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NORMANDY FOUR SUMMIT

Normandy Four summit kicks off in Paris

Putin and Zelensky met each other in person for the first time

© Mikhail Metzel/ITASS

PARIS, December 9. /TASS/. The Normandy Four (Russia, France, Germany, Ukraine) leaders have begun negotiations in Paris.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky gathered in the Elysee Palace. Prior to that, they held a number of bilateral meetings. Putin talked with Merkel and Macron, who, for their part, had separate meetings with Zelensky.

Putin and Zelensky shook hands with each other before the beginning of the Normandy Four talks, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS.This is the first time the two leaders meet each other in person. Prior to that, they talked over the phone several times.

The Russian and Ukrainian presidents are expected to meet after the end of the four-party summit. The event is being held behind closed doors, except for the official photo session.

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Ukraine Vladimir Putin France Angela Merkel Germany Emmanuel Macron Vladimir Zelensky

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"We call on our South Korean colleague to think twice and not to embark on this extremely dangerous path, which will lead Seoul to nothing good", Anna Yevstigneyeva said

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The Ionosphere-M satellites, which are the main payload, are set to be put into a sun-synchronous orbit within an hour

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US to hold 60th election of president, vice president on Tuesday

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Attacks on reserves and Ukrainian losses: situation in Kursk Region

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"Our current adversaries argue that they have a right to send any weapons to Ukraine or that they have a right to dispatch their advisors to consult on how to conduct hostilities," the Russian Security Council deputy chairman said

Russia’s Ionosfera-M satellites successfully put into orbit after launch

Soyuz-2.1b rocket also carried 53 other satellites

Attempts to destroy Iran’s nuclear capacity may expand conflict — top Turkish diplomat

According to Fidan, Israel continues to put forward conditions in talks with the Palestinian movement Hamas

For US losing dollar as a standard of settlements would be like losing a war, Trump says

The Republican presidential candidate criticized the current US administration for allowing the unification of Russia, China, Iran, the DPRK and a number of other countries into one group

Medvedev says any new uprising in Ukraine would seek to execute current leaders

The Russian politician said the goal of Zelensky and his team is to stay in power in the country as long as possible

Fencing installed around Harris’ residence in Washington ahead of election

Apart from that, additional fencing will be installed around the US Capitol and the US Department of the Treasury in Washington

Meta makes AI models available to US government for military purposes

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Putin meets with visiting North Korean foreign minister — Kremlin spokesman

On November 1, Choe Son Hui held talks with her Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov

Austria accepts terms of payment for Russian gas in rubles — Chancellor

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Trump has 61% chance of winning US election — bookmakers

The US general election is being held on November 5, 2024

Azerbaijan, Iran hold joint naval drills in Caspian Sea

The ministry said earlier that the drills involved two ships and more than 100 servicemen of the Azerbaijani Navy

Ukrainian lawmaker Bezuglaya calls out ‘catastrophic situation’ in country’s army

Maryana Bezuglaya accused Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky for his alleged failure of the military operation in Russia’s borderline Kursk area and the complicated situation in the southern directions of the frontline

Press review: Turkey to mediate in Russian-Ukrainian conflict while IDF strikes Gaza

Top stories from the Russian press on Saturday, November 2nd

Russian Guardsmen uncover Ukrainian arms cache with over 100,000 munitions in LPR

The arms cache also stored more than 600 artillery shells and engineer explosive items, eight anti-tank missiles, over 100 grenade launcher projectiles

Israel steps up readiness for potential Iranian strike — report

The IDF has not ruled out the possibility of an Iranian response from Syria, Yemen, or Iraq, rather than directly from Iran, the newspaper reported

Trump admits he may lose election

The US general election is being held on November 5, 2024

Talks on settlement in Gaza continue — diplomatic source

The Egyptian proposal involved a 12-day ceasefire, during which Hamas would release four Israeli hostages and then the sides would hold talks about "a more long-lasting ceasefire"

Kursk region will be cleared of Ukrainian forces — Putin

He added that victory is impossible without volunteers who support the fighters at the front