Moscow - Russia and China signed a 25-billion-dollar energy deal in Beijing on Tuesday under which Russia will pump oil to its energy-hungry neighbour for the next
20 years in return for loans, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said.

Sechin, who overseas energy, secured the deal in a meeting with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in the Chinese capital.

The agreement provides for the completion of a pipeline linking Siberian oil fields to northern China, agreed to in talks between the two countries' premiers in October.

Moscow - Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov signed a decree Tuesday restricting alcohol sales in the predominantly Muslim Russian republic to two hours per day, Russian news agencies reported.

"The fight against alcoholism is as pressing an issues as the fight against illegal armed groups," said Kadyrov, 32, an ex-Chechen rebel fighter who switched sides and is backed by the Kremlin since Russia quelled separatists fighters in the two wars in the 1990s.

The decree bans all sales of alcohol proof over 15 per cent to be sold except from 8 to 10 o'clock in the morning, Kadyrov said.

Moscow - The Iranian defence minister, now visiting Moscow, is seeking advanced surface-to-air missiles that could help Iran counter air strikes, a Russian newspaper reported Tuesday.

Mostafa Mohammad Najjar met with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov on "current and future issues of bilateral military relations," the Russian defence ministry said.

Kommersant daily said Najjar would likely lobby Moscow to deliver long-range S-300 surface-to-air missiles. Russia, the paper said, was extremely reluctant to deliver the weapons for fear of damaging ties with the new US administration.

Moscow - Russian biathlon star Albina Akhatova on Tuesday claimed she was innocent of doping and vowed to work with officials to clear the matter.

The four-time world champion was one of three Russian biathletes who tested positive for an unnamed substance, believed to be a new generation of the blood booster EPO.

Akhatova, as well as Ekaterina Iourieva and Dmitri Yaroshenko were identified shortly before the start of the world championships in Pyeongchang by the world controlling body IBU as having returned a positive test at the World Cup season-opener in Ostersund, Sweden, in early December.

Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday warned of a new purge of the country's senior regional officials - accusing them of poor management of the current financial crisis.

The comments came one day after Medvedev sacked four regional governors and demoted a minister, in what appeared to be a response to rising unrest as the impact of the financial crisis stalls manufacturing and causes thousands of job losses in Russia's regions.

Moscow - In the first visit ever by a Bolivian leader to Moscow, President Evo Morales on Monday secured agreements from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for investment in the gas sector and to help fight drug trafficking in Moscow.

Morales said he was seeking Russia's help in fighting drug cultivation. He said Bolivia, the third-largest producer of cocaine- making plants, was in need of Russian helicopters and other aircraft, since the United States stopped supporting efforts to eradicate illegal coca farming.