Russia

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has not confirmed information from the US Department of State that Moscow had submitted its reaction to American proposals on security to Washington. According to him, Russia shared with the US some ideas on a different subject.

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/: In their responses to the Russian proposals on security guarantees, the US and NATO ignored Moscow’s fundamental demands, President Vladimir Putin told a news conference following talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

The president said they had substantially exchanged opinions regarding proposals on giving Russia long-term legal guarantees of security from the West.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 124,070 over the past day to 11,861,077, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Monday.

In relative terms, the growth rate reached 1.06%.

As many as 9,090 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized in Russia in the past day, down 8% from 9,883 a day earlier. Meanwhile, in 51 regions the number of those hospitalized has decreased, while in 32 regions the number has climbed, according to the crisis center.

MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/: A group of the Russian Northern Fleet’s combat ships and support vessels practiced anti-submarine warfare missions during drills in the Norwegian Sea, the Fleet’s press office reported on Monday.

The naval sailors hunted down a notional enemy’s submarine using sonars and data from military pilots, it said.

MOSCOW, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- New findings by Norwegian researchers show that the novel coronavirus could have arrived in Europe a month earlier than previously thought, Russia's Sputnik news agency reported Wednesday.

Researchers at Akershus University Hospital found antibodies against COVID-19 in blood samples from as early as December 2019. The antibodies were detected in 98 of the 6,520 samples that were analyzed.

The researchers described the results as valid yet very surprising, adding that "the discovery changes the story of the corona epidemic."

ST. PETERSBURG, January 30./TASS/: Russia is in no way threatening Ukraine, all allegations by the US authorities about its threat are a total absurdity, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said on Sunday as he was laying a wreath and flowers in memory of the victims of the Siege of Leningrad at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St. Petersburg.

MOSCOW, January 30./TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across Russia grew by 121,228 in the past 24 hours, amounting to 11,737,007 overall, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Sunday.

The relative growth rate is 1.04%. As many as 9,833 coronavirus patients were hospitalized across Russia in the past day, which is 32.2% less than during the previous day. The number of hospitalizations declined in 75 regions, the crisis center said, adding that this figure grew in ten regions.

MOSCOW, January 30./TASS/: Ukraine is not ready to be a NATO member country, it will bring nothing useful to the Alliance, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in the Voskresny Vecher (Sunday Evening) program on Channel One.

"It turns out each time that the line they are supposed to defend is moving further east. Now, it has already come close to Ukraine. They want to also pull this country into there. Thought it is clear to everyone that Ukraine is not ready and it won’t make any contribution whatsoever to the strengthening of NATO’s security," the foreign minister said.

MOSCOW, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's admission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would seriously undermine relations between Russia and the alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday.

"Everyone understands that Ukraine is not ready (to join NATO) and will not make any contribution to strengthening NATO's security," Lavrov told a Russian TV program.

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations vowed that the U.N. Security Council will press Russia hard in a Monday session to discuss Moscow’s massing of troops near Ukraine and rising fears it is planning an invasion.

“Our voices are unified in calling for the Russians to explain themselves,” Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said of the U.S. and the other council members on ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday. ”We’re going into the room prepared to listen to them, but we’re not going to be distracted by their propaganda.”