Europe

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Foreign Affairs Leonid Slutsky stated that Crimea’s accession to Russia is closed and ruled out the return of the peninsula to Ukraine in exchange for the abolishment of the US sanctions.

"The issue of Crimea’s territorial sovereignty is closed. The return of the peninsula to Ukraine in exchange for the abolishment of the US’ anti-Russian sanctions is out of the question," Slutsky told journalists on Wednesday, commenting on the statements made by US Deputy Representative to the UN Jonathan Cohen.

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russia and Saudi Arabia are due to draw up a program of bilateral cooperation in the space industry, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, wrote in his Twitter post on Wednesday.

"Along with His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, who chaired Saudi Arabia’s Space Agency at the end of last year, we have decided to draw up a program of bilateral cooperation in space," Rogozin tweeted recalling that the prince had flown in orbit earlier.

MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. The Moscow city court has found legal the prolongation till April 24 of the arrest of another four Ukrainian sailors charged with the illegal crossing of the Russian border in the Kerch Strait. Sixteen of the 24 Ukrainian military servicemen involved remain in custody, the court told TASS.

KIEV, February 13. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC) registered 90 observers from the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to monitor the upcoming presidential election in the country at its meeting on Wednesday.

"Having considered the relevant request, the commission registered 90 official observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to monitor the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine," the commission’s press service said. There are no Russian nationals among them.

MOSCOW, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Moscow has no fear of possible new Western sanctions, which are likely forced by Washington, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

"We are not discussing sanctions with anyone. We want to improve our economy, trade with normal foreign partners in such a way as not to depend on someone's whims," Lavrov said at a press conference.

WARSAW, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Polish President Andrzej Duda said an increase in the presence of U.S. armed forces on Polish territory was to be expected, following a bilateral meeting with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence here Wednesday.

"I hope that our joint efforts aimed at increasing the presence of U.S. armed forces in Poland are going to bring effects soon," Duda said in a joint statement following the meeting with Pence.

"In the nearest future, commitments are going to come. This is what we should expect," Duda said.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: A spate of anti-Semitic vandalism and graffiti in and around Paris at the weekend sparked widespread condemnation on Tuesday, stoking fresh concerns about an increase in hate crime against Jews.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told lawmakers that he shared their anger at the "loathsome" acts, urging people "to express their absolute rejection" of anti-Semitism.

13 Feb 2019; AFP: The International Court of Justice on Wednesday will give its decision on a bid by Iran to recover $2 billion in frozen assets that the United States says must be paid to terror victims.

The US Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that Iran must give the cash to survivors and relatives of victims of attacks blamed on Tehran, including the 1983 bombing of a US Marine barracks in Beirut.

12 Feb 2019; DW:  All flights in and out of Belgium have been canceled until Wednesday night as public transport workers went on a 24-hour strike.  All sectors, from public transport to rubbish collection, postal services, hospitals and commercial centers have been affected.

Belgium's air traffic control authority said on Tuesday it was forced to close the country's airspace between Tuesday 10 p.m. CET (2100 UTC) and the same time on Wednesday.

LONDON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday asked Europe Union (EU) leaders to compromise on Brexit in order to secure "friendly relations" between Britain and its neighboring Republic of Ireland and to protect peace in Northern Ireland.

The foreign secretary made the remarks before traveling to France and Poland for talks with ministers, raising the threat of a no-deal Brexit or "Brexit paralysis" if the EU and Britain were unable to strike a deal.