Russia

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/: Russia expects the intra-Afghan meeting in Beijing to be held before the end of this year, Special Presidential Envoy for Afghanistan and Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second Asian Department Zamir Kabulov told TASS on Wednesday.

"Yes, we believe that this can happen in the immediate future, perhaps, this month. I am ready to participate."

He added that a date for the meeting had not been agreed on yet, because China had problems with coordinating the list of participants from Kabul.

MOSCOW, November 20. /TASS/: The Russian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the reports that two Russian staff correspondents were refused British visas necessary to work in the United Kingdom.

"We can confirm that British authorities did not issue visas to two Russian staff correspondents," the ministry told TASS on Wednesday.

VLADIVOSTOK, November 19. /TASS/: The Pacific Fleet’s rescue vessel Igor Belousov will take part in the Russian-Vietnamese drills in the South China Sea in December for assisting the crew of a submarine in distress, the Fleet’s press office reported on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/: The Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Cooepration in Europe (OSCE), Thomas Greminger, said he was concerned by the latest wave of protests in Georgia and urged all sides to engage in peaceful dialogue.

"Following developments in Georgia with concern," the OSCE head wrote on Twitter. "Look to all sides to ensure peaceful protest and progress through dialogue and respect for legal frameworks."

SEVASTOPOL, November 19. /TASS/: An investigation launched in the wake of Ukraine’s provocation off the coast of Crimea will continue despite the return of detained warships to Ukraine, a member of the Federation Council (upper chamber of parliament) representing the Crimean city of Sevastopol, Valery Kulikov, told TASS.

"The investigation into this crime against the sovereignty of our country continues. Actions by all participants of this provocation will be duly assessed," said Kulikov, who is a member of the Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee.

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/: Moscow police confirmed reports that Margarita Ignatova, an editor of Russia’s Interfax news agency, had been listed as missing.

"At present, the whereabouts of the young woman, born in 1990, are being established. Her mother has filed a missing person’s report to the police, the search for her is under way," a spokesperson for the Moscow police department told TASS.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian court on Tuesday ruled to keep former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan in custody facing spying charges after it rejected his appeal against the extension of his detention until late December, Interfax news agency reported.

Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained last December and accused of espionage. Moscow says he was caught red-handed, but he denies the allegations and says he was set up in a politically motivated sting.

MOSCOW, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany, known as the Normandy Four, will discuss the situation in Ukraine in Paris on Dec. 9.

"It is true. The preparations are underway and they have already entered the final stage," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Later on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold an international telephone conversation "largely related to preparations for the Normandy-format meeting," he added, giving no further details.

MOSCOW, Nov 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia is set to return Ukrainian navy ships seized a year ago, as it prepares for a summit to try and resolve the wider conflict between them, Interfax news agency said.

“In accordance with agreements concluded with the Ukrainian side, three Ukrainian ships … are being towed from the port of Kerch to an approved transfer point,” border officials with the Russian secret service told the Interfax news agency.

The transfer was to take place on Monday, they added.

SIMFEROPOL, November 18. /TASS/: The first batch of olive oil from Syria was delivered on Monday to Crimea to be later sold in other Russian regions, the republic’s Minister for Industrial Policy Andrei Vasyuta told TASS on Monday.