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This Week’s Highlights:

• Lawyers for U.S. President Donald Trump say he has provided special counsel Robert Mueller’s office with written answers to questions about Russia's alleged 2016 election interference, RFE/RL reports.
• South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang has been elected as Interpol’s new president. Prior to the vote, European and U.S. officials expressed concern that the election of Alexander Prokopchuk, an Interpol vice president and Russian national, to the post could undermine the body’s power, according to The Moscow Times.
• Russia's Federal Security Service and its space agency Roscosmos are in conflict over a $1 billion contract to launch private satellites on behalf of U.S. firm OneWeb.
• Moscow's sixth generation combat aircraft will be hypersonic and its first flight is scheduled for as early as 2025, Express reports. Pictures of the jet emerged after it was "accidentally" revealed by local TV channel Zvezda, according to the media outlet.
• India and Russia on Nov. 20 signed a $500 million deal for the construction of two stealth frigates for India’s navy, according to the Daily Pioneer. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that the Turkish Foreign Minister has said of Turkey’s decision to buy S-400 systems from Russia: “The current deal is a done deal—I cannot cancel it.”

I. U.S. and Russian priorities for the bilateral agenda

Nuclear security and safety:

• The head of a security subsidiary of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has been detained over a $38,000 bribe given in Crimea, security forces said on Nov. 19. The FSB and Crimean investigators apprehended Igor Sushkov, the current head of Dedal, one of Rosatom’s security system providers, in the act of bribing an FSB border agent in April. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18)

North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs:

• No significant developments.

Iran’s nuclear program and related issues:

• No significant developments.

Military issues, including NATO-Russia relations:

• A committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament on Nov. 21 recommended to the National Security Council that it change the rules on the use of nuclear weapons, RIA news agency reported. The non-binding recommendations relate to a response to a hypothetical use of hypersonic and other non-nuclear strategic weapons against Russia, RIA said. (Reuters, 11.21.18)

Missile defense:

• No significant developments.

Nuclear arms control:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Nov. 19 the Kremlin would retaliate if the U.S. withdrew from the INF Treaty. Putin discussed possible Russian retaliation with top Russian Defense Ministry officials and added that the Kremlin was ready to discuss the treaty with Washington. (Reuters, 11.20.18)
• U.S. national security adviser John Bolton successfully pushed for the U.S. to announce its withdrawal from the INF Treaty, but administration officials said Bolton failed to keep important members of the team in the loop as U.S. President Donald Trump decided what to do. "The coordination has been frustrating on a number of issues, whether it's Syria, Iran or Russia, even the border, interagency efforts are often sidelined or thwarted by NSC leadership," a senior administration official said. (Wall Street Journal, 11.18.18)

Counter-terrorism:

• A young woman blew herself up near a police checkpoint in the Chechen capital of Grozny in southern Russia after being stopped for a document check. A law enforcement source told TASS that the suicide bomber’s name was Karina Spiridonova. She was registered in the Chelyabinsk region, but resided in Dagestan. She had been prepared for an act of terrorism by emissaries from ISIS, according to Chechnya’s information minister. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18, TASS, 11.18.18, Crime Russia, 11.19.18)
• Russian authorities say they have detained Khazvakha Cherkhigov, an alleged participant in a deadly hostage-taking attack in the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk in 1995. (RFE/RL, 11.20.18) 
• Husein Abdusamadov, the main surviving suspect in an attack that killed four foreign cyclists in Tajikistan in July, has been sentenced to life in prison. As news of the July attack filtered out, a video appeared online showing the men pleading allegiance to the Islamic State. (RFE/RL, 11.21.18, Eurasianet, 11.20.18)
• Kevin Covert, the top U.S. diplomat in Tajikistan, has met with officials from the prosecutor general's office and the foreign ministry to discuss deadly unrest at a prison in the northern city of Khujand. Islamic State claimed the riot broke out after one of its "soldiers" attacked a prison guard. (RFE/RL, 11.20.18)
• Nearly four times as many Sunni Islamic militants are operating around the world today as on Sept. 11, 2001, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That amounts to as many as 230,000 Salafi jihadist fighters in nearly 70 countries, with the largest numbers in Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. (New York Times, 11.20.18)

Conflict in Syria:

• Moscow has condemned new U.S. sanctions against Russian organizations for allegedly supplying Iranian oil to Syria as “a statement of support for terrorists.” On Nov. 20 Washington sanctioned a Russian state-owned enterprise and two other companies for their part in a scheme that allegedly funneled Iranian crude to the Syrian government, in breach of U.S. restrictions. (Financial Times, 11.21.18)
• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar have discussed further work on the Idlib demilitarized zone and the situation in Syria. Shoigu said Moscow and Ankara need to take swift decisions to support the demilitarized zone. (TASS, 11.20.18, PressTV, 11.20.18)
• The experience of carrying out military operations in Syria should be taken into account when upgrading the combat training of troops, Russian President Vladimir Putin said. (Interfax, 11.20.18)
• Fifth-generation Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jets performed over ten flights in a real combat environment in Syria, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. (Interfax, 11.19.18)

