Russia

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/: The Russian government has included Norway in the list of foreign countries committing unfriendly actions against Russian diplomatic and consular missions abroad, the government’s press service reported.

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/: China calls on NATO countries to drop the Cold-War mentality and refuse from plans of expanding eastwards, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said in an interview with TASS.

"We insist that NATO meet the calls of the times, heed the calls of Asia Pacific countries for peace and development, adjust its erroneous attitude, drop the Cold-War mentality and refrain from moving to the Asia Pacific region," he said.

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/: The date and location for a meeting between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are now under consideration and will be agreed upon through diplomatic channels, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"The presidents have generally confirmed their intention to hold a meeting soon. However, a time and a place for the meeting will be further agreed upon through diplomatic channels," he noted.

PYATIGORSK, August 3. /TASS/: Russia’s presidential election in March 2024 will differ from all previous elections, for it may determine not only the fate of the country, but also the future of the entire world, Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said at the opening ceremony of the "Time for Choosing" forum on the Organization of Training and Mentoring in the Electoral Process in Pyatigorsk, Stavropol Region.

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/: President Vladimir Putin proposed on Thursday that Russian state and municipal officials should ride around in cars made in Russia.

"Ministries, agencies, the [presidential] staff offices have asked to continue with purchases focused on foreign-produced cars, to carry on with this practice," Putin said at a meeting with chief executives representing Russia’s manufacturing industry.

"However, I replied that this was totally unacceptable and all Russian officials should be riding in domestically produced cars," Putin added.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court on Thursday imposed fines on Apple and the host of Wikipedia for failing to remove material deemed to be “false information” about Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/:  The dollar exchange rate rose by 1 kopeck since Tuesday’s close, selling at 92.34 rubles on the Moscow Exchange as the trade opened on Wednesday.

The euro grew by 19 kopecks, reaching 101.37 rubles.

In turn, the yuan rate gained 1.7 kopecks, trading at 12.86 rubles.

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated paratroopers and veterans of Russia's Airborne Forces on their professional holiday.

Putin said in a telegram published on the Kremlin website that many generations of the soldiers and officers of the Airborne Forces "have added impressive, unforgettable chapters to the heroic chronicles of our country’s armed forces, performing their duty with dignity and remaining loyal to the oath and their military brotherhood."

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/: Russia is ready to promptly return to the grain deal but it should be implemented in part pertaining to Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Russia, and President Vladimir Putin has already repeated that one hundred times, is ready to promptly return to the deal proper. Not only to talks but to the deal itself. [It] is ready to do [this] immediately. The deal should be simply implemented in part pertaining to Russia. This has not been done up to now," Peskov said.

MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/: The Kiev regime’s terrorist methods aggravate the Ukrainian crisis and delay a peace settlement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing.

"The use of terror methods by the Kiev regime is a factor that aggravates the Ukrainian crisis and delays a peace settlement. Also, it is known that weapons and equipment supplied to Ukraine by Western sponsors are often used to carry out terrorist attacks, which makes them direct accomplices to all these crimes," she said.