Europe

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/: Russia continues to support the Syrian military in its fight against terrorists, who ramped up its activity in Idlib, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the remark made by US President Donald Trump, who condemned Russian support for Syria in a phone call with his Turkish colleague Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Russian Armed Forces, Russian advisors continue to support the Syrian Armed Forces in their fight against terrorists. We continue to deplore the terrorists’ ramped up activity in Idlib," the Kremlin spokesman said.

MOSCOW, February 17. /TASS/: The state of affairs in Libya has not transformed following the Berlin conference on Libya, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Italian La Stampa newspaper published on Monday.

MUNICH, February 17. /TASS/: Russia has so far seen no progress in complying with the decisions of the Normandy Four summit held in Paris, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters on Monday following the Munich Security Conference.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union on Monday extended until Feb. 28, 2021, an arms embargo on Belarus and an asset freeze against four nationals from the ex-Soviet republic, according to a statement.

The measures include an embargo on trade in arms and equipment “that could be used for internal repression” as well as an asset freeze and travel ban against four people the bloc links to “the unresolved disappearances of two opposition politicians, one businessman and one journalist in 1999 and in 2000,” the bloc said in its statement.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain does not need any special arrangements in its future relationship with the European Union, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Monday, adding that it wants a trade agreement similar to other deals the EU has struck.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s EU advisor, David Frost, will give a speech later setting out what Britain wants from the future relationship. The spokesman said that Britain wants a relationship based on friendly cooperation and that it was ready to start negotiations with the EU now.

MOSCOW, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has raised doubts about the efficiency of the U.S.' plan for a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, known as the "Deal of the Century."

Washington's proposal for a solution through unilateral concessions favor Israel, Lavrov said in an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, which was published by the Russian Foreign Ministry Monday.

MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- The 56th Munich Security Conference (MSC) closed on Sunday as attendees didn't share consensus on "Westlessness," the theme of this year's conference.

The debates on "Westlessness," which refers to the loss of common standing of what it means to be part of the West, would likely continue.

In his closing remarks, MSC Chairman Wolfgang Ischinger said that there're differences of views among partners from the European Union (EU) and the United States, stressing that "if we don't listen to each other, we would have problems."

BUDAPEST, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Sunday announced a new climate action plan and spoke about future challenges in his annual state-of-the-nation speech.

"The government has adopted a climate action plan this week. On July 1, illegal landfills will be eradicated and polluters will be punished. Disposable plastics are banned, allowing metal and glass bottles to be reused. We will protect the Danube and the Tisza rivers from pollution," Orban said.

LONDON (AP) — Britain issued five “severe” flood alerts on Monday, warning there’s a danger to life after Storm Dennis dumped weeks worth of rain in some places. It gale-force winds also caused flooding and power outages across other parts of northern Europe.

The severe flood warnings were for the central English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire. The Met Office, Britain’s meteorological agency, issued another 221 flood warnings for England, along with 24 for Wales and 12 for Scotland.

BRUSSELS (AP) — A number of European Union countries are still blocking any move to resume a naval operation in the Mediterranean Sea over concerns that it might encourage migrants to set out from Libya in search of better lives in Europe, the EU’s top diplomat said Monday.

The naval mission, Operation Sophia, was launched in 2015 amid a wave of migration across the sea from North Africa to Europe. The aim was to crack down on migrant smugglers and enforce a U.N. arms embargo on conflict-torn Libya, which is routinely being flouted.