Putin, Merkel, and Hollande to discuss Syria after Normandy format meeting
After today’s Normandy format meeting between the leaders of Russia, Germany, France, and Ukraine to discuss the situation in the Donbas, Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President François Hollande will discuss the war in Syria, RIA Novosti reported.
According to Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, “Today the president [Putin] will travel to Berlin on a working meeting… of the Normandy format, which will include Putin, Hollande, Merkel, and Poroshenko… …
Syrian Parliament recognizes Crimea as part of Russia
The Syrian government has recognized the Crimea as part of Russian territory, as stated by the Speaker of the Syrian Parliament, Hadiyeh al-Abbas, in an interview with Sputnik.
“We recognize that the Crimea is an integral part of Russia,” al-Abbas said, stressing that relations between Damascus and Moscow continue to be strengthened in all areas, especially political, economic, and social ties.
According to al-Abbas, the Crimea was part of the Soviet Union, and "because of the events that …
Japan denies that they proposed allowing Russia to manage the Kuril Islands
The Japanese Foreign Ministry denied information that Tokyo intended to propose that Moscow and Tokyo manage the four Islands of Kuril Ridge together. "We deny the report of the newspaper Nikkei that Japan and Russia are discussing the joint management of the northern territories,” stated the representative of Japanese Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Kawamura, Reuters reported on Monday, October 17th.
"A fundamental position of Japan is that Japan will sign a peace agreement with Russia on the issue …
Estonian PM: Russia's actions in Europe are acts of war
According to Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas, Russia’s actions in Europe can be regarded as acts of war, Postimees reported.
"Our eastern neighbor [Russia] uses both conventional and hybrid methods [of war]… [through] interventions via cyber-attacks in presidential elections, the financing of extremist parties in Europe … spreading propaganda and lies,” Rõivas stated.
The Estonian Prime Minister compared Russia to a schoolyard bully who is looking for conflicts wherever they can be found. …
Lithuanian court to summon Gorbachev over events in 1991
The Vilnius city district court hearing the case of events on 13 January 1991 decided to examine the former Soviet statesman Mikhail Gorbachev. It was confirmed by the Baltic News Service (BNS) participating in the court hearings and Robertas Povilaitis, the son of Apolinaras Povilaitis who was one of the casualties in the bloody January incident. In 1991, in Vilnius, 14 civilians were killed near the Press House, Radio and Television Committee building and the TV Tower.
Povilaitis earlier …