Cyber security:

• A joint report by the Bellingcat investigative team and its Russian-language partner The Insider claimed that Russia’s FSB intelligence agency had infiltrated the software of a company that processes British visa applications. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18)

Elections interference:

• Lawyers for U.S. President Donald Trump say he has provided special counsel Robert Mueller's office with written answers to questions about Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election and his knowledge of it. In a statement released Nov. 20, Rudy Giuliani reiterated Trump's position that he had done nothing wrong, and he called for an end to Mueller's investigation. Trump said in an interview aired on Nov. 16 that he most likely would not sit for an interview with Mueller, asserting that ''we've wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is, probably, we're finished.'' The president also claimed that he had no idea that his acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, viewed the Mueller investigation skeptically. (RFE/RL, 11.21.18, New York Times, 11.18.18)
• Three Democratic senators asked a Federal District Court judge on Nov. 19 to issue an injunction barring Matthew Whitaker from exercising the powers of head of the Justice Department, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump's installation of Whitaker as acting attorney general violated the Constitution. (New York Times, 11.19.18)
• House Democrats, poised to reactivate a probe of the Trump's campaign ties to Russia, said that an investigatory priority is learning more about Republican activist Peter Smith, who sought Hillary Clinton's private emails, and whether he served as a conduit between the Trump campaign and Russia-tied groups. (Wall Street Journal, 11.16.18)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin denied any Russian involvement when U.S. Vice President Mike Pence asked last week about meddling in the 2016 election, the Kremlin's spokesperson said. Dmitry Peskov told Russian television that Pence had "started the conversation with this subject" in a 10-minute talk with Putin on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Singapore. (AFP, 11.19.18)
• Federal Agency of News, the Russian company whose accountant Yelena Khusyaynova was charged by federal prosecutors for attempting to meddle in U.S. elections, sued Facebook on Nov. 20, claiming it is a legitimate news outlet and its Facebook account should be restored. (The Moscow Times, 11.21.18)

Energy exports:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have marked the completion of the offshore phase of a gas pipeline underneath the Black Sea. Speaking at Nov. 19 ceremony in Istanbul, Erdogan said the TurkStream pipeline will carry 31.5 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia to Turkey each year when operational, and it will send at least half of the amount to European markets. (RFE/RL, 11.19.18)
• Russia’s energy minister insisted the country and its allies in OPEC need to watch the oil market in the coming weeks before making any decisions to cut output. “We need to see how the situation develops in November and early December to better understand both the current conditions and the winter outlook,” Alexander Novak said Nov. 19. (Bloomberg, 11.19.18)

Bilateral economic ties:

• Russia's Federal Security Service and its cash-strapped space agency Roscosmos are in conflict over a $1 billion contract to launch private satellites on behalf of U.S. firm OneWeb. (Sky News, 11.21.18)

Other bilateral issues:

• The Russian government has earmarked funds to help pay the legal fees of Russian nationals standing trial in the U.S. in the wake of several high-profile legal cases. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18)
• The chief of Russia’s space corporation Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Nov. 19 his visit to the U.S. may take place in the second half of February 2019. (TASS 11.19.18)

II. Russia’s domestic news

Politics, economy and energy:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to hold his annual news conference next month. (RFE/RL, 11.19.18)
• At least two activists in Russia’s smallest region of Ingushetia have been reportedly beaten and detained during protest actions in territories that the local governor had recently swapped with neighboring Chechnya. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18)

Defense and aerospace:

• Moscow's sixth generation combat aircraft will be hypersonic and its first flight is scheduled for as early as 2025. Incredible pictures of the new jet emerged after it was "accidentally" revealed by a local TV channel, Zvezda. (Express.co.uk, 11.21.18)
• An unmanned Russian cargo ship has blasted off toward the International Space Station in the first launch of a Soyuz rocket at the Baikonur cosmodrome since an aborted launch in October. (RFE/RL, 11.16.18)

Security, law-enforcement and justice:

• Russian investigators said more than 900 children have been killed in crimes committed this year, while emergency officials estimate that more than 300 children have died in fires. (The Moscow Times, 11.20.18)
• Russian prosecutors have said that over $150 million was embezzled during construction of the country’s new $5 billion spaceport in the Far East. (The Moscow Times, 11.20.18)

III. Foreign affairs, trade and investment

Russia’s general foreign policy and relations with “far abroad” countries:

• Officials in Moscow cited interference and unfair Western pressure in their reactions to news that a Russian major general had lost his bid to become the president of Interpol. The international police body announced Nov. 21 that South Korea’s Kim Jong Yang had been elected as the organization’s president. Prior to the vote, officials in Europe and the U.S. expressed widespread concern that the election of Alexander Prokopchuk, one of Interpol's four vice-presidents and a Russian national, could undermine the body’s power. (The Moscow Times, 11.12.18)
• Russia has issued new charges against U.S.-born hedge fund manager William Browder, who has dismissed previous tax evasion convictions in the country as being politically motivated. Browder could face 20 years in prison and asset seizures on charges of “creating a criminal organization,” Nikolai Atmonyev, an adviser to Russia’s general prosecutor, said. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18)
• Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “chef,” is reaching deep into Africa with an army of mercenaries and spin doctors in tow to cash in on his newfound expertise. He is already active in or moving into 10 countries that Russia’s military already has relationships with: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Libya, Madagascar, Angola, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the Central African Republic. (Bloomberg, 11.20.18)
• An umbrella organization of groups representing Russian military veterans has appealed to the International Criminal Court to investigate the alleged mercenary activities of Russian private security firms. (RFE/RL, 11.19.18)
• India and Russia on Nov. 20 inked a $500 million deal for the construction of two stealth frigates in Goa for the Indian navy. (Daily Pioneer, 11.20.18)
• “The current deal is a done deal—I cannot cancel it,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said of Turkey’s decision to buy S-400 systems from Russia. (Bloomberg, 11.21.18)
• Russian Ambassador to Finland Pavel Kuznetsov has been summoned to a meeting on Nov. 19 with Finnish State Secretary Matti Anttonen over the disruption of Finland's GPS signal during recent NATO war games. (The Moscow Times, 11.19.18)
• Russian businessman Alexander Grinberg, suspected of mafia ties, has sold Spanish second-division football club Marbella FC that he purchased five years ago. (The Moscow Times, 11.21.18)
• Kingfisher, Europe's second largest home improvement retailer, reported weak quarterly sales in France and said it would pull out of Russia, Spain and Portugal. (Reuters, 11.21.18)

China:

• Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev joined with Chinese President Xi Jinping in warning against growing protectionism and urging adherence to global trade rules. Their comments on Nov. 17 at an economic summit in Papua New Guinea were countered by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who threatened China with a doubling of U.S. tariffs if it does not concede to Washington's trade demands. (RFE/RL, 11.17.18)
• A Chinese-Russian attempt to undercut new powers by the global chemical weapons agency to assign blame for attacks with banned poisons in Syria, but which was opposed by the West, failed to win enough support in a vote at the organization on Nov. 20. (Reuters, 11.20.18)
• U.S. President Donald Trump issued a statement in the wake of the recent killing of U.S.-based columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In the statement he said: “If we foolishly cancel these contracts [with Saudia Arabia], Russia and China would be the enormous beneficiaries—and very happy to acquire all of this newfound business. It would be a wonderful gift to them directly from the United States!” (Daily Journal, 11.20.18)

Ukraine:

• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said Ukraine has "no greater friend than the United States" in its struggle against "Russian aggression." Pompeo made the remark after meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin in Washington on Nov. 16. (RFE/RL, 11.17.18)
• Since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, the U.S. has provided over $2.8 billion in assistance and three $1 billion loan guarantees to help Ukraine defend its territory and implement key reforms, according to a statement released by the U.S. and Ukrainian governments on the occasion of the 2018 U.S.-Ukraine Strategic Partnership Commission Meeting in Washington. (U.S. State Department, 11.16.18)
• The U.S. has offered Ukraine two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates decommissioned by the U.S. Navy, according to Ukrainian Navy Cmdr. Ihor Voronchenko. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said that Kiev is constantly conducting discussions with the U.S. regarding new defense weapons. (Interfax, 11.20.18, Interfax, 11.19.18)
• Russian border guards on Nov. 19 detained Ukrainian fishing vessels in the Sea of Azov. The incident came days after Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed Kiev for detaining Russian commercial ships in the Azov in what he described as "a totally illegal move" and which Kremlin officials have warned may prompt retaliation. (U.S. News and World Report, 11.19.18)
• A Washington Post investigation uncovered use of an improvised banking system, which runs through South Ossetia. Separatist officials and business figures in eastern Ukraine transfer money to South Ossetia. The funds are then wired to Russia, officials familiar with the arrangement told The Post. The money then pays for goods, which are shipped from Russia directly to eastern Ukraine. The arrangement also works in reverse, allowing exports from the separatist territories to be sold in Russia. (The Washington Post, 11.21.18)
• Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Nov. 19 that his country would give its consent to the Ukrainian foreign minister attending a NATO foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for next month if Georgia's top diplomat also participates. (RFE/RL, 11.19.18)
• Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's treason trial in Kiev has been postponed due to his hospitalization in Russia. (RFE/RL, 11.19.18)
• A planned transgender-rights rally in Kiev was disbanded after far-right counterdemonstrators assaulted several of the event's participants on Nov. 18. (RFE/RL, 11.19.18)

Russia’s other post-Soviet neighbors:

• The former Soviet republic of Moldova is seeking a neutral position between Russia and the West despite its association agreement with the EU, its pro-Russian president has said. “We don’t want to be a part of others’ geopolitical interests,” Igor Dodon said. “We don’t want to be friends with somebody against somebody.” (Financial Times, 11.19.18)
• In a sign of a growing rift between Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov and his predecessor, the former president, Almazbek Atambaev, has publicly called the arrests of his associates "a show" orchestrated by the nation's current leadership. (RFE/RL, 11.20.18)

IV. Quoteworthy

• No significant developments.