Europe

BELGRADE, October 20. /TASS/: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev believes that Russia and Serbia have achieved an unprecedentedly high level of mutual understanding, and it is important to keep the momentum.

Commenting on a similar statement by Serbian President Alexandar Vucic, Medvedev said: "I totally agree, the most important thing is to preserve it [mutual understanding]."

"It can be preserved only if we assess a whole range of international events from similar viewpoints," the Russian premier went on.

MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks by phone, confirming particularly the significance of the Minsk peace deal, inked at the Normandy Four meetings on Ukraine, to be implemented, the Kremlin said on Saturday adding the call was requested by the German side.

"When discussing a solution to the Ukraine crisis, [they] confirmed the significance of strict compliance with provisions of the Minsk Package of Measures and the agreements reached at Normandy Four summit meetings," the Kremlin said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will leave the European Union on Oct. 31 despite an unsigned letter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced by his opponents to send to the bloc requesting a Brexit delay, the government said on Sunday.

The Brexit maelstrom has spun wildly in the past week between the possibility of an orderly exit on Oct. 31 with a deal that Johnson struck on Thursday and a delay after he was forced to ask for an extension late on Saturday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit will happen by October 31, British government minister Michael Gove said on Sunday, despite lawmakers forcing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to send a letter on Saturday to the EU requesting a delay.

Parliament thwarted Johnson’s attempt to secure backing for his EU divorce deal on Saturday, withholding their approval in order to trigger a law passed last month to force him to send a letter to the bloc asking to push back the deadline to Jan. 31.

The move was designed to remove any risk that Britain could leave without a deal on October 31.

BRUSSELS, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has received the letter of Brexit extension from London, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said Saturday.

"The extension request has just arrived. I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react. #Brexit", said Tusk on his twitter account.

According to some British media, Prime Minister Boris Johnson requested a further extension to the Article 50 negotiating period to Jan. 31, 2020 in the letter, but refused to sign it.

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The mayor of riot-stricken Barcelona pleaded Saturday for calm after violent protests by Catalan separatists rocked Spain’s second largest city for a fifth consecutive night.

“This cannot continue. Barcelona does not deserve it,” Mayor Ada Colau told reporters, adding that Friday’s violence was the worst so far.

LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson grudgingly asked the European Union late Saturday to delay Brexit after the British Parliament postponed a decision on whether to back his divorce deal. But the defiant Johnson also made clear that he personally opposed delaying the U.K.’s exit, scheduled for Oct. 31.

New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) India will host the 91st Interpol General Assembly in 2022 after a proposal received "overwhelming support" of member countries at this year's congregation in Chile on Friday, officials said.

A proposal in this regard was given to Interpol Secretary General J rgen Stock by Union Home Minister Amit Shah when the two met here during the former's official visit in August, CBI spokesperson Nitin Wakankar said.

MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/: The construction of the Serbian section of the TurkStream pipeline is proceeding according to the schedule and will be completed according to the plan by the end of this year, First Deputy Head of the Russian Government Office Sergey Prikhodko told reporters ahead of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's official visit to Serbia.

MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/: Russia is ready to develop relations with all Balkan states if they demonstrate political will to do so, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with Serbia's "Evening News" newspaper ahead of the official visit.

"Of course we follow all sorts of signals. Russia is obliged to follow the signals from different countries. You have said it accurately - at some point, the contacts have become complicated. But we are ready for the development of relations," Medvedev said.