Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Ukraine overpaid about $ 70 million in the second half of this year for gas from Europe. It is reported by RIA Novosti .

On December 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Japan for the first time in ten years on an official visit, writes The Economist . Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has long been talking about his intention to resolve a territorial dispute. The author notes that the completion of this dispute will lead to the formal resolution of the old contradictions between Russia and Japan.

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The capture of Palmyra by militants of the Islamic State terrorist group prohibited in Russia was a blow to the prestige of the Russian army, said the former head of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Yuri Baluevsky. His words are given by Interfax . Also, according to Baluevsky, the reason for the capture of Palmyra in December 2016 was humanitarian pauses, which allowed the IS militants to regroup. “This is again a blow to the prestige. Including - and in our prestige.

Nikita Belogolovtsev President of the International Biathlon Union Anders Besseberg WCBIATHLON.ru The second part of the McLaren report was published, in which Russia is accused of the state doping system. After this publication, the President of the International Biathlon Union Anders Besserberg said that Russia may lose the right to hold the 2021 world championship if the involvement of its biathletes union in doping fraud, which is mentioned in the report, is proved.

The European Union does not discuss the introduction of sanctions against Russia because of its actions in Syria, the EU representative for Foreign Affairs Federic Moherini said, TASS reports. “No, we did not discuss sanctions against Russia. Not a single EU country offered this, ”said the diplomat to reporters following a meeting of the EU foreign ministers.

The Chairman of the Council of the Federation of Russia Valentina Matvienko believes that the men who occupied the highest posts have lost their tasks, allowing world armed conflicts, Interfax reports. “It seems that men-politicians with their brutal style could not cope with the control of the world. They allowed wars, conflicts, violence. This, of course, is a joke.

The capture of the Syrian Palmyra by militants of the Islamic State (IG) terrorist organization forbidden in Russia causes damage to the image of all civilized humanity, and not Russia. This was stated by the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, RIA Novosti reports. At the end of March, Palmyra was repulsed from IG with the participation of the Russian Air Force. On December 11, militants ousted Syrian government troops from the city.

Over the current year, depositors of banks who have lost licenses in Russia have already lost 45 billion rubles. About Izvestia write with reference to the data of the Deposit Insurance Agency (ASV). We are talking about deposits that exceed 1.4 million rubles and therefore are not covered with insurance of the DIA. At the same time, as the publication writes, at the end of the year the volume of losses will increase.

Valery Maksimenko - Deputy Head of the FSIN - said that in the case of convicted Ildar Dadin, who complained of torture in the Segezh colony, a point was set: no violations were found. About this writes the agency RIA Novosti . “As for Dadin, the final point has been set in his“ case ”.

The media continue to discuss the growth of populism in the EU countries and the reaction to this trend in liberal governments in the context of the approaching elections in several Bloc countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel often seems to observers the last stronghold of Western liberalism, opposing the wave of populism, writes The Economist . The next fall, she will once again nominate her candidacy for the post of chancellor and, most likely, will be re -elected.

In the meetings of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, employees of the internal policy department (UVP) continue to participate. The number of officials was reduced, but there is no ban on their presence, they report “ Vedomosti ” with reference to sources close to the Kremlin. “Nothing has changed. Everything was as it was before, that is, there are no prohibitions, ”the federal official said.

Anna Sakoyan A. Merkel, German Chancellor. Common.wikipedia.org The media continue to discuss the growth of populism in the EU countries and the reaction to this trend in liberal governments in the context of the approaching elections in several Bloc countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel often seems to observers the last stronghold of Western liberalism, opposing the wave of populism, writes The Economist .

The Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Tatyana Golikova said in an interview with the magazine "Ogonek" that the Russian authorities will exhaust the reserve fund in 2017. The interview is published on the portal of the magazine. According to Golikova, after the exhaustion of the reserve fund, the government will proceed to the use of funds that the National Welfare Fund has.

Representatives of the Friday TV channel announced the file of the laws for protecting the reputation to 20 Facebook users for their comments on the host of the Revizorro program Elena Flying, they write Vedomosti . The representative of “Friday” Natalya Abramochkina listed the names of the four defendants in the lawsuit - Mikhail Mironov, Arthur Paisakhov, Ilya Pryatynova and Jeanne Nesterov.