Europe

MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed the need in a talk with Finnish leader Sauli Niinisto to hold negotiations with the United States and NATO on security guarantees for Moscow, noting that this move fully complied with the indivisible security principle, the Kremlin press office said after both leaders’ talks on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, Dec 14 (NNN-TASS) – Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, held a phone conversation yesterday, to discuss the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The top diplomats reaffirmed their common position to restore the nuclear deal in its original balanced text, approved by the United Nations Security Council, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will discuss tensions in Europe and "aggressive" U.S. and NATO rhetoric during a video call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.

The conversation will take place at a moment of high tension in both countries' relations with the West, with Beijing under pressure over human rights and Moscow over its build-up of troops near the border with Ukraine.

LONDON, Dec 14 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a large rebellion among his Conservative lawmakers on Tuesday in a parliamentary vote over new restrictions to try to curb the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

The measures, including ordering people to work from home, to wear masks in public places and use COVID-19 passes to enter some venues, are expected to be approved by parliament but with Johnson relying on the opposition Labour Party for votes.

PARIS, Dec 14 (Reuters) - France is contemplating tightening controls for travellers coming from Britain, where the new, more contagious, Omicron coronavirus variant seems to be rapidly spreading, said French government spokesman Gabriel Attal.

"Regarding Britain, the current rule is to show a negative test less than 48 hours old in order to enter France," Attal told France Info radio on Tuesday.

"But we are always looking at means to tighten the framework, we are currently working on that and we should, I think, come to a conclusion in the coming days", he added.

MOSCOW, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday it may be forced to deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe in response to what it sees as NATO's plans to do the same.

The warning from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov raised the risk of a new arms build-up on the continent, with East-West tensions at their worst since the Cold War ended three decades ago.

MOSCOW, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin via video link on Wednesday, another virtual conference this year following the one in June.

Since the beginning of this year, China and Russia have taken the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good-neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation as a new starting point to promote strategic coordination and comprehensive practical cooperation between the two countries.

13 Dec 2021; MEMO: The UN Human Rights Council (HRC), this Friday, will hold a special session to address "the grave human rights situation in Ethiopia" after a request by the European Union and following a warning last week from the US, it announced, and reported by Anadolu News Agency.

14 Dec 2021; MEMO: Fuel supplier Bunker Holding, its chief executive and its subsidiary were convicted by a Danish local court today for breaching European Union sanctions by selling jet fuel to war-torn Syria, court documents showed, Reuters reports.

14 Dec 2021; MEMO: A new coalition of Jewish academics has rejected the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism, which members say stifles academic freedom. According to the Jewish Faculty Network (JFN), the definition has been used to "intimidate and silence the work of unions, student groups, academic departments and faculty associations that are committed to freedom, equality and justice for Palestinians."