Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet face-to-face (FT) for the first time at talks in Paris today. The negotiations, brokered by France and Germany, aim to end the war in Ukraine’s east between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists.
 
Zelensky was elected earlier this year and pledged to resolve (FP) the five-year conflict—a measure that 52 percent of Ukrainians consider the most important national issue, according to a September poll. Since his election, de-escalation measures (France 24) have included a prisoner swap and troop withdrawals. Still, thousands of Ukrainians wary of ceding too much to Russia protested in Kyiv yesterday, calling for a defense of Ukrainian interests.

Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday (SCMP) in Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy protest in weeks. Officially commemorating UN Human Rights Day tomorrow, the march also came at the six-month mark for the territory’s protest movement.  
 
In Foreign Affairs, Kurt Tong discusses Washington’s options for preserving Hong Kong’s autonomy.
 
North Korea: U.S. and South Korea analysts are investigating Pyongyang’s claim (Yonhap) that it conducted a “very important test” at a satellite launch site. Pyongyang did not elaborate on the nature of the activity, which nuclear experts said appeared to be a rocket engine test.

Indian police said they arrested (Reuters) the owner and manager of a factory in New Delhi where a fire killed forty-three people. It was the city’s deadliest fire in twenty years.
 
Afghanistan: Peace talks between the Taliban and the United States resumed on Saturday (CNN), a Taliban spokesperson tweeted. He said a former Taliban prisoner released in a recent prisoner swap participated as a negotiator.

Unidentified gunmen opened fire (NYT) on unarmed anti-government protesters in Baghdad, killing a dozen people and wounding about one hundred others. Hours later, a drone bombed the home of a prominent cleric who supports the protest movement. Iraq’s president blamed criminal gangs for the attack on protesters.
 
Syria: Russian forces began providing humanitarian aid (Reuters) in Raqqa, a former base for the self-proclaimed Islamic State that U.S. and Kurdish forces captured two years ago, according to Russian state media. U.S. troops operated in the area before suddenly withdrawing in October.

Sudan has reduced the size of its military force (Reuters) deployed in Yemen to five thousand troops from a peak of fifteen thousand, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said, calling for “a political solution” to the conflict in Yemen.
 
CFR’s Global Conflict Tracker looks at recent developments in Yemen’s war.
 
Ethiopia: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Ethiopia (DW) for her first official international trip and said the African Union was a partner she could count on. Her foreign policy goals include cooperation with Africa on issues including security and migration management.

Sanna Marin, the country’s transportation minister, was chosen (Reuters) by her Social Democratic Party to be Finland’s next prime minister following the resignation of Antti Rinne last week. At thirty-four, Marin will be the world’s youngest serving prime minister.

President-elect Alberto Fernandez announced (Reuters) the members of his new cabinet, which included Martin Guzman, an expert in debt restructuring, as economy minister.
 
Mexico: U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced he would delay plans (BBC) to designate Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he celebrated his counterpart’s decision.
 
CFR’s Shannon K. O’Neil looks at how Lopez Obrador’s security strategy is failing Mexico.

The FBI is investigating (WSJ) the shooting of three people on a Pensacola naval base as possible terrorism, officials said. Saudi authorities are also investigating the shooter, a Saudi air force member who was shot dead by authorities after he opened fire.