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In this photo taken from video and released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Jan 26, 2022, the Russian navy's missile cruiser Marshal Ustinov sails off for an exercise in the Arctic. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) - 

Moscow and Kyiv on Wednesday (Jan 26) agreed at talks in Paris that all parties should observe a ceasefire in the east of Ukraine after more than eight hours of discussions which were hailed by a French diplomat as sending a "good signal".

A Russian troop build-up close to the border with east of Ukraine has raised fears the Kremlin is planning military intervention in its pro-EU neighbour as Moscow presses demands over NATO's presence in eastern Europe.

An aide to French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking on condition of anonymity, stressed that the Paris talks had been about resolving the separatist fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014, not the threat of a Russian invasion.

But "the question was whether the Russians wanted to signal a thaw", he said, adding that the "difficult" discussions had ultimately resulted in something positive.

"In the current circumstances, we received a good signal," he said.

For the first time since 2019, Ukraine and Russia agreed to sign a joint statement along with France and Germany about the ongoing conflict between Ukrainian forces and separatists in the east of the country.

The four nations have been working towards reaching a peace deal for eastern Ukraine since 2014 and are known collectively as the Normandy Group.

"However difficult the discussions have been since December 2019, the Normandy Group has been able to agree on several key points," the French aide said.

The joint statement committed both sides to "an unconditional respect for the ceasefire" and also said that they would meet again in two weeks' time in Berlin.

A 2014 ceasefire deal - bolstered in 2020 - helped end the worst fighting over two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine that has claimed about 13,000 lives.

Western countries have been concerned that Russia could use a flare up in fighting along the front between Ukrainian soldiers and separatists as a pretext to launch an invasion of its neighbour.

The Kremlin's envoy Dmitry Kozak said the main outcome of the four-way talks also involving France and Germany was the agreement on keeping the ceasefire.

He said that "despite all the differences in interpretations, we agreed that the ceasefire (in eastern Ukraine) must be maintained by all the parties in line with the accords".

Announcing that the new round of talks would be held in Berlin in two weeks, he added: "We need a supplementary pause. We hope that this process will have results in two weeks."

He said that the Berlin talks would take place at the same level as the Paris session involving diplomatic envoys, adding that for the moment a summit involving heads of state was "not on the agenda".

"We hope our colleagues have understood our arguments and that in two weeks we will achieve results," said Kozak, who is also the deputy head of President Vladimir Putin's administration.

He insisted that the situation in the east of Ukraine - where pro-Russia separatists have declared breakaway regions - and the tensions along the border were "two separate issues".

Ukraine's envoy Andriy Yermak, speaking to reporters separately, said that the talks were "not easy".

"The support for the sustainable ceasefire is extremely important," he said, adding that there were differences over the interpretation of the Minsk Agreement which ended the worst of the fighting in 2014.

"The very important thing is that today's communique is the first meaningful document we managed to agree on since December 2019" when President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky met in Paris//CNA

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin hold a joint news conference at Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain, on Jan 26, 2022. (Photo: REUTERS/Vincent West) - 

Russia would face massive economic consequences if it launched any kind of military intervention in Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Wednesday (Jan 26).

Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine but denies planning to attack its neighbour. It is seeking sweeping security guarantees from NATO including a pledge that Ukraine will never be allowed to join the alliance.

The European Union and the United States have threatened further crippling economic sanctions against Russia if it invades Ukraine.

"It's important to convey the message to Russia that any case of military intervention would have massive and serious consequences for its economy from EU sanctions," Sanchez told a joint news conference with his Finnish counterpart.

He did not specify what form the sanctions would take.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin reiterated that her country had no immediate plans to join NATO but said that Russia had no veto over any such decision.

"We have the possibility of applying (to join NATO) in the future and it's very important that we keep this possibility open to ourselves. Nobody can say to us what to do. It's our own decision," she said.

Finland shares a 1,340km border with Russia and a difficult history that included clashes during World War Two.

Though not a NATO member, Finland cooperates with the alliance and it has enhanced its military readiness as Moscow has built up its forces along the border with Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Marin told Reuters Finland would stand with its European Union partners and the United States by imposing tough new sanctions on Russia if it attacks Ukraine//CNA

FILE PHOTO: Romania's President Klaus Iohannis attends an EU Summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, December 16, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/Pool - 

Romania is in talks with the United States and France over ways to enhance their troop count in the country and was ready to host an increased NATO military presence, President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday (Jan 26).

The US Department of Defense said on Monday it put about 8,500 American troops on heightened alert, awaiting orders to deploy to NATO's eastern flank should Russia invade Ukraine. France has also offered to send more troops if needed.

"I have been constantly saying we are ready to host an increased allied presence on our territory," Iohannis said.

"Following the announcements made by the United States and France we are in contact with the two allies to establish concrete ways to realise their military presence."

Iohannis was speaking after a meeting of Romania's supreme defence council to address security concerns after Russia massed tens of thousands of troops near Ukraine's borders. He said diplomatic talks were key to de-escalate tensions.

On Wednesday, the defence council assessed the potential impact of a conflict on businesses and the energy and banking sectors, Iohannis said. EU member-state Romania was also preparing for potential refugee inflows from Ukraine, with which it shares a 600km border.

NATO has a multinational land force of up to 4,000 troops in Romania, a member since 2004. The United States also has soldiers stationed at separate bases in Romania and in Bulgaria.

"The current crisis proves once more that … consolidating allied presence on the eastern flank including in our country is very important," he said.

"The measures NATO has taken until now to reinforce its military presence on the eastern flank are an eminently defensive response to the rising security challenges in the region."//CNA

A barge carrying coal navigates Musi River, Palembang, South Sumatra on January 14, 2022. (ANTARA PHOTO/Nova Wahyudi/wsj/KT) - 

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has projected that domestic coal utilization will increase by 33 million tons to reach 166 million tons in 2022 from 133 million tons in 2021.

At least 166 million tons of coal will be mostly used for electrical power plants, the ministry's Secretary General Ego Syahrial informed.

"The coal produced will mostly be converted to electric power. It will also be used in industries and households," he said at the Indonesia Economic Outlook 2022 event here on Wednesday.

Coal utilization must pay attention to environmental issues, such as high-carbon emissions that have a deteriorating impact if mining regulations are not carried out properly, he added.

The use of coal will be reduced in steam-electric power stations, he informed.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government will encourage coal downstreaming as the country's coal potential is considerable, he added.

One of the projects for coal downstreaming involves the development of dimethyl ether as a replacement for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), he noted.

Moreover, the government has drawn up a plan to decommission coal-fired power plants, owned by state electricity firm PLN and non-PLN plants, based on the 30-year-maximum contract, he said.

Coal-fired power plants will be replaced by new renewable power plants. This plan aims to achieve Indonesia's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, he explained.

"With the 35-thousand MW program, the capacity of the coal-fired power plants will increase until 2026, but it will start to decrease by 2031," Syahrial said.

Raising the capacity of coal-fired power plants is aimed at increasing electricity access for the community, encouraging economic growth, and meeting the needs of energy and electricity-based transportation, he expounded.

By 2021, the realization of power plants' capacity reached 74 GW, while the government is targeting to boost installed capacity to 76 GW in 2022, he said.

"Power plants are still dominated by the use of fossils that can produce carbon emissions, while the use of new renewable power plants is still relatively small," Syahrial added//ANT