Brussels - NATO foreign ministers may decide to "hit the re-set button" and restore formal ties with Russia at their meeting in Brussels on Thursday, diplomats said Monday.

The main forum for direct talks, the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), was suspended by the alliance in the aftermath of Russia's August invasion of Georgia and Moscow's subsequent recognition of the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.

But there is now a growing consensus within the 26-member alliance that face-to-face talks with Russia should resume.

London, Mar 2 : A pet cat that was subjected to tattooing has caused a controversy in Moscow.

The “body enhancement” tattooed on the chest of Mickey, a rare Canadian Hairless breed also known as a Sphynx cat, is said to have delighted its owner with its Tutankhamun design.

“I wanted something new and different for the times we live in,” the Mirror quoted her as saying.

But the modification on the animal’s skin has horrified animal rights campaigners, who have slammed the sick fad as barbaric.

Bari, Italy  - Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was scheduled later Sunday to hand his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, the key of an Orthodox church in the southern Italian city of Bari.

A message of goodwill by Pope Benedict XVI was also set to be read at the ceremony by a Vatican envoy, Cardinal Salvatore Di Giorgio.

The acting head of the External Relations Department of the Moscow Patriarchy, Bishop Mark of Yegorievsk, was set to deliver a speech on behalf of the Russian Orthodx Church.

Moscow  - Voters in nine semi-autonomous republics and regions in Russia went to the polls Sunday amidst the most difficult economic crisis the country has seen in years.

Despite growing dissatisfaction among the general populous, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's United Russia party has expressed hopes of winning in all regions.

The opposition meanwhile has complained of widespread electoral violations during the campaign.

Moscow  - Russia will sign a deal next week allowing Spain to transit supplies for NATO operations in Afghanistan by rail through its southern territory, an aide for President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday.

Medvedev will sign the transit agreement on an official visit to Madrid on March 1-3, Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying.

Moscow - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned on Friday the financial crisis was "far from over" and said the government must act to stem attempts by "mercenary" political forces to organize protests on the back of the crisis.

Putin made the comments in a meeting with leaders of the dominant pro-Kremlin party United Russia at his Novo-Ogoryovo residence outside Moscow.

"We are dependent on the global economy and must note that the crisis is far from over - it has not yet even reached its peak," Putin was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying.