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Russian ambassador confirms plans to open consulate general in China’s Wuhan

To date, Russia has a consular department at the embassy in Beijing, as well as consulate generals in Guangzhou, Harbin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Hong Kong

Russian Ambassador to Beijing Andrei Denisov Artyom Ivanov/TASS

Russian Ambassador to Beijing Andrei Denisov

© Artyom Ivanov/TASS

BEIJING, May 20. /TASS/. Russia’s Foreign Ministry plans to open a consulate general in Wuhan, the capital of China’s Hubei province, Russian Ambassador to Beijing Andrei Denisov told an online briefing on Wednesday.

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Wuhan easing quarantine after two-month long lockdown

"The city of Wuhan has been well-known to us for a long time. Before Wuhan, there was the city of Hankou. Our country was present in Hankou in the late 19th century, there was a consulate general. Now the Russian Foreign Ministry has decided to reopen the consulate general in Wuhan. We hope that when the budget allows, we will restore our presence in Wuhan," the envoy emphasized.

"I am very pleased to see that life in the Hubei province and the city of Wuhan is returning to normal. Doctors are back home, there are no hospitalized coronavirus patients," Denisov said.

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Russian expert sees possibility of new coronavirus strain in about decade

Russia and China agreed in September 2015 to open consulate generals in the Russian cities of Vladivostok and Kazan and the Chinese cities of Harbin and Wuhan. Russia has a consular department at the embassy in Beijing, as well as consulate generals in Guangzhou, Harbin, Shanghai, Shenyang and Hong Kong.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 4,990,400 people have been infected worldwide and more than 324,900 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 1,961,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.

To date, a total of 308,705 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Russia, with 85,392 patients having recovered from the disease. Russia’s latest data indicates 2,927 fatalities nationwide. Earlier, the Russian government set up an Internet hotline to keep the public updated on the coronavirus situation.

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Anatoly Viktorov expressed his wholehearted support to the family of Yelena Trufanova whose son Alexander is still being held hostage in the Palestinian enclave

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Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also emphasized that Moscow is outraged by the hypocritical silence of the West and its media on the terrorist attacks in Russia

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Admiral Alexander Moiseyev noted that the construction of nuclear submarines is Sevmash’s main purpose, which is performs successfully

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The regulator said earlier following its board meeting that the cooling of credit activity has already encompassed all segments of the credit market

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Acting Governor Alexander Khinshtein added that he was currently in Moscow for a State Council meeting but planned to travel to Rylsk as soon as possible

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Vladimir Rogov also noted that the liberation of Zelenovka and Novy Komar hastens the process of liberating major logistics hubs

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"The buildings of the House of Culture, physical fitness center, teachers’ training college, school, firefighting depot and private households were damaged," Alexander Khinshtein said

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