James Kilner

PEACE TALKS: Vladimir Putin has sent a low-ranking delegation to the Istanbul peace talks with Ukraine. There had been speculation that Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, would lead the Russian delegation or that Putin himself would turn up but instead, Vladimir Medinsky will head the Russian delegation. He is

* Austria's Raiffeisen Bank said in quarterly results that it had increased profit on operations in Russia because of the country's high interest rates. It also said that it was "paring back" its business in Russia. (COMMENT: Raiffeisen Bank has come under major pressure to