Russia

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: Belarus is calling upon the Collective Security Treaty Organization member-countries to step up political cooperation to resist foreign pressures, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said at the opening of the organization’s jubilee summit in Moscow on Monday.

MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/: Heads of the Collective Security Treaty member states signed some multilateral documents at the summit that took place in the Russian capital on Monday.

They included a statement of the Collective Security Council in honor of the 30th anniversary of the treaty and the 20th anniversary of the organization.

May 16 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday said Russia had no issue with Finland and Sweden, but that the expansion of military infrastructure on their territory would demand a reaction from Moscow, as the Nordic countries move closer to joining NATO.

Putin, speaking in Moscow at a summit of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), said NATO's expansion was a problem for Russia and that it must look closely at what he said were the U.S.-led military alliance's plans to increase its global influence.

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/: The village of Sereda in Russia’s border Belgorod region came under fire from Ukraine, one civilian was injured, Governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Sunday in his telegram channel.

"The village of Sereda, Shebekinsky urban district, was shelled from the territory of Ukraine. One civilian was injured, receiving a shrapnel wound," he wrote.

Shebekinsky district is located to the east of Belgorod and borders Ukraine in the south.

MOSCOW, May 15. /TASS/: Russia’s COVID-19 case tally rose by 4,956 over the past day to 18,260,293, the anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Sunday.

In relative terms, it reached 0.03%.

As many as 1,125 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in Russia over the past day, 55% fewer than in the previous day. The number of hospitalized patients declined in 74 regions, while in seven other regions the figure increased.

Helsinki, May 14 (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin warned his Finnish counterpart Saturday that relations between the two neighbours could be negatively affected" if Finland follows through with plans to apply for NATO membership.

The Kremlin's press service said in a statement that Putin told Sauli Niinisto Finland's abandonment of its traditional policy of military neutrality would be an error since there are no threats to Finland's security.

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/: The situation in Ukraine was among the topics discussed by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and US Secretary od Defense Lloyd Austin over the phone, the Russian defense ministry said on Friday.

"Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu had telephone talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the initiative of the American side. The sides discussed current issues of international security, including the situation in Ukraine," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/: Russian football clubs CSKA Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow and Sochi have filed a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against their suspension from the European tournaments in the 2022/2023 season, CSKA Moscow FC press office announced in a statement on Friday.

"The clubs requested a prompt consideration of the submitted appeal," the statement reads. "We hope that the principle of sports will be upheld."

MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 5,047 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected to 18,255,337, the federal anti-coronavirus crisis center reported on Saturday.

In absolute terms the increase in new cases equaled 0.03%.

TSKHINVAL, May 14. /TASS/: South Ossetian presidential candidate and leader of the Nykhas party Alan Gagloyev gained 56.09% of the vote with 100% of ballots counted and won the presidential election, according to the protocol of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of the republic on the results of the second round of presidential elections obtained by TASS.

"Based on the results of the presidential election of the Republic of South Ossetia on May 8, 2022 to consider Alan E. Gagloyev elected to the presidency in the Republic of South Ossetia," the CEC decree said.