in Brussels European Union leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit that will be dominated by discussions on Russia and the bloc’s future trade policy with Britain as the EU tries to move forward with its agenda.

While Theresa May will attend her first EU summit as prime minister, no substantive discussion of Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc is expected, though the new Conservative Party leader will update her counterparts on her decision to activate article 50 by March, a move that will activate Britain’s exit process.

Amid mounting public concern about the humanitarian situation in northern Syria where rebel-held areas of Aleppo are being bombed by Russian and Syrian warplanes, EU leaders will debate the bloc’s relationship with Russia over dinner on Thursday night.

Senior EU officials played down any expectations of a decision on sanctions which are up for renewal at the end of the year, while written conclusions on Russia will not be issued after the meeting. Instead, leaders will take stock on the bloc’s relationship with Moscow amid divisions between member states on how far the EU should engage with its eastern partner.

The debate, which Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has been requesting for months, will take place three days after EU foreign ministers issued their strongest condemnation yet of Russia’s actions in Syria, accusing Russia of possible war crimes.

“Since the beginning of the offensive by the regime and its allies, notably Russia, the intensity and scale of the aerial bombardment of eastern Aleppo is clearly disproportionate,” foreign ministers said in a lengthy statement on Monday, criticising Moscow for “the deliberate targeting of hospitals, medical personnel, schools and essential infrastructure.”

But the EU is divided on the issue of engagement with Russia. Greece, Cyprus, Hungary and Italy are among those countries who have previously called for EU sanctions on Moscow to be reassessed, as their economies are hurting from the effect of Russia’s countersanctions on the EU.

On the other hand, France and Britain have been leading calls for the EU to use all its available tools against Russia as the offensive in Aleppo continues. “We are facing a catastrophic and unacceptable situation in Aleppo,” said one senior diplomat, “sanctions should be on the table, at least for discussion.”

Some diplomats expressed hope that Mr Renzi may have been persuaded to take a tougher stance against Moscow following his meetings this week with US president Barack Obama in the White House.

Italy’s commissioner Federica Mogherini , who is the EU’s high representative for foreign policy, proposed a new policy of “selective engagement” with Russia earlier this year, arguing that Europe needed to engage with its neighbour and strategically consider its relationship in parallel to the sanctions introduced in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

While Syria is likely to inform Thursday’s discussion on Russia, leaders are expected to do little more than distil Monday’s declaration from foreign ministers which denounced Russia’s actions in Aleppo. A substantive debate on the current Iraqi government offensive on Mosul is not on the agenda.

Much of Thursday evening’s discussion on Russia is expected to be steered by German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande who will debrief ministers on their meeting with Russian president Vladamir Putin and Ukrainian president Viktor Poroshenko on Wednesday evening.

EU leaders are also scheduled to discuss the EU’s future trade policy on Friday morning, including the EU-Canada trade deal which has threatened to be derailed following the rejection of the deal by the Belgian regional parliament of Wallonia last Friday.

Among the issues to be discussed are the trade defence instruments at the disposal of the EU to protect the bloc’s industries in the face of global competition, including from China. In his letter to EU leaders ahead of the summit, EU Council president Donald Tusk said that, while trade is a “powerful engine for jobs, growth and better living standards,” the benefits of trade were being questioned.

“I am convinced that together we can deliver a trade policy that is fit for today’s concerns and tomorrow’s challenges. But ultimately it hinges on our ability to adequately protect ourselves, and our citizens, when unfair practices arise.”</s>BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “no wonders” should be expected at talks on a stalled peace plan for eastern Ukraine which she will host on Wednesday with the leaders of Russia, France and Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela review the honour guard during a welcoming ceremony at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany October 18, 2016. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

Other top officials, including Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, also dampened expectations of any breakthrough at the talks in Berlin on ending a conflict in which more than 9,600 people have been killed since 2014.

“One musn’t expect any wonders from tomorrow’s meeting but it is worth every endeavour on this issue to take efforts forward,” Merkel told a news conference on Tuesday.

