Foreign Ministry sets up task force to coordinate repatriation of Russians

MOSCOW, March 17./TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry has set up a task force to coordinate repatriation of Russian nationals who want to return home amid travel restrictions imposed over the novel coronavirus, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov chaired an emergency meeting looking into ways to ensure the interests of the Russian nationals who have found themselves in a difficult situation amid restrictive measures taken by other states amid a coronavirus pandemic. The meeting "emphasized the need for the Russian diplomatic missions to take exhaustive measures to help the Russian nationals willing to return home settle logistic matters," the ministry said. It said that the task force will be led by Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov. Read more