Europe

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service has detained US citizen Paul Whelan in Moscow on suspicion of espionage, the public relations center said on Monday.

"On December 28, 2018 staff members of the Russian Federal Security Service detained US citizen Paul Whelan in Moscow while on a spy mission," the center said.

A criminal investigation into espionage has been launched against the US citizen.

If found guilty, he faces between 10 and 20 years in jail.

MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia will take retaliatory measures in case of the deployment of U.S. missiles banned by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Sunday.

"Russia is under constant pressure from those who see it as some kind of a competitor for some dominant position in world politics. We see this in the example of U.S. actions," Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Rossiya-1 TV channel.

BERLIN (AP) — A man forced open a locked gate on the security perimeter of Hannover Airport in northern Germany and drove a car onto the airfield Saturday before coming to a halt underneath an airliner and being detained, police said.

No one was hurt in the incident, but flights were suspended for more than four hours.

Police said a test suggested that the driver, who told them he was a 21-year-old from Poland, was under the influence of drugs and there were no indications that his actions were terror-related.

BERLIN (AP) — The head of the European Union’s executive branch is urging Britain to “get your act together” and decide what exactly the country wants as Brexit looms.

Britain is due to leave the EU March 29 but its Parliament hasn’t approved the government’s divorce deal with the EU, which many lawmakers loathe. A vote is scheduled in mid-January.

30 Dec 2018; DW: Tens of thousands have turned out for a fourth week of anti-government demonstrations in Belgrade. The protesters accuse President Aleksandar Vucic of gagging mainstream media and sidelining critical voices.

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. The high-level talks between Russia and Turkey on Syria were useful, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday.

"We held a very useful meeting of our interdepartmental team: the foreign and defense ministers and the intelligence services’ chiefs," he said.

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russia hopes that Western countries will not hinder the efforts of Moscow, Ankara and Tehran to set up a Syrian constitutional committee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday after the Russian-Turkish high-level talks.

"We are very hopeful that nobody will hamper our subsequent efforts, including our Western colleagues who have been urging the Astana troika so firmly and persistently in recent months to finish sooner the work on the constitutional committee," he said.

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russia views Kiev’s remarks about an alleged seizure of the so-called "grey zone" in Donbass as a provocation, as it pursues a goal of blocking the peace process, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

"We are indignant at the remarks by Y. Biryukov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, aired by Ukrainian … television channel on December 26. The politician said as follows, "Practically, the entire so-called ‘grey zone’ has been fully liberated and taken under control’," the ministry said.

MOSCOW, December 30. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent his best wishes to US President Donald Trump on the occasion of Christmas and New Year holidays, the Kremlin press service informed.

In his message, Putin stressed that "Russian-US relations are a key factor of ensuring strategic stability and international security". The Russian leader also confirmed Russia’s readiness for dialogue with the US on a wide range of issues.

Putin also sent best wishes to former US President George W Bush.

by Xinhua writer Zhang Xin

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Since the end of World War II, the transatlantic alliance between the United States and Europe has been the cornerstone of the Western world.

Over decades, the European allies have habitually relied on Washington for security guarantee within NATO so Europe can develop its economy and proceed with integration.

However, the U.S.-Europe romance has been fading away as it seems Washington now wants to ditch such a tradition, and recalibrate their roles in the partnership.