From AFP:
Russia on Friday warned France of "serious" consequences unless Paris delivers by the end of this month a Mistral-class assault warship whose handover has been delayed by concerns over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis, a report said.
"We are preparing for different scenarios. We are waiting until the end of the month, then we will lodge serious claims," the state news agency RIA Novosti quoted an anonymous high-ranking Moscow source as saying.
The first of two mammoth Mistral helicopter carriers was supposed to be delivered on Friday according to the original deal signed in 2011 and worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) for both vessels.
Russia's state-run arms dealer had been widely expected to attend a ceremony on Friday for the hand-over.
But amid this year's Ukraine crisis and the rapid decline in the West's relations with Russia, France has come under intense pressure from its allies, particularly the United States, and in September postponed the delivery.
The Moscow soure said on Friday experts were currently gauging the damage sustained by Russia and it would be made public.
"This amount will not be secret," the source was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
The Dutch government says two Dutch F16 fighter jets intercepted a Russian Ilyushin transport plane after it flew into international airspace north of Estonian and Lithuanian without giving a flight plan.
The Dutch jets were part of a NATO force patrolling the skies above the Baltic states as part of a presence beefed up since the Ukraine crisis erupted earlier this year.
The Dutch government says that after the interception on November 12, the Ilyushin-76 flew off in the direction of the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which is sandwiched between NATO member states Poland and Lithuania.
Meanwhile, in response to Moscow’s increased military activity in the region, the defense ministers of Britain, the three Baltic states, and four Nordic countries agreed on November 13 to increase intelligence and air force cooperation.
The Nordic countries involved are NATO members Norway and Denmark and neutral Finland and Sweden.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
British Prime Minister David Camera has warned Russia that its actions in eastern Ukraine are unacceptable and could result in additional sanctions from both the European Union and the United States.
Cameron made the remarks at a news conference in Australia, a day before the start of a G20 summit in Brisbane that is also to be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Camera told reporters he hopes “that the Russians see some sense and recognize that they should allow Ukraine to develop as an independent and free country, free to make its choices."
The British prime minister said: "If Russia takes a positive approach towards the Ukraine's freedom and responsibility, we could see those sanctions removed.”
But he said that “if Russia continues to make matters worse, then we could see those sanctions increased. It is as simple as that."
This ends our live-blogging for November 13. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
A young woman tried to hang herself near Ukraine's embassy in Moscow, Interfax reports:
A young woman attempted to hang herself on the fence of the Ukrainian embassy in central Moscow on Thursday, a law enforcement source told Interfax.
A car pulled up near the Ukrainian Embassy at 18 Leontyevsky Pereulok Street on Thursday, from which a young woman exited and unfolded a banner demanding that Ukrainian authorities stop the military operation in the eastern part of the country.
After that, she produced a rope with two nooses, attached one of them to the embassy fence, put the other around her neck and tried to hang herself. However, a security guard prevented her from doing so, pulled her out of the noose and chased her away, the source said.
In about an hour, the same young woman returned to the embassy building, again attached a rope to the fence and tried to hang herself. Several seconds later, security guards pulled her out of the noose again.
After that, they called an ambulance, and doctors helped the woman come to her senses and then took her to a hospital, the source said.
The woman's life is not in danger, and she has to undergo a psychiatric examination.
Washington doesn't see why Russia is sending bombers near North America, our news desk reports:
The U.S. State Department says Russia’s plans to send long-range bombers on flight patrols near North America are unwarranted.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on November 13, "We don't think that there is a current situation in the western Atlantic [Ocean] and eastern Pacific [Ocean], or the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, that warrants additional flights in out-of-area territory."
Russia's TASS news agency quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as saying on November 12 that the patrols were aimed at securing Russia’s "military presence" in these areas.
Psaki said Washington had noticed a recent spike in Russian flights "near North America" but that they do not violate international law.
Shoigu’s statement came days after NATO reported a increase in Russian military flights in European airspace recently. (Reuters, AP and TASS)