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Coronavirus pandemic

Nearly all planned trips of Russian diplomats postponed or canceled

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s main goal at the moment is to aid Russian citizens returning from abroad.

MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Practically all foreign trips, visits and talks planned by employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry have been postponed or canceled, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Thursday.

"I would like to note that nearly all foreign trips, visits, talks planned by high-ranking members and regular employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry have been canceled or postponed," the diplomat said.

She noted that the Russian Foreign Ministry’s main goal at the moment is to aid Russian citizens returning from abroad.

In late December 2019, Chinese authorities notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about an outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, central China. On March 11, WHO officially characterized the situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic. The disease has spread to over 140 countries. According to latest reports, over 210,000 people have been infected with the virus globally, and about 8,500 have died. There are 199 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Russia.

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Maria Zakharova

Military operation in Ukraine

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