Russian President Vladimir Putin
NATO is moving its military infrastructure closer to the Russian border and Russia needs to strengthen its own infrastructure in response, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
He spoke at a news conference after talks with Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.
Putin also said NATO was refusing to discuss rules for military flights with Russia.
Referring a joint meeting with Trump, Putin also said, "A summit with U.S. President Donald Trump was useful but U.S. sanctions against Moscow are counter-productive and pointless".
Putin also stated Europe needed the Moscow-led Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project and that Russia was the most suitable supplier of energy for Europe.
He was speaking at a news conference after talks with Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto in the Black Sea city of Sochi.
Austria is firmly rooted in the European Union and fully shares its stance towards Russia, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Wednesday, aiming to reassure critics after Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the Austrian foreign minister's wedding.Karin Kneissl danced with Putin at her wedding last weekend and then made a deep curtsey to him, prompting an outcry in some local media which said she had undermined EU policy on Russia.The EU imposed sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Relations between Moscow and the EU have been strained by other issues too."Our position in Europe did not change because of a wedding," Kurz told a news conference. "Our foreign policy towards Russia is clear... We helped shape and are committed to all the European Union's decisions."Kurz, whose conservatives govern in coalition with the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), moved some departments that deal with EU affairs from the foreign ministry to his own office when he became chancellor late last year to reassure member states of his government's pro-European intentions.Kurz has said he hopes to improve EU ties with Russia through more intensive dialogue. Austria holds the EU's rotating six-month presidency until the end of the year and is expected to speak on behalf of the whole 28-nation bloc.However, unlike most western European countries, Austria did not expel Russian diplomats over the poisoning in Britain of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter. Britain and its allies have blamed Russia, though it denies any involvement.Kurz said he discussed EU-Russian ties and other issues with Putin during his short visit to Austria. He did not elaborate.Kneissl, who got her job on a Freedom Party ticket but is not a member of the FPO, invited Putin to her wedding when he visited Austria in June. She is on holiday this week, and has not commented on the media outcry.FPO leader and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, whose party has a cooperation agreement with Putin's United Russia Party, said on Wednesday the Kremlin leader's visit had underlined his high regard for Austria."That is something positive, and I think that many Austrians share this view," he said. Strache has called for ending the EU sanctions against Russia. 
Austria says shares EU stance on Russia despite Putin visit
Castigated by U.S. President Donald Trump as relying too much on Russian gas supplies, German Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Azerbaijan this week to discuss the development of a southern pipeline to deliver gas to Europe from the Caspian.The visit underscores Merkel's openness to finding alternative sources of affordable gas even as she remains committed to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which will carry gas directly from Russia under the Baltic Sea to Germany."We have a big interest in further developing the Southern Corridor," a senior German government official said."This is part of the EU's diversification strategy of getting gas from other regions, not just Russia, to Europe."In Baku, Merkel will discuss energy issues, including improving the infrastructure to help transport gas from Azerbaijan to Europe via Turkey, officials said.Azerbaijan looks set to play a crucial role as it plans to launch the second stage of a gas pipeline from the vast Shah Deniz field to Europe. Shah Deniz II is expected to produce 16 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas a year from 2020, with 10 bcm earmarked for Europe and 6 bcm for Turkey and Georgia.Later, gas could be brought from Turkmenistan, Iran and Iraq to Europe. In a sign of progress, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan agreed in principle this month on how to divide the potentially huge oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea.However, the southern pipeline is dwarfed by Nord Stream 2, a Gazprom initiative that will double Russia's export capacity to Europe to 110 bcm. That pipeline is welcomed by much of German industry, which wants as much cheap gas as possible.Last month Trump, who is pressing Germany to buy more U.S. liquefied natural gas, lambasted Germany as being "a captive" of Russia due to its dependence on Russian energy, a charge Germany denies. Trump has called Nord Stream 2 "horrific".Germany imported 39 percent of its gas from Russia in the first half of 2018, figures from state foreign trade authority BAFA showed.Merkel discussed energy in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a palace outside Berlin at the weekend. She is trying to assuage some Nord Stream 2 critics by ensuring Ukraine does not suffer from lower gas transit revenues.Merkel also travels to Georgia and Armenia on her three-day trip, which starts on Thursday. She will hold talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev on Saturday.
After Trump attack on Russia ties, Merkel eyes Azeri gas
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it regretted Washington's refusal to take part in Afghanistan peace talks in Moscow on Sept. 4.Russia invited 12 countries, including the United States, to the talks, which are taking place as Moscow pushes for a more prominent role in Afghanistan.
Russia regrets US refusal to attend Moscow talks on Afghanistan
The U.S. sanctioned two Russian shipping companies and six of their ships Tuesday over alleged violations of UN and U.S. sanctions on North Korea.The two shipping companies -- Primorye Maritime Logistics Co Ltd and Gudzon Shipping Co LLC -- are suspected of transferring petroleum products to the North in violation of UN-mandated caps on such imports.The companies are alleged to own the Russian-flagged Patriot ship, which the Treasury Department said participated in two ship-to-ship transfers of roughly 3,500 tons of oil to North Korea-flagged ships. The purchaser of the oil transfers was ultimately Taesong Bank, which the Treasury said is linked to the Workers' Party of Korea Office 39, a secretive group "which engages in illicit economic activities for North Korean leadership."“Ship-to-ship transfers with North Korea-flagged vessels from Russia or elsewhere of any goods being supplied, sold, or transferred to or from the DPRK are prohibited under the UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea and are sanctionable under U.S. law,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.Americans are now generally prohibited from doing business with the two Russian shipping firms, and any assets they have in the U.S. have been frozen.Six of their vessels are also affected including the Patriot, Neptun, Bella, Bogatyr, Partizan and Sevastopol.In a separate announcement, the U.S. said it blacklisted two individuals and two companies for working on behalf of a company the U.S. sanctioned in June for seeking to provide the Russian government with underwater equipment and diving systems.Marina Igorevna Tsareva allegedly worked on behalf of Divetechnoservices, the sanctioned company, as well as Vela-Marine Ltd., which was blacklisted Tuesday by the Treasury.Anton Aleksandrovich Nagibin is also suspected of helping Divetechnoservices circumvent U.S. sanctions.Slovakia-based Lacno S.R.O. was sanctioned for working with Divetechnoservices.
US sanctions Russian shipping firms, individuals