themoscowtimes--2020-10-02--Moscow Expects Year-End Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout

Phase 3 trials of Sputnik V , an adenovirus-based vector vaccine that the Russian government approved in August , are expected to wrap up in May 2021 .
A second vaccine developed in Siberia has received a patent this week ahead of its expected registration on Oct. 15 .
Moscow could receive bulk shipments of Russia ’ s coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020 while the vaccine continues to undergo final clinical trials , Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Thursday .
“ I hope that we ’ ll have the first large batches of the vaccine in November or December @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Russia 's national coronavirus task force , said in an interview on state television .
Industrial-scale production of the vaccine is expected to begin sometime between late December and January , he added .
Around 6,000 out of 40,000 volunteers and 600 medics have been inoculated with the Sputnik V vaccine in the Russian capital as part of post-registration double-blind trials so far , Sobyanin said .
Small batches have also been sent to other Russian regions .
Russia has the world ’ s fourth-highest number of infections at 1.18 million .
Its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 5,000 to nearly 9,000 in the past month , stoking fears of a second wave .
In the capital , the daily count of new Covid-19 infections has more than doubled over the past week , surpassing 2,400 on Thursday .
To curb the resurgent spread of Covid-19 in Moscow , Sobyanin announced an extended two-week school break , ordered offices to send one-third of their workforce home starting next Monday and strongly urged the elderly to stay indoors .
The mayor warned that he may reinstate tougher measures if the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rules and health guidelines .
Sobyanin maintained Thursday that the city is still experiencing its first wave of the virus .

Phase 3 trials of Sputnik V, an adenovirus-based vector vaccine that the Russian government approved in August, are expected to wrap up in May 2021. A second vaccine developed in Siberia has received a patent this week ahead of its expected registration on Oct. 15.
Moscow could receive bulk shipments of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine by the end of 2020 while the vaccine continues to undergo final clinical trials, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Thursday.
“I hope that we’ll have the first large batches of the vaccine in November or December,” Sobyanin, the head of Russia's national coronavirus task force, said in an interview on state television.
Industrial-scale production of the vaccine is expected to begin sometime between late December and January, he added.
Around 6,000 out of 40,000 volunteers and 600 medics have been inoculated with the Sputnik V vaccine in the Russian capital as part of post-registration double-blind trials so far, Sobyanin said.
Small batches have also been sent to other Russian regions.
Russia has the world’s fourth-highest number of infections at 1.18 million. Its daily caseload has risen sharply from less than 5,000 to nearly 9,000 in the past month, stoking fears of a second wave.
In the capital, the daily count of new Covid-19 infections has more than doubled over the past week, surpassing 2,400 on Thursday.
To curb the resurgent spread of Covid-19 in Moscow, Sobyanin announced an extended two-week school break, ordered offices to send one-third of their workforce home starting next Monday and strongly urged the elderly to stay indoors.
The mayor warned that he may reinstate tougher measures if the city of 12.7 million fails to observe the rules and health guidelines.
Sobyanin maintained Thursday that the city is still experiencing its first wave of the virus.


themoscowtimes--2020-10-03--Anger From Moscow, Minsk as EU, US Sanction Belarus

The United States and the EU hit Belarus officials with long-awaited sanctions over the country 's political crisis on Friday , drawing an angry response from Minsk and its ally Moscow .
After more than six weeks of diplomatic efforts , EU leaders finally persuaded Cyprus to drop its block on sanctions at a summit in Brussels , opening the way for some 40 members of President Alexander Lukashenko 's regime to be listed .
The US Treasury also moved against eight Belarus officials with punitive sanctions Friday for what it called their roles in `` fraudulent '' elections and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The sanctions targeted Interior Minister Yury Karayev and Deputy Minister Alexander Barsukov , public security officials , and election commission officials .
`` The Belarusian people 's democratic aspirations to choose their own leaders and peacefully exercise their rights have been met with violence and oppression from Belarusian officials , '' said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement .
The EU targets for its travel bans and asset freezes are officials it blames for rigging the August 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power and for orchestrating the crackdown .
Lukashenko himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it does include Karayev , who the EU says was responsible for the `` repression and intimidation campaign '' against protesters , and Central Election Commission chief Lidia Yermoshina .
The EU 's official listing blames Yermoshina for the `` falsification of election results '' in the poll , which Western powers have dismissed as rigged and illegitimate .
Minsk swiftly announced tit-for-tat `` counter sanctions '' against the EU , though it was not clear what form these would take or what they would target .
`` In connection with visa sanctions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Belarusian officials , the Belarusian side from today is introducing a list of reciprocal sanctions , '' Belarus 's foreign ministry said in a statement .
The ministry said that by imposing sanctions the EU had `` alienated '' the country , which western commentators have dubbed `` Europe 's last dictatorship '' under Lukashenko 's strongman rule .
Minsk said it would not disclose which European officials were being targeted , but threatened `` even more serious consequences '' if the EU expands its restrictions .

