MORNING NEWS UPDATE
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
U.S. URGES RUSSIA TO 'STOP FUELING THE FIRE' IN UKRAINE
By RFE/RL
The United States has called on Russia to "stop fueling the fire" in eastern Ukraine with new weapons and other support for pro-Russian separatists there.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Washington condemned "Russia's increased militarization of the Donbas region through the provision of tanks and other heavy equipment to separatists."
Her comments in Washington on November 10 come days after the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said its monitors had witnessed an apparent buildup of heavy weapons and tanks in parts of the Donetsk region controlled by the separatists.
Psaki accused Russia and the separatists of "blatant violations" of a cease-fire signed in Minsk on September 5, and warned the costs to Moscow will rise if it "continues its destabilizing and dangerous actions."
Psaki said Moscow must do more if it truly wants peace in eastern Ukraine.
"If Russia is truly committed to Minsk and peace in Ukraine, it will stop fueling the fire with new weapons and support for separatists and withdraw all Russian military personnel and equipment from Ukraine; and it will call on its proxies to stop cease-fire violations, release hostages, and close the international [Russian-Ukrainian] border," Psaki said.
The United States and European Union have imposed economic sanctions on Moscow since Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea peninsula in March and began backing pro-Russian rebels who rose up in the two eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had several brief encounters during a November 10-11 Asia-Pacific summit in Beijing, but it was unclear whether they discussed the situation in Ukraine in any detail.
Some of their encounters appeared chilly.
The past week has seen the truce deteriorate, after the rebels staged elections and inaugurated leaders, steps Kyiv and the West say violate the Minsk cease-fire agreement.
The OSCE confirmed on November 8 that a column of troops and tanks without insignia had been spotted in rebel-held territory.
Moscow denies sending troops or arms into Ukraine.
But Psaki noted the Kremlin has declared the circumstances of deaths of Russian soldiers allegedly killed in Ukraine a state secret.
"We know that the families of those killed in action may never have the comfort of knowing from their own government what truly happened to their sons now that their fate has been declared a state secret," Psaki said.
In a blog posting earlier on November 10, a newspaper publisher and local lawmaker in the Russian city of Pskov said Russian military prosecutors had refused to provide details on the circumstances of the deaths of 12 servicemen who died away from their posts earlier this year.
Lev Shlosberg has gathered evidence suggesting Russian soldiers have died in eastern Ukraine.
He was badly beaten by unidentified assailants after his newspaper published an investigation into the funerals of two paratroopers in August.
(With reporting by Reuters, AP, Interfax, and TASS)
PUTIN, OBAMA EXCHANGE WORDS AT APEC SUMMIT
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have exchanged words several times during an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.
Some of their brief encounters seemed chilly, and it was unclear whether they discussed the conflict in Ukraine or other issues in any detail.
At one point, Obama barely responded when Putin clapped him on the shoulder.
The two were later seen conversing as they entered a hall for the summit "family photo."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on November 11 that Putin and Obama "spoke briefly several times today."
The November 10-11 summit came amid concerns of an escalation in the conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
On November 10, the U.S. State Department accused Russia of providing "tanks and other heavy equipment" to separatists and urged Moscow to "stop fueling the fire."
(Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax)
RUSSIA GETS GRIM ECONOMIC FORECAST FOR REST OF PUTIN'S TERM
Russia's central bank has forecast three years of stagnation, cutting economic growth estimates for 2014-16 to almost zero.
The bank's predictions suggested that Western sanctions and lower oil prices are clouding Russia's prospects in the final years of President Vladimir Putin's third term.
The base scenario set out in an annual monetary policy strategy document issued on November 10 forecast economic growth of 0.3 percent this year, zero in 2015, and 0.1 percent in 2016.
The bank's forecast anticipated that Western sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine would last at least until the end of 2017.
It was based on the assumption that the oil price will rise to $95 per barrel next year but then decline again.
It predicted better growth rates if the sanctions are lifted earlier or if oil prices are higher than expected.
(Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP)
RUSSIAN CENTRAL BANK LETS RUBLE FLOAT
Russia's central bank has announced it would not intervene to prop up the ruble which has lost nearly 40 percent of its value this year under the pressure of Western sanctions.
