.

MOSCOW, September 29. /TASS/: Kiev and its American handlers do not want to accept reality, cynically questioning the procedure and results of referendums on becoming part of Russia in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, as well as in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.