Merkel said she and French President Francois Hollande would also discuss what she called the worsening humanitarian disaster in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Given this situation, I believe no option - including that of sanctions - can be taken off the table,” Merkel said, adding that the first priority was to alleviate human suffering in Syria.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was important to maintain pressure on Russia over Syria, a theme echoed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

“Yes, we want better relations, but not at the price that (the Russians) don’t stick to the rules,” Schaeuble said in a speech in which he called for European Union states to pool their defence budgets to better counter the Russian military.

“We don’t want to fall back into the old insanity of reacting to every provocation, but that doesn’t mean we will accept the shifting of borders and power with violence.”

Ayrault said the meeting would aim to establish a timetable for elections in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine and discuss further military disengagement along the line of conflict.

Poroshenko, speaking in Oslo, cautioned against setting “very high expectations” for the meeting. The Kremlin has criticized Ukraine for not respecting its obligations under the Minsk ceasefire deal.

A ceasefire agreed in the Belarussian capital Minsk in February 2015 stemmed heavy fighting between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed rebels, but violence routinely flares along a demarcation line.

“Am I very optimistic? Yes. I am very optimistic about the future of Ukraine but unfortunately not so much about tomorrow’s meeting, but I would be very happy to be surprised,” Poroshenko said.

The talks will take place just over a year after the four leaders last met in the so-called “Normandy Format,” and against the backdrop of heightened tensions between Russia, Europe and the United States about Moscow’s military role in Syria.

Ayrault, speaking in Paris, said there was no alternative to continuing to work on the Minsk agreement.

“I told the Ukrainians there was no plan B to the Minsk accords. Some think there is a plan B, which is confronting Russia, which we don’t want.”

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters it made sense to “compare notes” about implementation of the Minsk accord, but it was not possible to talk about any concrete agreements.</s>BERLIN: Russian President Vladimir Putin heads to Berlin on Wednesday for a summit on Ukraine amid escalating tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia’s role in Ukraine as well as Syria.

The meeting between the Russian, German, French and Ukrainian leaders will “evaluate the implementation” of the Minsk peace accords for Ukraine, Berlin and Paris said Tuesday.

Putin’s first visit to the German capital since the Ukraine conflict broke out in 2014 will come the day before the 28 leaders of the European Union are due to discuss relations with Russia including sanctions over Ukraine, which come up for renewal at the end of the year.

The EU summit in Brussels is also expected to discuss Russia’s role in Syria, which sparked a furious row between Russia and France last week that prompted Putin to cancel a visit to Paris.

Wednesday’s Ukraine summit will also “discuss the next steps in the process towards ending the crisis in eastern Ukraine,” the French president’s office said Tuesday.

All sides agreed to a peace deal brokered by Germany and France in February 2015, but while the so-called Minsk accords reduced the intensity of fighting, they failed to stop it.

Even before the meeting convened, Kiev and Moscow tamped down hopes for a breakthrough.

“Let’s not have very high expectations on this meeting,” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on a visit to Oslo.

“Am I optimistic enough? Yes I’m very optimistic about the future of Ukraine but unfortunately not so optimistic about tomorrow’s meeting.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin believed there was “no alternative” to implementing the Ukraine accords.

“We know that on this point, the situation leaves much to be desired,” he said. “For the moment, Kiev is doing nothing.”

The summit, set in a flurry of telephone consultations, will be the first since a Paris meeting in October 2015 under the so-called “Normandy Format” grouping the four countries.

French President Francois Hollande last week called on all parties in the Ukraine conflict to draw up a roadmap to end the crisis.

The aim would be to help Ukraine regain control of its borders with Russia, he said after speaking by telephone with Poroshenko.

Hollande had spoken Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Putin about organizing a summit on the conflict.

Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, backs a separatist, pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine that has claimed nearly 10,000 lives.

Moscow has denied accusations that it has sent troops and weaponry across its border with Ukraine to fuel the conflict, which erupted in April 2014, destroying much of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.

Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has monitors in eastern Ukraine.

Although focused on Ukraine, the Berlin meeting comes against the backdrop of the Syrian regime’s Moscow-backed assault on Aleppo, which the EU has warned could amount to a war crime.

EU foreign ministers said Monday they would press ahead with extending sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, but stopped short of threatening measures against Russia.

