Here's another item from our news desk:
Moscow Prosecutors Refuse To Indict Ukrainian Library Director
The prosecutor's office in Moscow has refused to indict Ukrainian Literature Library Director Natalya Sharina, who was facing charges of extremism and embezzlement.
Sharina's lawyer, Ivan Pavlov, said on August 15 that the prosecutor's office had returned the case to investigators, adding that no reason for the action was provided.
Sharina was detained in October and charged with inciting extremism and ethnic hatred because the library's collection allegedly included books by Ukrainian ultranationalist author Dmytro Korchynskiy, whose works are banned in Russia.
She was placed under house arrest.
In April, investigators charged Sharina with misallocating library funds, allegedly because she used library funds to pay for her legal defense in another extremism case against her that was dismissed in 2013.
Attorney Pavlov said the authorities had "trumped up" new charges after realizing their initial case against his client was too weak.
Sharina has rejected all the allegations, saying they are politically motivated.
Based on reporting by Interfax and rapsinews.ru
Here's the upshot of the Lavrov-Steinmeier meeting in Yekaterinburg, courtesy of our news desk:
Lavrov, Steinmeier Discuss Ukraine, Syria In Yekaterinburg
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have held talks in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg that focused primarily on Ukraine and Syria.
Speaking to reporters after the August 15 meeting, the two ministers affirmed their support for the Minsk process aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov said Moscow is prepared to provide "irrefutable" evidence of an alleged plan by Kyiv to launch sabotage attacks in Crimea, the Ukrainian region that Moscow annexed in 2014.
Moscow does not plan to sever diplomatic relations with Ukraine over the incident, saying that doing so would be "an extreme measure," Lavrov added.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in or knowledge of such a sabotage plot.
Steinmeier said the worsening situation in Ukraine in recent weeks is "worrisome" and called on both Moscow and Kyiv to investigate the alleged sabotage plot.
On Syria, Lavrov said a cease-fire in the area around the city of Aleppo is needed, but that first "it is necessary to deal with the issues of the fight against terrorists."
He accused rebels fighting against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of using short-term humanitarian truces to regroup and of using humanitarian corridors to bring additional fighters and weapons to the conflict zone.
Before his meeting with Steinmeier, Lavrov had told journalists that Russia was not to blame for strained relations with Berlin.
"We are paying top-priority attention to relations with Germany and it is not our fault that they are enduring a difficult period," Lavrov said.
The position of EU powerhouse Germany has been crucial to keeping sanctions in place against Russia over its interference in Ukraine.