Main news of September 1

WORLD

 

* Putin calls on Bulgaria to decide on energy projects

 

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed on Tuesday drafting a plan for developing economic cooperation between Russia and The Netherlands

* The Iranian parliament is continuing a debate on the approval of 11 ministers put forward for Cabinet posts by the country's president, PressTV reported on its website

* The top U.S. general in Afghanistan has called for a revised strategy to defeat the Taliban insurgency, Al Jazeera reported

* Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on Tuesday the agreement with Turkey to establish diplomatic relations could boost bilateral ties

* Russia and Ukraine have almost overcome their differences over natural gas supplies, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said

* The Communist Party of Moldova appealed on Tuesday to the country's Constitutional Court to review the election of Mihai Ghimpu as the new speaker of parliament, a Communist MP said

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told his Polish counterpart on Tuesday that the two countries must not let disputes over World War II get in the way of building relations

* Border traffic between North and South Korea resumed on Tuesday, following months of heavy restrictions imposed by the North

* Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya has arrived again in the U.S. to hold meetings at the Organization of American States (OAS) on ways to resolve the current political crisis in the country

RUSSIA

* Moscow welcomes Armenia and Turkey's intention to normalize bilateral relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* Russia expects other countries to admit that all prewar deals with the Nazis were morally wrong, the Russian prime minister said

* Democracies in former Soviet republics are still weak, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived in Poland to attend ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, and to meet with his Polish and Ukrainian counterparts

BUSINESS

* LUKoil has completed the acquisition of a 45% stake in a Dutch oil refinery from France's Total for $600 million, Russia's largest independent oil producer said