Moscow on Monday announced an eight-hour “humanitarian” ceasefire in Aleppo later this week, as friction with the West has intensified.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned earlier this month that mounting tensions between the United States and Russia have created a situation that is “more dangerous” than the Cold War.

Relations between the two have nosedived since a Syria ceasefire they agreed to in September fell apart in less than a week. Washington has also accused Damascus and Moscow of staging war crimes in Aleppo.

At least 250,000 people are living under siege in rebel-held east Aleppo, and facing almost-daily heavy bombing since the Russian-backed Syrian army launched an offensive to retake the city last month. AFP</s>PARIS: Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine will hold a summit in Berlin on Wednesday to “evaluate the implementation” of the Minsk peace accords for Ukraine, the French presidency said.

The summit will also “discuss the next steps in the process towards ending the crisis in eastern Ukraine,” a statement said Tuesday.

The meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Russian, French and Ukrainian presidents, Vladimir Putin, Francois Hollande and Petro Poroshenko, was set in a flurry of telephone consultations.

The summit will be the first since October 2015 under the so-called “Normandy Format” grouping the four countries.

Hollande last week called on all parties in the Ukraine conflict to draw up a roadmap to end the crisis.

The aim would be to help Ukraine regain control of its borders with Russia, he said after speaking by telephone with Poroshenko.

Hollande had spoken Wednesday with Merkel and Putin about organizing a summit on the conflict.

Russia, which annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, backs a separatist, pro-Moscow insurgency in eastern Ukraine that has claimed nearly 10,000 lives.

Moscow has denied accusations that it has sent troops and weaponry across its border with Ukraine to fuel the conflict, which erupted in April 2014, destroying much of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland.

Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has monitors in eastern Ukraine.

All sides agreed to a peace deal brokered by Germany and France in February 2015, but while the so-called Minsk accords reduced the intensity of fighting, they failed to stop it.

Wednesday’s meeting will come amid tensions between France and Russia over Moscow’s role in the Syrian conflict that prompted Putin to cancel a visit to Paris.

And in Brussels on Thursday the 28 leaders of the European Union are due to discuss relations with Russia including sanctions over Ukraine which come up for renewal at the end of the year.

They are also expected to discuss Russia’s role in Syria. AFP</s>BERLIN (AP) — The leaders of Germany, Russia, Ukraine and France will hold a summit in Berlin for talks on the stagnant peace process in eastern Ukraine — a meeting that also is expected to touch on Syria’s civil war.

Prospects of significant progress on either front look poor, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel said before Wednesday evening’s meeting that it’s important to exhaust every possibility.

Merkel and Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Francois Hollande of France and Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine have met sporadically to discuss eastern Ukraine. This is their first meeting in over a year.

The 2015 Minsk agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped end large-scale battles between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists, but clashes have continued.</s>Chancellor Angela Merkel wore a tight smile as she greeted Russian president Vladimir Putin to Berlin on Wednesday ahead of tense talks on the ongoing eastern Ukraine conflict and Russian-backed bombing in Syria.

Mr Putin’s Berlin visit, the first since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, marked the latest round of high-level talks to broker peace between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine’s regions.

But looming large over the four-way “Normandy format” talks – including presidents of Ukraine and France – was Moscow’s ongoing support for Syria’s Assad regime and a bombing campaign that has caused brought massive civilian deaths and destruction to the northern city of Aleppo.

After a warm greeting for President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine and French president Francois Hollande, Dr Merkel’s red carpet handshake for Mr Putin was more reserved.

Ahead of the first round of Berlin talks on Ukraine, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said “endless patience” was required to achieve “even the smallest step forward”.

He would welcome even “milimetres” of progress on implementing the 2015 Minsk agreement, yet to be adhered to by either conflict party.

While managing down expectations of the talks, German officials were hopeful for at least agreement on greater distances between warring troops, to minimise ongoing casualties in eastern Ukraine, as well as progress on stalled legal agreements to allow regional elections in pro-Russian areas.

As host of the Wednesday evening meeting, Dr Merkel walked a narrow line between challenging and appeasing her Russian visitor.

After the Russian president cancelled a visit to France, and with a short ceasefire holding in Aleppo, Dr Merkel was at pains to engage rather than alienate Mr Putin – closing down the West’s last channel for talks.