The Bank of Russia announced in a November 10 statement it was immediately removing the range it had fixed for the ruble up until now.
The bank had been burning through its $400 billion in reserves to cushion the drop of the ruble, spending a reported $30 billion in October alone to support up the national currency.
The bank statement said the decision to allow the ruble to float freely "did not amount to a total renunciation of any interventions in the currency market, which would be possible in case a threat to financial stability appears."
The ruble had dropped to 48 to the dollar on November 7 but the Russian central bank's November 10 announcement lifted the ruble to 45 to the dollar.
Earlier in day, President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that the plummeting ruble will stabilize, saying its volatility is not tied to the country's economy.
Speaking in Beijing ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit, Putin blamed currency speculation for what he called the "serious fluctuation" of the ruble.
Despite Putin's confident remarks, Russia's central bank has forecast three years of stagnation, cutting economic growth estimates for 2014-16 to almost zero.
The bank's predictions suggested that Western sanctions and lower oil prices are clouding Russia's prospects in the final years of President Vladimir Putin's third term.
The base scenario set out in an annual monetary policy strategy document issued on November 10 forecast economic growth of 0.3 percent this year, zero in 2015, and 0.1 percent in 2016.
The bank's forecast anticipated that Western sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine would last at least until the end of 2017.
It was based on the assumption that the oil price will rise to $95 per barrel next year but then decline again.
It predicted better growth rates if the sanctions are lifted earlier or oil prices are higher than expected.
(Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP and AP)
ACTIVIST SAYS RUSSIA DEFLECTS INQUIRY INTO SOLDIERS' 'SECRET' DEATHS
A Russian lawmaker who suspects Russian paratroopers were killed in Ukraine says prosecutors have refused provide information about where the soldiers died, citing laws on “state secrets.”
Lev Shlosberg, a Pskov newspaper publisher and local lawmaker, wrote in a November 10 blog post that Russian military prosecutors declined to provide details in response to his petition listing 12 servicemen who died away from their posts between July and September.
Shlosberg, who published a scan of the purported October 28 response, had asked where the soldiers died and whether their deployment violated the constitution.
Shlosberg has gathered evidence suggesting Russian soldiers have died in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies sending troops to support pro-Russian separatists in the conflict.
Shlosberg was badly beaten by unidentified assailants after his newspaper published an investigation into the funerals of two paratroopers in August.
PRO-KREMLIN LEADER RETURNS TO DONETSK AFTER MEDICAL TREATMENT IN RUSSIA
The former so-called "people's governor" of the separatist held Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has returned to the volatile region after receiving medical treatment in Russia.
Pavel Gubarev's aide said on November 10 that he had been discharged from a hospital in Russia's Rostov-on-Don where he was taken after surviving of what was reported as an assassination attempt, and is currently in Donetsk.
Last month, Russian media reports said that unknown assailants fired on a vehicle Gubarev was traveling in along the Rostov-On-Don-Donetsk highway on October 13.
Gubarev’s vehicle went off the road and struck a tree. He was hospitalized, at the time, in a very serious condition.
Prior to the incident, Gubarev had posted a message on his Facebook page saying he intended to make a major announcement soon.
(Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax)
THE MIDTERMS AND U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
How much will the Republican capture of the U.S. Senate influence Washington's policy toward Russia and the former Soviet Union? I discussed this, and other issues, with Harry Tamrazian, director of RFE/RL's Armenian Service.
THIS AIN'T NO COLD WAR...
It's even scarier. My latest post on the Power Vertical blog:
MORNING NEWS UPDATE
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
EU COMMISSIONER SAYS NO REDUCTION OF RUSSIA SANCTIONS
By Rikard Jozwiak
BRUSSELS, 11 November, 2014 -- The new EU neighborhood Commissioner Johannes Hahn says it is "crystal clear" there won't be a reduction in the European Union sanctions on Russia, and that the recent events in eastern Ukraine instead can prompt Brussels to pile further pressure on Russia.
In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Hahn said that the EU had begun discussing whether it was time to ease the sanctions after the September 5 Minsk protocol and cease-fire but that recent developments in Eastern Ukraine have forced a reconsideration.
Hahn hinted that some in the EU would even press for further sanctions.
