Eurasia

BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel will discuss German concerns about Russia’s presidential vote during talks on Saturday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his newly elected successor Dmitry Medvedev.

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Viktor Bout, the Russian alleged “Merchant of Death” of the clandestine arms trade arrested in a U.S. sting operation in Thailand, will stand trial in Bangkok before extradition is considered, police said on Friday.

TEHRAN (FNA)- Pakistan on Wednesday said a bus service to Iran would commence soon and a private company had been entrusted to operate the service.

BAKU – Azerbaijan accused neighbor Armenia on Wednesday of stoking unrest in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, following shooting there in which Azerbaijan said 16 soldiers had been killed.

KIEV – Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told his prime minister on Wednesday to resume talks with Moscow urgently after Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom halved supplies to Kiev in a row over payments .

MOSCOW – A patron of Russian fashion, socialite and supporter of the arts, Svetlana Medvedeva is shaking off her air of mystery as she prepares to become Russia’s first lady.

MOSCOW – The first big test of whether Russia’s president-elect, Dmitry Medvedev, is really in charge will come when he tries to appoint his own allies into key Kremlin jobs occupied by Vladimir Putin’s loyalists.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia – A Russian opposition activist jailed for two months for taking part in anti-Kremlin protests has gone on a hunger strike, his liberal Yabloko party said on Wednesday.

KIEV – Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko pledged on Wednesday that Ukraine would stand by its obligations to export Russian gas to Europe and remain a “reliable partner”.

Russia’s relations with countries through which it ships gas, power and coal to Europe have been characterized by frequent disputes.