EU Leaders To Discuss Ukraine, Syria, Brexit At Summit
EU heads of state and government are meeting in Brussels on December 15 for a one-day summit to discuss some of the crises faced by the European Union this year.
The EU leaders are expected to roll over sanctions against Moscow over the conflict in Ukraine for another six months.
They will also hold talks about an agreement for political and commercial ties between the bloc and Ukraine that the Netherlands has threatened to torpedo.
The Netherlands, the only EU member state that has not yet ratified the deal, wants to clarify that the pact does not put Ukraine on the path to EU membership.
On Syria, EU leaders are expected to strongly condemn the assault on eastern Aleppo by the Damascus regime and its allies.
The EU leaders will hold an informal working dinner, without British Prime Minister Theresa May, to discuss how to handle Britain's departure from the bloc.
Based on reporting by dpa and AFP
Japan rules out lifting Western sanctions against Russia ...
Putin, Abe Seek Progress On Kurile Islands Dispute During Two-Day Summit
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meet on December 15 seeking progress on a territorial dispute that has prevented their countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II.
The two sides are likely to clinch agreements on economic cooperation in areas from medical technology to energy. But both have sought to dampen expectations of a breakthrough in the feud over islands off Hokkaido that Russia calls the Kuriles and Japan calls the Northern Territories, which were seized by Soviet forces at the end of the war.
The two leaders will visit a mountainside inn at the hot springs resort of Nagato in southwest Japan and move their meeting to Tokyo on December 16.
Abe has pledged to resolve the territorial dispute, in hopes of leaving a diplomatic legacy. But resolving the dispute carries risks for Putin, who does not want to tarnish his reputation at home for being a staunch defender of Russian sovereignty.
Putin told the Yomiuri newspaper this week that the goal of a peace treaty would be harder to achieve if Russia remained subject to Japanese sanctions.
But Japan has ruled out undermining Western sanctions on Russia that were imposed over its aggression in Ukraine.