Russia scales down war games amid pandemic

Russia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Moscow had scaled down its military drills amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Sergey Lavrov said that the Russian military had decided not to conduct any war games near the country's borders with NATO member nations during the outbreak.

He added that the United States was arranging to deliver two planeloads of medical supplies - including ventilators - to Russia later this month.

Lavrov's comments signal a possible thaw in US-Russia relations, which have sunk to post-Cold War lows after the 2014 Russian annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and Moscow's support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced concern over the deployment of NATO forces in the Baltics, describing it as a threat to its security.

Russia and NATO have blamed each other for conducting destabilizing military exercises near their borders.

Lavrov also said he believed the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has caused concern in Europe and the US, will be implemented.