TODAY: Gorbachev says world on brink of new Cold War, European report agrees; Russia and U.S. to trade Ukraine info as shelling in Donetsk resumes; Putin and Japanese PM vow to restore ties; Russia and China ink new energy accords; National Welfare Fund may prop up banks; gay marriage controversy in St. Petersburg.

Speaking at a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says ‘the world is on the brink of a new Cold War’, blaming the ‘euphoria and triumphalism’ of Western leaders and defending Putin’s Valdai Club speech last month.  He also suggested that the West should lift its economic sanctions against Russia ‘which are damaging both sides’.  His host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, conversely offered a message of support to those fighting for freedom and human rights in Ukraine.  A new report by the European Leadership Network supports Gorbachev’s theory, recording a series of ‘highly-disturbing’ close military encounters between Russia and the West since the Ukrainian crisis began – on a level equal with the Cold War.  Russia and the U.S. have agreed to exchange information about the situation on the Russia-Ukraine border, according to Secretary of State John Kerry.  Two months into the current ‘ceasefire’, heavy shelling continued in eastern Ukraine over the weekend, with Donetsk seeing ‘the heaviest shelling in a month’.