Europe

BERLIN, February 8. /TASS/: German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited the line of contact in Donbass on Monday, spending about 40 minutes there and calling for de-escalation of the situation around Ukraine, the Bild reported.

The foreign minister asked the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces to explain the current state of affairs in Donbass. Baerbock, as shown in the photographs published by the newspaper, was wearing a black bulletproof vest and a hard hat.

VIENNA, February 8. /TASS/: Russia has not welcomed the initiative by the Polish OSCE chairmanship to establish "the Renewed European Security Dialogue" which overlaps all existing OSCE formats, Russia's Permanent Representative to the OSCE Alexander Lukashevich said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/: The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline can ensure Germany's leadership in the European economy for decades to come, and it is important for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to maintain it, Valdai discussion club program director Timofey Bordachev told TASS.

The expert drew attention to the joint press conference of Scholz and US President Joe Biden on Monday following their talks in Washington.

KIEV, February 8. /TASS/: French President Emmanuel Macron urged to comply with the Minsk Accords that are the sole foundation for settling the crisis in Ukraine following a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky.

"The Minsk Accords are the only way that will allow us to establish peace, the only way that will help find a long-term political solution," he said.

GENEVA, Feb 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Commonwealth Secretariat and the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing to strengthening their collaboration on a broad range of public health issues of particular concern to Commonwealth member states and governments, such as the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine equity, advancing universal health coverage, and building resilient health systems.

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed disappointment on Tuesday with what he cast as China's coercive trading practices against Lithuania.

China has downgraded diplomatic ties with Lithuania and pressured multinationals to sever links with the Baltic state after it allowed Taiwan to open a de-facto embassy in Vilnius.

VIENNA, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Indirect talks between Iran and the United States on salvaging Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers resumed on Tuesday after a 10-day break, but envoys gave little away as to whether they were closer to resolving various thorny issues.

Delegates say the talks have made limited progress since they resumed in November after a five-month hiatus prompted by the election of hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

MARIUPOL, Ukraine, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Visibly shaken, Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stood in front of the ruins of a house near the frontline of the conflict in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.

"It leaves me with a very heavy feeling that here, right by the beach, which should be one of the prettiest places to be in the country, you can actually feel what happened here years ago," she said at a former resort near the port of Mariupol.

MOSCOW/ISTANBUL, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Six Russian warships are heading to the Black Sea from the Mediterranean for naval drills, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's Defence Ministry as saying on Tuesday, in what it said was a pre-planned movement of military resources.

Russia announced last month its navy would stage a sweeping set of exercises involving all its fleets in January and February, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, in the latest show of strength in a surge of military activity during a standoff with the West over Ukraine. 

KYIV, Feb 8 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron, the first leader of a major Western power to meet Vladimir Putin since Russia massed troops near Ukraine, said on Tuesday he believed steps can be taken to de-escalate the crisis and called on all sides to stay calm.

Macron, who in contrast to the U.S. and British leaders, has played down the likelihood that Russia may soon invade its neighbour, shuttled from Moscow to Kyiv on Tuesday in a high-profile bid to act as a mediator.