He said a donors' conference for Ukraine that the EU was planning to host this year will take place in 2015 instead as Brussels is waiting for a clear strategy on where the investment should be directed, and no medium and long-term development plan has been presented by Kyiv so far.
Ukraine in June signed a key trade and economic relations portion of an Association Agreement with the European Union, which provides for the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free-Trade Area (DCFTA) and closer economic integration.
However, the implementation of the trade part of the agreement has been delayed until January 2016 apparently after pressure from Russia, which says the pact will hurt its markets.
In his interview with RFE/RL, Hahn dismissed claims about Russian-induced modifications to DCFTA. He said the delay is needed "because it is necessary to prepare for instance the [Ukrainian] business sector but that is what we have to do the next year, nothing else.”
When asked what sort of relationship he wants to have developed with Ukraine when he leaves office in 2019, the Commissioner noted that he favors the strategy set out by the President Petro Poroshenko about submitting an EU application in 2020 to join the bloc.
"I think this is a very reasonable approach which we will certainly accompany and support," said Hahn.
The Commissioner also said that he intends to visit Ukraine before Christmas, but a date and his exact itinerary are still to be determined.
OSCE SAYS RISK OF ESCALATION IN EASTERN UKRAINE RISING
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says the risk of an escalation in violence in conflict-wracked eastern Ukraine is "rising."
Michael Bociurkiw of the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine told a press conference in Kyiv on November 11 that more than two months after a cease-fire agreement between Ukraine and the pro-Russian separatists, "the firing has not ceased."
A November 11 report from the OSCE said members of its special monitoring mission to Ukraine observed an unmarked military convoy on the eastern outskirts of the separatist-held city of Donetsk earlier in the day.
The OSCE monitors reported seeing 43 vehicles moving toward the city center, "five of the trucks were each towing 120mm howitzer artillery pieces. Another five were each towing partly-covered multi-launch rocket systems."
It was the latest in a series of reports of unmarked military vehicles and heavy weapons being moved into separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine.
There are concerns that pro-Russian rebels could be gearing up for a fresh offensive in eastern Ukraine despite the September 5 agreement.
Meanwhile, NATO's top commander also said that about eight Russian battalion task groups have been sighted in the area along the Ukrainian border.
U.S. General Philip Breedlove, speaking to journalists at a NATO base near Naples, Italy, also said Russia has been reinforcing its bases in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in March, but it was unclear if that included deployment of nuclear weapons.
Breedlove said forces "capable of being nuclear" have been deployed in Crimea but there was so far no indication nuclear weapons have been brought to the peninsula.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on November 11 reiterated that EU member states were considering extending travel bans to newly-elected separatist officials in eastern Ukraine. She reiterated that the poll organized by separatists on November 2 were "illegal."
Merkel said the EU might impose sanctions on new individuals in Russia, or who are in some way connected to support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
However, Merkel, speaking in Berlin, said the European Union was not planning new sanctions against Russia.
EU foreign ministers are scheduled to meet on November 17 to discuss Ukraine and options for possible fresh sanctions on Russia.
Ukraine was also one of the topics when U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin held brief discussions on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing.
No details of the two presidents' discussions were made public.
Relations between Washington and Moscow are at their lowest since the Cold War, with Russia under Western sanctions over its annexation of Crimea in March and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
On November 10, the United States accused Russia of providing "tanks and other heavy equipment" to separatists and urged Moscow to "stop fueling the fire."
(Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters)
RUSSIA ABSTAINS ON EXTENDING EU BOSNIA FORCE
By RFE/RL
Russia has abstained in a UN Security Council vote that extended the mandate of an European Union peacekeeping force in Bosnia-Herzegovina for another year.
Russia's UN Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said the Balkan country's citizens should not be pushed in the EU's direction.
The unprecedented move reflects the wider tensions between Moscow and the West over the Ukraine crisis and other issues.
The measure passed on November 11 with "yes" votes from the other 14 Security Council members, and Russia stepped short of using the veto power it holds as a permanent member.
Philippe Bertoux, a member of the French mission to the UN, wrote on Twitter (@phbertoux) that Russia had never voiced opposition to the EU force in Bosnia until now.
"Russia imports the bad Ukraine atmospherics in an unrelated issue. Dangerous game," Bertoux tweeted.
