Russia

MOSCOW, June 20 (Reuters) - Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, was in an optimistic mood ahead of his return to Washington on Sunday, expecting meetings scheduled with U.S. colleagues next week to be constructive, the RIA news agency reported.

President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden agreed to return their respective ambassadors to Washington and Moscow during talks in Geneva on Wednesday, a first summit between the two that they both described as pragmatic rather than friendly. 

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot will launch new flights from Moscow to Turkey on June 25, its spokesman Mikhail Demin told reporters.

The airline currently operates two flights a week between Moscow and Istanbul.

"Aeroflot has opened additional flights to Turkey from June 25: Istanbul - an increase to two flights a day, Antalya - one flight a day, Bodrum - one flight a day and Dalaman - one flight a day," he said.

According to Demin, the air carrier "will monitor the load and make decisions depending on the actual demand."

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Russia grew by 17,906 in the past 24 hours reaching 5,299,215. This is the highest number since January 31, as follows from the data provided by the anti-coronavirus crisis center on Saturday.

The relative growth rate stands at 0.34%.

The lowest daily growth rates were recorded in Karachay-Cherkessia and North Ossetia-Alania (0.06% each), the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria (0.08% each), Tuva and Adygea (0.09% each).

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is possible if the British authorities have "political will."

"No, such a meeting is not being prepared, but it is potentially possible. It is possible if political will prevails in London to mend our bilateral relations, which have been damaged badly at the initiative of London," he told the Govorit Moskva radio station on Saturday.

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/: The election to the State Duma (the lower house of Russia’s parliament) should be held fairly and openly to enjoy the trust of the people, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the congress of the United Russia ruling party on Saturday.

"Our common task is to do our utmost to ensure that the election is held openly and honestly in accordance with law, so that its results can reflect the true will of the nation, while enjoying the unconditional trust of the country’s citizens," he said.

MOSCOW, June 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — New coronavirus infections hit a pandemic high in Moscow, tripling in just weeks due to the Delta variant and forcing Russia’s capital to close its Euro fan zone and extend other curbs.

A total of 9,056 new cases were recorded in the megapolis of 12 million in the past 24 hours, with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin saying that the highly infectious Delta variant first identified in India represented almost 90 per cent of new cases.

MOSCOW, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed after a plane made an emergency landing in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast in southwestern Siberia, according to media reports on Saturday.

"According to my information, two crew members and seven paratroopers were killed, that is, a total of nine people," TASS news agency reported, citing the Kemerovo branch of the Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy (DOSAAF).

"There were 17 parachutists and two crew members on board," the source said.

MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/: Russia will completely withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies on December 18, 2021, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Russia has notified all the member states about its decision to withdraw from the Open Skies Treaty six months after sending a notice. Therefore, this will occur on December 18, 2021," the statement says.

MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/: Almost 42,000 people signed up for vaccination against coronavirus in Moscow over the past day, which is four times more than usual, Anastasia Rakova, deputy mayor of the capital for social development, told reporters on Friday.

SIMFEROPOL, June 18. /TASS/: About 90 single-family homes and apartment houses have been flooded in Yalta, a resort city in Crimea, after heavy rains, and rescuers have evacuated 49 people, the Russian Emergencies Ministry’s Main Directorate in Crimea reported on Friday.