The United States and the EU hit Belarus officials with long-awaited sanctions over the country's political crisis on Friday, drawing an angry response from Minsk and its ally Moscow.
After more than six weeks of diplomatic efforts, EU leaders finally persuaded Cyprus to drop its block on sanctions at a summit in Brussels, opening the way for some 40 members of President Alexander Lukashenko's regime to be listed.
The US Treasury also moved against eight Belarus officials with punitive sanctions Friday for what it called their roles in "fraudulent" elections and a subsequent violent crackdown on protesters.
The sanctions targeted Interior Minister Yury Karayev and Deputy Minister Alexander Barsukov, public security officials, and election commission officials.
"The Belarusian people's democratic aspirations to choose their own leaders and peacefully exercise their rights have been met with violence and oppression from Belarusian officials," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.
The EU targets for its travel bans and asset freezes are officials it blames for rigging the August 9 election that returned Lukashenko to power and for orchestrating the crackdown.
Lukashenko himself is not on the list, but it does include Karayev, who the EU says was responsible for the "repression and intimidation campaign" against protesters, and Central Election Commission chief Lidia Yermoshina.
The EU's official listing blames Yermoshina for the "falsification of election results" in the poll, which Western powers have dismissed as rigged and illegitimate.
Minsk swiftly announced tit-for-tat "counter sanctions" against the EU, though it was not clear what form these would take or what they would target.
"In connection with visa sanctions adopted by the EU against a number of Belarusian officials, the Belarusian side from today is introducing a list of reciprocal sanctions," Belarus's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said that by imposing sanctions the EU had "alienated" the country, which western commentators have dubbed "Europe's last dictatorship" under Lukashenko's strongman rule.
Minsk said it would not disclose which European officials were being targeted, but threatened "even more serious consequences" if the EU expands its restrictions.


themoscowtimes--2020-10-02--Karabakh Tests 'Competitive Cooperation' of Putin, Erdogan

The marriage of convenience between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confounded sceptics by withstanding Russian and Turkish rivalries in Syria and Libya .
Now , with the deadliest fighting in decades returning to Azerbaijan 's Armenian separatist region of Nagorno Karabakh , the bond between the two strong-willed leaders is being tested in Russia 's own backyard , analysts said .
Putin , who views the volatile Caucasus as part of Russia 's `` near abroad '' , wants Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Armenia to bury their historic rivalries and make peace .
Not so Erdogan , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its campaign until Armenian separatists withdraw `` from every span of Azerbaijani territory '' .
`` Turkey and Russia are engaged in a relationship which can be best characterised as competitive cooperation , '' said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli , Ankara office director of the US German Marshall Fund .
`` The South Caucasus is among the regions where this competition is most intense . ''
The Kremlin supplies arms to both Yerevan and Baku , although Armenia -- while poorer and smaller than its resource-rich eastern neighbor -- is also part of a Moscow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Turkey , meanwhile , views Azerbaijan as a brotherly nation whose interests it will defend on the global stage .
While their differences in the Caucasus are not yet as stark as they have been on the battlefields of Syria and Libya , where Moscow and Ankara back opposing sides , analysts said the situation was fraught with risks .
Erdogan appears to know Putin 's limits , stopping short of backing Baku militarily and keeping mum about reports that Turkey was sending Libyan or Syrian mercenaries to the Caucasus .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has shown only tepid support for Armenia , whose current prime minister , Nikol Pashinyan , has previously irritated Moscow .
`` Turkey 's support to Azerbaijan is not new , but Russia 's reluctance to back Armenia is .
So I do n't think Erdogan is attracting Putin 's anger , yet , '' Unluhisarcikli said .
But if Russia feels threatened `` to the extent that it is worth dismantling the relationship it has been developing with Turkey , it can retaliate in Libya and more likely in Syria , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never got along comfortably with the Russian tsarist one , and Moscow 's more recent relationship with Ankara has exhibited signs of mutual mistrust .
And while historic , Turkey 's hostilities with Armenia are now defined by one of the darkest episodes of Ottoman empire 's demise , with the two countries still unable to reconcile the 1915 Armenian genocide .
Erdogan 's unlikely courtship of Putin began after he survived a failed Turkish coup in 2016 , when Russia was feeling isolated internationally in the wake of its annexation of Crimea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closely in Syria , where Russia backs the regime of President Bashar al-Assad , and Turkey supported the insurgency trying to topple him .
Yet it was always an uneasy alliance .
More than 30 Turkish soldiers have died this year alone in northwestern Syria .
The strains have been compounded in Libya , where Turkey supports a UN-recognised government in the west , and Russia helps the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar with fighters from the Kremlin-linked Wagner group .
`` Turkey-Russia relations were already very complicated because of Syria and Libya .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ relation , '' said Ankara-based analyst Ali Bakeer .