The peacekeeping force known as EUFOR is meant to calm tensions that have lingered since the 1992-1995 civil war between Bosnia's three ethnic groups — Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs.
Bosnian Serbs, who are backed by Russia and want an independent state, have prevented any effort to strengthen state institutions.
Last week, the United States and EU welcomed a German-British proposal to move Bosnia closer to EU membership.
The proposal would postpone action on the complicated issue of minority rights while Bosnia moves ahead with reforming its economy and strengthening the rule of law.
Churkin, rejected the proposal, saying any movement by Bosnia toward the EU "cannot be forced from the outside."
This was the first time in 14 years that the vote to extend the EU peacekeeping mission wasn't unanimous, said Britain's representative, Michael Tatham.
Tatham called Russia's position "cynical and deeply regrettable" and said its argument that movement toward joining the EU is imposed from outside shows contempt for Bosnia's citizens.
U.N. resolutions require "yes" votes from nione of the 15 members to pass, and any of the five permanent members -- Russia, the United States, China, Britain, and France -- can block a resolution by voting against it.
The UN high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Valentin Inzko, spoke about the need to change the "vicious downward cycle of tit-for-tat politics" and warned those pushing for secession that the country's borders won't be redrawn.
Inzko said Bosnia faces a decisive four years ahead after elections in October.
Bosnian Ambassador Mirsada Colakovic told the council that the country is looking forward to "moving to the next stage of the integration process" with the EU.
(With reporting by AFP and AP)
DEALS CALL FOR RUSSIA TO BUILD EIGHT NUCLEAR REACTORS IN IRAN
By RFE/RL
Russia will build two nuclear power reactors in Iran under deals signed in Moscow that call for the eventual construction of eight reactors in the Islamic nation.
The November 11 agreements come before a self-imposed November 24 deadline for a deal between Iran and six global powers including Russia to curb Tehran's nuclear program, which the West says may be aimed at building atomic weapons but Iran says is for peaceful purposes.
Russian and Iranian nuclear state nuclear companies signed a contract on the construction of two reactors at the Bushehr power plant with the possible expansion to four reactors at the facility.
Iran's first nuclear power reactor, built by Russia, went on-line at Bushehr in 2011 and began providing power to the country last year.
Under a separate protocol also signed on November 11 by Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi and the head of Russia's Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, Russia and Iran intend to cooperate on the construction of a total of eight reactors - four at Bushehr and four elsewhere.
German companies started building the Bushehr plant in the mid-1970s but abandoned the project after Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Officials at Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom said when completing the Bushehr reactor that it would be simpler to construct future nuclear power plants (NPP) in Iran because Rosatom would not have to adapt its design to conform to foundations built by another company.
The Kremlin has defended the decision to build nuclear power plants in Iran, with President Vladimir Putin saying the country has the right to develop nuclear power for civilian purposes.
Under the terms of the deal with Iran, Russia has pledged to remove spent fuel from Iranian reactors that could be used for developing nuclear weapons and return it to Russia for disposal.
A similar agreement for the existing reactor at Bushehr reduced concerns, but did not eliminate Western suspicions that Iran's development of civilian nuclear power is a cover for a nuclear weapons program.
Western nations point to the large number of centrifuges Iran has been building to enrich uranium as possible evidence of a weapons development program.
Russian officials have expressed less concern about the possibility that Iran could be seeking nuclear-weapons capability, frequently saying there is no proof and suggesting Western concerns are overblown.
Russia agreed to four rounds of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear activities, but has vehemently criticized separate U.S. and European sanctions, saying they hinder the goal of the international talks - an agreement to restrict Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the gradual removal of sanctions.
The United States say the sanctions have made Iran more flexible in negotiations with the five U.N. Security Council powers and Germany, which reached an interim deal with Tehran last November.
Ahead of talks next week that represent a final push for a deal by November 24, U.S. President Barack Obama said that a "big gap" remained and that agreement might not be reached.
(With reporting by Interfax, AFP, Reuters, and AP)
PUTIN, OBAMA DISCUSS IRAN, SYRIA, AND UKRAINE
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Iran, Syria, and Ukraine during three meetings on November 11 on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.
U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said that Putin and Obama spoke for "a total of approximately 15-20 minutes" during the gathering in Beijing.
Both Meehan and Russian officials said their conversations covered Iran, Syria, and Ukraine.