However, the German leader insisted that further sanctions against Russia “remain on the table” while her spokesman said Dr Merkel would “name clearly the responsibility” for “wave after wave” of bombings in Aleppo that had created a “catastrophic” situation for the city’s civilian population.

When pressed, however, Berlin officials declined to echo French and US claims that Russian bombings in Syria amount to war crimes. German officials took a more circuitous route, backing UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon’s assertion that air strikes on east Aleppo hospitals were “war crimes”.

Berlin’s priority was to “stop the madness” of five years of war in Syria, which has killed hundreds of thousands displaced half of Syria’s population, and worry later about attributing war crimes responsibility.

“I see nothing that suggests we are at odds with our partners,” the foreign ministry spokesman added.

But Berlin observers disagreed, warning that Berlin’s low appetite for further sanctions against Russian left it with little leverage as it held a door open for talks with Russia.

Mr Josef Janning of the European Council on Foreign Relations’ Berlin office said: “Accepting Russia’s actions in Crimea, Ukraine or Syria undermines Germany’s interests in upholding the norms and values of international order.”

Before the chancellery, anti-Putin protesters piled bloody teddy bears and demanded Russia end its military campaign in Syria.</s>The leaders of Russia, Ukraine and France gathered in Berlin on Wednesday for four-way talks hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that aimed to revive the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine. The summit was also expected to touch on Syria and Russia’s role in the conflict there.

Prospects of significant progress on either front looked poor. “We certainly can’t expect miracles” on Ukraine or Syria, Merkel said ahead of the meeting, but added that she wants to exhaust every possibility of progress.

Merkel and Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Francois Hollande of France and Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine have met sporadically to discuss eastern Ukraine. Wednesday’s meeting was the first time the four have met in more than a year.

The 2015 Minsk agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped end large-scale battles between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists, but clashes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said one focus of the talks would be to increase the number of areas where opposing forces are physically separated to strengthen the cease-fire and prevent a flare-up of hostilities.

The decision to hold the meeting in Berlin follows a flurry of telephone diplomacy over the past week.

Merkel told reporters Tuesday that the talks would be about “establishing where things stand” and stressed that Germany wouldn’t refrain from blunt talk – including on Syria.

Merkel and Hollande have been sharply critical of Russia’s support for Assad’s forces, with Merkel suggesting Tuesday that Moscow was partly responsible for atrocities, citing “Syrian and Russian airstrikes on helpless people, hospitals and doctors.”

Merkel said the possibility of imposing sanctions against Russia for its actions in Syria remained on the table.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin wasn’t expecting a breakthrough on Ukraine.

“The goal of the meeting is to see where we stand and identify the obstacles to fulfilling the Minsk agreements,” Peskov said. “Russia has shown a constructive flexibility, but it can’t be the only one doing so.”

Peskov stressed that the Minsk agreements envision action by Ukraine and the rebels, not Russia.

He didn’t offer any evaluation of chances of progress on Syria, which Putin, Merkel and Hollande will discuss without Poroshenko.

Outside Merkel’s chancellery, hundreds of demonstrators staged competing rallies as the four leaders arrived.

A group of about 30 people waving Russian and Soviet flags chanted “Thank you Putin,” while larger groups of Ukrainian and Syrian protesters demonstrated against the Russian president.

“We’re here to protest against the war in Ukraine,” said Tanja Letaiv, adding that Ukrainians were sympathetic to the Syrian cause.

Loay al-Hamedi, a Syrian living in Germany, expressed anguish at Russia’s backing for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s crackdown against anti-government groups.</s>BERLIN -- The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed Wednesday on a "road map" aimed at reviving the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine, though details of the plan still need to be worked out by the countries' foreign ministers over the coming month.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had invited the three presidents to Berlin for the first four-way talks in over a year, insisting that while major progress was unlikely, it was important for talks to continue.

"I'm convinced it was right to reopen the channel of talks at this level again," Merkel said after the talks. She conceded that the four leaders "didn't achieve miracles," but maintained that the talks were necessary "in order not to lose momentum."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the four had agreed that the road map should be adopted by the end of November.

He was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying it would include all security issues including restoration of Ukraine's control of its entire border with Russia.

