TODAY: G20 spy allegations provoke uneasy relations with U.S. and U.K.; Russia on its own on Syria at G8; Navalny takes witness stand; Freedom House sees worsening oppression in Eurasia; Alfa Group sets up London vehicle for $20 billion energy investment; Kremlin pulls reins on privatisation program.  

New allegations leaked by Edward Snowden, that the U.S. intercepted former President Dmitry Medvedev’s communications during the 2009 G20 summit in London, has provoked among Russian officials feelings of deepened mistrust with the U.S. British intelligence officials were also implicated in the row, with a former aide to then-PM Gordon Brown saying, ‘We always assumed that everyone else did it at such meetings.’  Convening this week in Northern Ireland, G8 officials have largely given up hope of a shift in Russia’s Syria position, with some saying that Russia should not be included in the discussions due to its support for President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.  Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper commented, ‘Let’s be blunt […] this is the G7 plus one.’  U.S. President Barack Obama met with President Vladimir Putin on the summit’s sidelines, where both pledged to sign an agreement preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.  Russia has announced that it will not allow a no-fly zone over Syria as it would ‘violate international law’.  Opposition leader Alexei Navalny appeared in court yesterday for his first cross-examination at the KirovLes trial, during which he denied ‘absurd’ charges that he stole timber from the company in 2009, arguing that they ‘contradict the actual circumstances of the case’.