Neither nation has released details.
Relations between Washington and Moscow are at their lowest since the Cold War, with Russia under Western sanctions over its annexation of Crimea in March and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
On November 10, the United States accused Russia of providing "tanks and other heavy equipment" to separatists and urged Moscow to "stop fueling the fire."
Russia and the United States are two of the six powers seeking an agreeement with Iran on its nuclear program by November 24.
(Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP)
MOSCOW COURT HEARS UKRAINIAN PILOT'S COMPLAINT OVER EXAM
A Moscow court has started a hearing into a complaint filed by Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian air force pilot who is being held in Russia on charges of complicity in the deaths of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine.
Savchenko lodged a protest against a psychological examination conducted at a Moscow mental health facility.
The hearing was initially scheduled for October 27 but was postponed until November 11 because she was not brought to the courtroom from the hospital.
Court officials said the hearing was being held behind closed doors because it involves private information about Savchenko's health, court officials said.
Savchenko says she was captured by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on June 18 and "illegally transferred" to Russian custody in July.
Investigators have said she was detained in Russia.
Savchenko won a seat in Ukraine's parliament last month.
(With reporting by TASS and UNIAN)
U.S. STUDENTS KICKED OUT OF RUSSIA
Four U.S. students have been ordered to leave Russia after authorities there said they had the wrong visas.
The four were attending a two-week leadership conference in St. Petersburg on November 6 when immigration and police showed up and demanded to see their visas.
A father of one of the students told the AP news agency they were briefly detained while they were put on trial and fined the equivalent of $110 each.
According to the Tass news agency, Yulia Nikolayeva, a Federal Migration Service representative in St. Petersburg, said the four had come to Russia on tourist visas but the activity they participated in was considered "social-political activity."
The conference was led by the Association of Young Leaders, a Russia-based association that teaches young people leadership skills.
The four flew back to the United States on November 11.
(Based on reporting by AP and Tass)
RUSSIA SAYS CNN NOT PREVENTED FROM BROADCASTING
By RFE/RL
The Russian government says CNN is not legally prohibited from broadcasting in the country after the international broadcaster announced it would cease appearing on Russian airwaves.
The Communications and Mass Media Ministry said on November 11 that CNN officials could consult with the ministry on ways to get the proper licenses needed to continue broadcasting on Russian cable and satellite networks.
CNN said on November 10 that it was suspending its broadcasts in Russia as of January 1 due to "recent changes in Russian media legislation," a reference to a law that limits foreign ownership of a media organization to 20 percent.
The broadcaster said it hopes to reenter the market "in due course" and added that its Moscow news bureau will continue to operate normally.
Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the Russian presidential Human Rights Council, said CNN's decision is "bad news" and would "very seriously deplete" Russia's "information picture."
Fedotov said he wants to fully understand the reasons behind CNN's decision so it can "shed light on what is happening in the media sector of Russia and the whole world."
He praised CNN for its long coverage of important Russian and world events.
Vadim Ampelonsky, a spokesman for Russia's telecommunications watchdog Roscomnadzor, said his agency has nothing to do with CNN's decision.
CNN's decision came the same day that Russia launched a new media organization, Sputnik, in a bid to counter the Western media.
Dmitry Kiselyov, head of the state-owned media organization Rossia Segodnya, said on November 10 that Sputnik was created to compete with what he called the "aggressive propaganda" Western media outlets are "feeding the world."
Kiselyov, speaking in Moscow, said Sputnik will "provide an alternative interpretation of the world."
Kiselyov said Sputnik will have hundreds of reporters working in news bureaus in 30 cities including Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Cairo, and several capitals in former Soviet republics.
He said it would broadcast in radio in 34 countries in 30 languages by the end of 2015 and will have an interactive website, a robust presence on social media, offer SMS information services, and offer newswire content.
It will operate as part of the RIA Novosti news agency.
The announcement came on the same day that Britain's broadcasting regulating agency, Ofcom, warned Russian state-funded RT about biased reporting and threatened it with sanctions.
Ofcom officials cited four different reports by RT that it said were guilty of violating broadcasting regulations on impartiality in covering the crisis in Ukraine.
Ofcom said it understands RT wants to present news with a Russian perspective but that it must be impartial when reporting stories "of major political controversy."