The road map is aimed at being a mechanism to implement the so-called Minsk Agreement of February 2015 on ending the conflict, in which more than 9,600 people have been killed.

Poroshenko also said the talks had reached an agreement on the deployment of an armed police mission in separatist eastern Ukraine.

But Merkel told reporters that such a step would first require Ukraine to pass laws for local elections in the disputed territory, something Kiev hasn't yet done.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in May that the group would consider sending such a mission to help conduct elections in the separatist regions of the east.

Merkel, Poroshenko, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Francois Hollande of France have met sporadically to discuss eastern Ukraine. Wednesday's meeting was the first time the four have met in more than a year.

The 2015 Minsk agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped end large-scale battles between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists, but clashes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.

The decision to hold the meeting in Berlin follows a flurry of telephone diplomacy over the past week.

Merkel told reporters afterward that the issue of Syria also had been discussed with Russia.

Information for this article was contributed by Vladimir Isachenkov and James Heintz of The Associated Press.</s>German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2016.

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel prepared to host a summit Wednesday with the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and France aimed at reviving the stalled peace process in eastern Ukraine. The conflict in Syria is also likely to be discussed.

Prospects of significant progress on either front look poor. Merkel said ahead of the meeting that "we certainly can't expect miracles" on Ukraine or Syria, but she wanted to exhaust every possibility of progress.

Merkel and Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Francois Hollande of France and Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine have met sporadically to discuss eastern Ukraine. This is the first time the four have met in more than a year.

The 2015 Minsk agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped end large-scale battles between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists, but clashes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.

The decision to hold the meeting Wednesday evening in Berlin follows a flurry of telephone diplomacy over the past week.

Merkel told reporters Tuesday that the talks would be about "establishing where things stand" and stressed that Germany wouldn't refrain from blunt talk — including on Syria.

Merkel and Hollande have been sharply critical of Russia's support for Assad's forces, with Merkel suggesting Tuesday that Moscow was partly responsible for atrocities, citing "Syrian and Russian airstrikes on helpless people, hospitals and doctors."

Merkel said the possibility of imposing sanctions against Russia for its actions in Syria remained on the table. "But the priority is that we look at lessening people's suffering in some way," she said.

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin wasn't expecting a breakthrough on Ukraine.

"The goal of the meeting is to see where we stand and identify the obstacles to fulfilling the Minsk agreements," Peskov said. "Russia has shown a constructive flexibility, but it can't be the only one doing so."

Peskov stressed that the Minsk agreements envision action by Ukraine and the rebels, not Russia.

He didn't offer any evaluation of chances of progress on Syria, which Putin, Merkel and Hollande will discuss without Poroshenko.

Speaking privately, European diplomats said any talks on Ukraine and Syria should be seen as a positive step, even if no concrete decisions are reached.

Several groups were planning to stage protests outside the chancellery, where the meeting will be held.</s>German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, right, listen to French President Francois Hollande, left, during press statements prior to a meeting with representatives of the European Round Table of Industrialists in the chancellery in Berlin on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016.

BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host a meeting with the Russian, Ukrainian and French presidents on Wednesday to discuss efforts toward peace in eastern Ukraine — their first summit in a year, her office said.

Merkel invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and French President Francois Hollande to "assess the implementation of the Minsk (peace) agreements since the last meeting and discuss further steps," Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement Tuesday.

The 2015 Minsk agreement brokered by France and Germany has helped end large-scale battles between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine, but clashes have continued and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.

The four leaders have held sporadic meetings to discuss the accord's implementation, the last of them in Paris on Oct. 2 last year.

The decision to hold the Wednesday evening meeting in Berlin follows a flurry of telephone diplomacy over the past week, but host Germany already has downplayed chances of a breakthrough.

"If there were such a meeting, no one should expect that it will resolve all the problems," Seibert said on Monday.

"From the cease-fire, which isn't really one, to the stalled political process, a lot really is not satisfactory at all," he said. "But Minsk is the only thing we have, the only thing everyone can call on and that sets out a peaceful and political road for everyone."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel invites the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and France to meet tomorrow in Berlin to discuss peace efforts in eastern Ukraine.