The marriage of convenience between Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confounded sceptics by withstanding Russian and Turkish rivalries in Syria and Libya. Now, with the deadliest fighting in decades returning to Azerbaijan's Armenian separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the bond between the two strong-willed leaders is being tested in Russia's own backyard, analysts said. Putin, who views the volatile Caucasus as part of Russia's "near abroad," wants Muslim Azerbaijan and Christian Armenia to bury their historic rivalries and make peace. Not so Erdogan, who is urging Azerbaijan to press on with its campaign until Armenian separatists withdraw "from every span of Azerbaijani territory." "Turkey and Russia are engaged in a relationship which can be best characterised as competitive cooperation," said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the US German Marshall Fund. "The South Caucasus is among the regions where this competition is most intense."
Putin's Anger
The Kremlin supplies arms to both Yerevan and Baku, although Armenia — while poorer and smaller than its resource-rich eastern neighbor — is also part of a Moscow defense alliance and hosts a Russian base. Turkey, meanwhile, views Azerbaijan as a brotherly nation whose interests it will defend on the global stage. While their differences in the Caucasus are not yet as stark as they have been on the battlefields of Syria and Libya, where Moscow and Ankara back opposing sides, analysts said the situation was fraught with risks. Erdogan appears to know Putin's limits, stopping short of backing Baku militarily and keeping mum about reports that Turkey was sending Libyan or Syrian mercenaries to the Caucasus. And weighing its own interests, the Kremlin has shown only tepid support for Armenia, whose current prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has previously irritated Moscow. "Turkey's support to Azerbaijan is not new, but Russia's reluctance to back Armenia is. So I don't think Erdogan is attracting Putin's anger, yet," Unluhisarcikli said. But if Russia feels threatened "to the extent that it is worth dismantling the relationship it has been developing with Turkey, it can retaliate in Libya and more likely in Syria," Unluhisarcikli said.
Mutual Mistrust
Turkey's Ottoman empire never got along comfortably with the Russian tsarist one, and Moscow's more recent relationship with Ankara has exhibited signs of mutual mistrust. And while historic, Turkey's hostilities with Armenia are now defined by one of the darkest episodes of Ottoman empire's demise, with the two countries still unable to reconcile the 1915 Armenian genocide. Erdogan's unlikely courtship of Putin began after he survived a failed Turkish coup in 2016, when Russia was feeling isolated internationally in the wake of its annexation of Crimea. Erdogan and Putin began cooperating more closely in Syria, where Russia backs the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and Turkey supported the insurgency trying to topple him. Yet it was always an uneasy alliance. More than 30 Turkish soldiers have died this year alone in northwestern Syria. The strains have been compounded in Libya, where Turkey supports a UN-recognised government in the west, and Russia helps the eastern-based commander Khalifa Haftar with fighters from the Kremlin-linked Wagner group. "Turkey-Russia relations were already very complicated because of Syria and Libya. The Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict will further complicate this relation," said Ankara-based analyst Ali Bakeer.
'Common Language'


themoscowtimes--2020-10-02--Blame Me for Novichok Poisoning, Kadyrov Tells Navalny

The loyal Putin ally ’ s remarks join a series of rebukes from Russian officials after Navalny blamed Putin for the incident that threatens to deteriorate Moscow ’ s already strained ties with the West .
Rights activists accuse Kadyrov , 43 , of crushing dissent in his region and the families of slain Chechen activists and opposition politicians blame him for their killings .
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said he should be blamed instead of President Vladimir Putin for the Novichok poisoning that incapacitated Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for over a month .
“ Why didn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ instigator to make it more convincing and plausible ?
” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram page Friday .
“ At least it wouldn ’ t look as ridiculous as the theory you provided , ” Kadyrov said .
Navalny , 44 , told Germany ’ s Der Spiegel news magazine Thursday that he sees “ no other explanation ” than Putin ordering the Aug. 20 poisoning that left him in a coma for over two weeks and in hospital for 32 days .
Authorities in Germany , where Navalny was evacuated for treatment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Novichok was found in the anti-corruption campaigner ’ s system and have turned to Moscow for answers .
Russia denies that Navalny was poisoned and accuses Germany of not sharing its findings , citing it as the reason why authorities have not yet opened an investigation .
Navalny ’ s comments blaming Putin for his poisoning sparked a wave of backlash within the halls of power , with the speaker of Russia ’ s parliament calling him a “ shameless and mean man ” Thursday .
The Kremlin later that day called the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groundless and unacceptable ” and claimed that CIA instructors “ are currently directly working with him.
” Russia ’ s head of coronavirus information also expressed his “ disgust ” with Navalny , taking umbrage at his criticism of the doctors in Siberia who treated him for two days before his evacuation and who had said they did not find any toxic substances in his system .
Kadyrov echoed that criticism , writing in his Telegram post that “ no doctor would lift a finger to save your life and the German flight @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Omsk airport if they wanted to kill you in Russia .
”

