MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin was joking when he said Moscow was supporting Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in November’s US presidential election, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.
Putin said earlier this month that Russia wanted Harris to win the contest in a teasing comment that cited her “infectious” laugh as a reason to prefer her over Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump. The Russian leader’s remark prompted the White House to say Putin should stop commenting on the Nov. 5 election.
“It was a joke,” Lavrov said, when asked how much the change in US president would affect Russia’s foreign policy. “President Putin has a good sense of humor. He often jokes during his statements and interviews.
“I see no long-term differences in our attitude to the current or previous elections in the United States, because it is ruled by the notorious ‘deep state’,” Lavrov said, without giving evidence for that assertion.
Lavrov’s comments were published on the foreign ministry website on Friday.
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Putin was joking about support for Harris in US election, says foreign minister
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Putin was joking about support for Harris in US election, says foreign minister
Beijing court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay damages to families of MH370 victims
- Court orders airline to pay each family compensation for the death of their loved one, funeral expense and damages stemming from emotional distress
BEIJING: A Beijing court has ruled that Malaysia Airlines must pay 2.9 million yuan ($410,000) each to the families of eight passengers who went missing in the mysterious disappearance of the MH370 flight more than a decade ago.
The court ordered the airline to pay each family compensation for the death of their loved one, funeral expenses and damages stemming from emotional distress, it said in a statement Monday. Although it is not known what happened to the passengers, they have been declared legally dead.
There were 239 passengers and crew members on the flight that disappeared after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in 2014. Despite years of searches, it’s unknown why the plane went down or what happened to the people on board. Most of the passengers were Chinese, and their families in China have continued to seek answers.
The court said that another 23 cases remain pending. In 47 other cases, families have reached agreements with the airlines and withdrawn their suits.
Last Wednesday, the Malaysian government said it would resume a search for the missing plane starting Dec. 30.
The court ordered the airline to pay each family compensation for the death of their loved one, funeral expenses and damages stemming from emotional distress, it said in a statement Monday. Although it is not known what happened to the passengers, they have been declared legally dead.
There were 239 passengers and crew members on the flight that disappeared after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in 2014. Despite years of searches, it’s unknown why the plane went down or what happened to the people on board. Most of the passengers were Chinese, and their families in China have continued to seek answers.
The court said that another 23 cases remain pending. In 47 other cases, families have reached agreements with the airlines and withdrawn their suits.
Last Wednesday, the Malaysian government said it would resume a search for the missing plane starting Dec. 30.
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