Reuters World News Summary

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments appeared to signal Moscow may have backed off its previous view that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine were an impediment to salvaging the nuclear deal. Top Polish politician calls for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine An international peacekeeping mission should be sent to Ukraine and be given the means to defend itself, the leader of Poland's ruling party said on Tuesday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Following is a summary of current world news briefs.

U.S. carrier displays air power over Yellow Sea as N.Korea seen set to test long-range missile

The USS Abraham Lincoln aicraft carrier led military exercises in the Yellow Sea, and air defence artillery at Osan air base intensified drills, U.S. forces in Asia said on Tuesday amid signs of an imminent North Korean long-range missile test.

Tension on the Korean Peninsula has been growing amid speculation North Korea could test its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at full range as soon as this week, after threatening to break a self-imposed 2017 moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear testing.

Abramovich flies into Moscow as yachts are seized and caviar banned in hit to Russia's rich

Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich jetted into Moscow on Tuesday as the Spanish government seized more assets belonging to Russia's rich and the EU banned exports of caviar and luxury goods. Abramovich landed in Moscow early on Tuesday after taking off from Istanbul in his private jet, according to FLIGHTRADAR24 data. A source familiar with the matter said he was not in Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin.

Russia bars entry to Biden and Canada's Trudeau

Russia said on Tuesday it had put U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a dozen top U.S. officials on a "stop list" that bars them from entering the country. Alongside Biden, U.S. officials on the list included Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Ukraine leader: positions of Ukraine, Russia at talks sound more realistic - Interfax

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday that the positions of Ukraine and Russia at peace talks were sounding more realistic, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reported. "Meetings continue. I am told that the positions at the negotiations sound more realistic," Zelenskiy said in a video address released early on Wednesday, the agency said. "However, more time is still needed for decisions to be in the interests of Ukraine."

Russia quits Council of Europe rights watchdog

Russia on Tuesday quit the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights watchdog, pre-empting an expected expulsion over its attack on neighbour Ukraine. Russia is only the second country to leave the pan-European group tasked with upholding human rights and the rule of law since its formation after World War Two.

Israeli top court to rule on Palestinians' bid to stop displacement from West Bank homes

Israel's Supreme Court held a hearing on Tuesday on petitions against a long-running bid by the Israeli army to displace over 1,000 Palestinian inhabitants from a rural part of the occupied West Bank it designated for military exercises. After two decades of inconclusive legal maneuvering, the high court is expected to hand down a ruling soon on the army's move to demolish eight small communities in a rocky, arid area of the southern West Bank near Hebron.

Fox News cameraman, Ukrainian journalist killed in Ukraine

Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski and Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova were killed in Ukraine after the vehicle in which they were traveling was struck by incoming fire, the U.S. network said on Tuesday. Zakrzewski, 55, was reporting with another Fox News journalist, Benjamin Hall, on Monday when they came under attack near the capital Kyiv, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in a note to staff. Hall remains in hospital.

Russia says it has written guarantees on Iran nuclear deal

Russia said on Tuesday it has written guarantees it can carry out its work as a party to the Iran nuclear deal, suggesting Moscow could allow a revival of the tattered 2015 pact to go forward. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments appeared to signal Moscow may have backed off its previous view that Western sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine were an impediment to salvaging the nuclear deal.

Top Polish politician calls for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine

An international peacekeeping mission should be sent to Ukraine and be given the means to defend itself, the leader of Poland's ruling party said on Tuesday after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Jaroslaw Kaczynski made his remarks after he and the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia arrived in Kyiv in a show of high-level backing for Zelenskiy, who briefed them on the war with Russia.

Biden plans Europe trip for Ukraine summit next week as refugees top 3 million

U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Europe for an extraordinary NATO summit on Ukraine next week as the refugee tally from the invasion hit 3 million and Russian air strikes on Tuesday hit targets in Kyiv. Moscow has not captured any of the 10 biggest cities in the country following its incursion that began on Feb. 24, the largest assault on a European state since 1945. But local authorities said Tuesday's bombardments on Kyiv killed at least five people.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)