The loyal Putin ally’s remarks join a series of rebukes from Russian officials after Navalny blamed Putin for the incident that threatens to deteriorate Moscow’s already strained ties with the West. Rights activists accuse Kadyrov, 43, of crushing dissent in his region and the families of slain Chechen activists and opposition politicians blame him for their killings.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has said he should be blamed instead of President Vladimir Putin for the Novichok poisoning that incapacitated Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for over a month.
“Why didn’t you name me as the executor or instigator to make it more convincing and plausible?” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram page Friday.
“At least it wouldn’t look as ridiculous as the theory you provided,” Kadyrov said.
Navalny, 44, told Germany’s Der Spiegel news magazine Thursday that he sees “no other explanation” than Putin ordering the Aug. 20 poisoning that left him in a coma for over two weeks and in hospital for 32 days.
Authorities in Germany, where Navalny was evacuated for treatment, say they have unequivocal proof that Novichok was found in the anti-corruption campaigner’s system and have turned to Moscow for answers. Russia denies that Navalny was poisoned and accuses Germany of not sharing its findings, citing it as the reason why authorities have not yet opened an investigation.
Navalny’s comments blaming Putin for his poisoning sparked a wave of backlash within the halls of power, with the speaker of Russia’s parliament calling him a “shameless and mean man” Thursday.
The Kremlin later that day called the Putin critic’s accusations “absolutely groundless and unacceptable” and claimed that CIA instructors “are currently directly working with him.”
Russia’s head of coronavirus information also expressed his “disgust” with Navalny, taking umbrage at his criticism of the doctors in Siberia who treated him for two days before his evacuation and who had said they did not find any toxic substances in his system.
Kadyrov echoed that criticism, writing in his Telegram post that “no doctor would lift a finger to save your life and the German flight would not be allowed to land at Omsk airport if they wanted to kill you in Russia.”


themoscowtimes--2020-10-02--'Blame the Russian Federation for My Death,' Journalist Writes Before Self-Immolation

Irina Slavina , the editor-in-chief of the KozaPress news outlet died at the scene , the Baza and 112 Telegram channels reported .
A Russian journalist has died after setting herself on fire outside police headquarters in the city of Nizhny Novgorod , Russian media reported Friday .
“ I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death , ” Slavina , 47 , wrote on her Facebook page about an hour before her death .
The previous day , she said local security forces raided her home in search of evidence of her involvement with the opposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , leaflets , invoices of [ pro-democracy movement ] Open Russia , possibly an icon with the face of [ exiled oligarch ] Mikhail Khodorkovsky , ” she wrote following the early-Thursday raid .
“ I do n't have any of this , ” she wrote in her Facebook post .
“ But they took away what they found — all the flash drives , my laptop , my daughter 's laptop , the computer , phones — not just mine , but also my husband ’ s — a bunch of my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conferences .
I 'm left without the means of production . ''
Regional investigators said they have launched a pre-investigation check into the death but have not confirmed Slavina 's identity .
Pavel Chikov , head of the international human rights group Agora , wrote that the organization previously worked with Slavina after the authorities opened cases against her for `` disrespect for the authorities '' and spreading `` fake news . ''
The group had filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights on her behalf , he added .

Irina Slavina, the editor-in-chief of the KozaPress news outlet died at the scene, the Baza and 112 Telegram channels reported .
A Russian journalist has died after setting herself on fire outside police headquarters in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russian media reported Friday.
“I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death,” Slavina, 47, wrote on her Facebook page about an hour before her death.
The previous day, she said local security forces raided her home in search of evidence of her involvement with the opposition.
“They were looking for brochures, leaflets, invoices of [pro-democracy movement] Open Russia, possibly an icon with the face of [exiled oligarch] Mikhail Khodorkovsky,” she wrote following the early-Thursday raid.
“I don't have any of this,” she wrote in her Facebook post. “But they took away what they found — all the flash drives, my laptop, my daughter's laptop, the computer, phones — not just mine, but also my husband’s — a bunch of my notebooks that I scribbled on during press conferences. I'm left without the means of production."
Regional investigators confirmed Slavina's death and are now investigating the circumstances surrounding it.
Pavel Chikov, head of the international human rights group Agora, wrote that the organization previously worked with Slavina after the authorities opened cases against her for "disrespect for the authorities" and spreading "fake news." The group had filed a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights on her behalf, he added.