Ukraine has raised the issue of regaining control over Debaltseve. The issue was brought up during a video conference between the Trilateral Contact Group and representatives of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR).

“Ukraine specifically drew attention to the provisions of a memorandum dated the 19th of September 2014. It stated that Ukraine would have control over Debaltseve. It also presumed that the conflict would stop at where the contact …

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the village of Hassajek in the Syrian province of Aleppo was attacked by fighter jets from the Belgian Air Force.

"According to information obtained from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties from the local Council of the city of Afrin, on the 18th of October, 2016 at about 3 a.m., an airstrike was conducted on the village of Hassajek in the Aleppo province. The bombing destroyed two houses, killing six people and wounding …

Russia and Turkey have agreed to pursue joint actions to drive the al-Nusra Front, also known as al-Qaeda in Syria, from the Syrian city of Aleppo, as stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, RIA Novosti reported.

“Yesterday, I spoke with [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. We discussed Aleppo. He said that bombing has ceased there for 22 hours. He expressed the wish that ‘al-Nusra’ would be ejected from the city. We have given the necessary instructions to colleagues and started to …

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… …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …