Lithuania joins euro as tensions with neighboring Russia rise
Lithuania joined the euro zone at the stroke of midnight on Thursday, hoping to anchor itself in Europe as its former master Russia flexes its military muscle in the region.
Ukraine's President to meet Russian, French, German leaders, rules out offensive
Ukraine's President said on Monday he would meet the leaders of Russia, France and Germany on Jan. 15 in an attempt to restore peace to Kiev's eastern territories and acknowledged Kiev lacked the resources to regain control by military means.
Crunch time: As sanctions bite, Putin ally gets into apples
As U.S. and European sanctions piled pressure on Russia earlier this year, the Kremlin hit back with an unusual weapon: apples.
Russia must influence separatists to end Ukraine crisis, says Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel appealed to the Russian government on Sunday to use its influence on separatists in eastern Ukraine to implement a ceasefire plan agreed in Minsk in September aimed at ending the conflict.
Erdogan tells Europe to stop criticizing Turkey
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan slammed European countries on Friday for criticizing deteriorating press freedom in Turkey and said they should instead try to find a solution for what he said was increasing Islamophobia in the continent.
Russia says Kiev's move to join NATO dangerous for Europe
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine's pursuit of NATO membership posed a danger to European security and that the West was using Kiev's bid to join the Atlantic alliance as a way to fuel confrontation between Russia and Ukraine.
China says hopes Japan stays on 'path of peace' with new minister
China hopes that Japan continues down the "path of peace", the defense ministry said on Thursday, in Beijing's first direct reaction to the appointment of a new Japanese defense minister who has a desire for a stronger pre-emptive strike capability.
Russia says NATO turning Ukraine into 'frontline of confrontation'
Russia said on Wednesday NATO was turning Ukraine into a "frontline of confrontation" and threatened to sever remaining ties with the Atlantic military alliance if Ukraine's hopes of joining it were realized.
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