It said further violations could lead to a fine or even the withdrawal of RT's broadcasting license.
(With reporting by Interfax, Reuters, nytimes.com, and theguardian.com)
WILL ROSNEFT DELIST?
HOW CLOSE IS RUSSIA TO A FINANCIAL CRISIS?
Closer than you may think, according to Bloomberg.
As the central bank of Russia appears to be losing control of its currency market, the global financial media is warning about a possible financial crisis there. Some experts have even drawn parallels to August 1998, when a Russian default caused global economic and financial disruptions.
Read it all here.
ECONOMIC STORM CLOUDS GATHER
Yakunin Says China Can't Replace Western Financing
Here's the money graf from the "Financial Times" piece:
A close ally of Vladimir Putin has said Asia cannot replace the west as a source of financing for Russia’s sanctions-hit economy and that the country should continue to pursue integration with Europe despite the stand-off over Ukraine.
The remarks by Vladimir Yakunin, the Russian Railways chief, cast a degree of doubt on the much-vaunted new relationship between Russia and China as Moscow attempts to pivot east following crippling sanctions imposed by the US and EU over Ukraine.
Oil Dips Below $80
And here's the lede from the "Wall Street Journal" story:
Brent crude dipped below $80 a barrel for the first time in four years, as concerns about a global glut of oil pressured prices.
News that Saudi Arabian crude production fell in October and the first public comments from the kingdom’s oil minister in weeks failed to rouse the market, which has been in a downward slide for months.
Brent, the global benchmark, briefly slid below $80 a barrel in intraday trading. The front-month December contract settled down $1.29, or 1.6%, at $80.38 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, the lowest settlement since September 2010.
MORNING NEWS UPDATE
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
RUSSIAN SHIPS TRACKED OFF AUSTRALIA'S COAST AHEAD OF PUTIN'S VISIT
Australia said on November 13 it was tracking four Russian naval vessels off its north coast.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Russia is entitled to have ships in international waters, but said they were being closely tracked.
The fleet’s appearance comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in Brisbane, Australia for the G20 summit on November 15-16.
It also comes amid strained relations over the downing in July of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in pro-Russian separatist controlled eastern Ukraine.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he would confront Putin at the G20 summit about the plane's downing -- which killed 298 people, including 37 people who called Australia home.
In Beijing on November 11, Abbott demanded an apology from Putin -- saying he had information indicating the plane was destroyed by a Russian-supplied missile launcher that returned to Russian territory after being fired.
(Based on reporting by AP, AFP, Interfax, and "The Sydney Morning Herald")
RUSSIAN SUPREME COURT TO HEAR MEMORIAL CASE
By RFE/RL
Russia’s Supreme Court was scheduled on November 13 to hear a lawsuit from the Russian government aimed at dissolving Memorial -- the country’s oldest and most prominent human rights organization.
Russia’s Justice Ministry has appealed to the Supreme Court to close the Memorial over technical issues related to its legal registration.
Formally called the “Russian Memorial Society,” the umbrella organization is comprised of more than 50 rights groups across Russia, including its famed human rights center, as well as in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Georgia.
Founded in Moscow in 1989 under the auspices of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, Memorial has led efforts to uncover communist-era rights repressions and fight rights abuses in modern-day Russia.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government agency that monitors human rights abuses worldwide, says Moscow’s attempt to liquidate Memorial is "an obvious attempt to silence the voice of its own conscience."
(With additional reporting by "The Washington Post")
LAVROV, KERRY AGREE IRAN DEAL NEEDED SOON
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry reportedly have called for an agreement to be reached as soon as possible on a permanent nuclear deal with Iran.
Moscow says the move came during a November 12 telephone conversation between Lavrov and Kerry.
A statement from Russia’s Foreign Ministry about the conversation said: “The need to reach as soon as possible a comprehensive agreement which would allow to fully normalize the situation around the Iranian nuclear program has been acknowledged."
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed the two had spoken about the Iran negotiations by phone on November 12, but did not go into detail about the conversation.
They spoke a day after Iran and world powers met in Oman amid signs that an elusive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program may not be reached before a self-imposed November 24 deadline.
(Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, TASS, and Interfax)
UN WARNS 'FULL SCALE FIGHTING' POSSIBLE IN EASTERN UKRAINE
By RFE/RL
The United Nations Security Council has met in emergency session on Ukraine’s crisis for the 26th time, again without taking action, as UN officials warned of possible “full-scale fighting" in eastern Ukraine.
The November 12 Security Council meeting came hours after a senior NATO official said the alliance has confirmed that “multiple columns” of Russian tanks, artillery, and antiaircraft units have crossed from Russia into separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine since November 10.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen told the Security Council on November 12 that the UN is “deeply concerned over the possibility of a return to full-scale fighting” in eastern Ukraine.
He said Ukraine also could face a months-long simmering conflict that would be catastrophic, or the situation in eastern Ukraine could become a “frozen” conflict that lingers for years or even decades.
Russia denied the allegations from NATO’s top commander in Europe, U.S. General Philip Breedlove, that Russian armored columns have been crossing into eastern Ukraine.
Moscow says there is no evidence Russian armed forces are in eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s representative told the UN Security Council that the storm of international criticism the Kremlin now faces is “yet another foray into propaganda with new flourishes.”
The emergency Security Council session was called by Washington.
But there was no proposed UN resolution against Russia, which has Security Council veto powers.
U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council that Russia “talks of peace, but it keeps fueling war” in eastern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, international monitors confirm seeing unmarked military forces bolstering pro-Russian separatist positions in eastern Ukraine since November 8 in a clear violation of a September 5 cease-fire deal that was brokered by Russia.
OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier said in Brussels on November 12 that video from OSCE monitor drones shows "nondescript militias wearing no identification [fighting] on the side of the rebels" and firing antiaircraft weapons at the OSCE drones.
He said the OSCE drones, meant to monitor the cease-fire deal, also are being subjected to "high-end military-grade jamming” from an unknown location.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin on November 12 that there are signs the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine are preparing for major military clashes against Ukrainian government troops.
Steinmeier said the massing of troops “helps nobody, and we're losing time -- time we urgently need for the political and especially the economic stabilization of Ukraine."
In Donetsk, an AFP correspondent reported on November 12 that heavy shelling was being fired from separatist-held positions near the city center toward government-held positions around Donetsk’s international airport.
Earlier on November 12, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by telephone about the Ukraine crisis.
Moscow said in a statement that Lavrov stressed the need for "direct dialogue between Kyiv and Donetsk and Luhansk” about elections conducted by separatists in territory they control.
The wording reflected Russian support for elections held on November 2 that have been rejected by Kyiv, the United States, and the European Union as illegal and illegitimate.
(With reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, TASS and Interfax)
NATO SAYS RUSSIAN TROOPS, WEAPONS ENTERING UKRAINE
NATO's top commander says the alliance has observed columns of Russian military equipment entering eastern Ukraine in the past two days.
Speaking in Sofia on November 12, U.S. General Philip Breedlove said the columns included Russian tanks, artillery, air defense systems, and combat troops.
OSCE monitors reported on November 11 seeing a convoy of 43 unmarked military trucks, five towing howitzer artillery pieces and five others multi-launch rocket systems, travelling into the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
Meanwhile, reports said heavy shelling rocked Donetsk, one of two provincial capitals held by pro-Russian rebels, on November 12.
An AFP correspondent said mortar shells were being fired from an area near the city center toward government-held positions around Donetsk's international airport.
The military movements and frequent shelling have raised fears of an escalation of the conflict that persists despite a September 5 cease-fire and has killed more than 4,000 people since April.
(Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters)
RUSSIA'S NEW ENEMY - AUSTRALIA
MEDVEDEV CALLS FOR END TO SANCTIONS
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says it is up to the West to improve severely strained relations with Moscow by scrapping sanctions imposed over the Ukraine crisis.
Medvedev spoke after an East Asia summit in Burma, also known as Myanmar, where he said he exchanged greetings with Barack Obama but had no substantive discussion with the U.S. president.
"I hope this period of in...our relations with Europe and the United States will be overcome, but I emphasize, the ball is in their court" - they must take the necessary decisions," Medvedev said.
"It's necessary to simply abandon sanctions... to return to normal, productive talks - then everything will stabilize," he said.
The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
(Based on reporting by TASS, Interfax, and Reuters)