The company has already launched production of a pilot batch, which it will send to Russia this month for checks.

The annual International Forum "Arctic: Today and the Future," a key state-sponsored event for discussing topics pertaining to the development of Russia’s Arctic, will kick off in St. Petersburg on Thursday amid preparations for the country’s chairmanship of the Arctic Council, reported Sputnik news agency.

Earlier, in an interview with Bloomberg head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina reported that the regulator expects inflation in Russia to be at 4.5% at the end of 2020.

Putin signs law on federal budget for 2021-2023

Domestic production made it possible to replace the majority of the most important goods, the spokesman said.

The Russian leader noted that the development of AI carries certain risks, however, "it depends on the humans how actively they will use these opportunities".

At least 40 countries, representing more than half of the world's population, have expressed interest in Russia's coronavirus vaccine, the team behind it have said as mass vaccination begins in Moscow.

Putin stressed that the post-Soviet security bloc’s member-states were closely cooperating in the fight against the infection.

The Russian leader noted that the Russian petrochemical industry has "huge growth potential" and urged promotion of Russian petrochemical products domestically and abroad.

As far as cross-border digital operations are concerned, this will be possible only when other regulators issue their currencies too, the first deputy chairperson of the Bank of Russia said.