TODAY: Putin’s meeting with Annan over Syria reaches no conclusions; Krymsk protesters put in custody; grains crop forecasts slashed; private banks in merger speculation; senator lobbies U.S. to drop Magnitsky Act.

Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Kofi Annan, aimed at agreeing on a resolution of the Syria conflict, has produced some optimistic-sounding rhetoric, but no concrete outcomes, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying only that Moscow is ready to seek consensus, Annan reporting ‘a very good discussion’, and Putin promising ongoing support for the UN’s peace-promoting efforts which, he says, Russia has backed ‘from the beginning’.  Bloomberg says the situation is nearing a ‘showdown’, as all eyes are on Russia to see whether it will use its veto in the next Security Council vote on Syrian sanctions, scheduled for this afternoon.  ‘Russia has backed itself into a corner over Syria by refusing to allow a UN mission that would have the power and means to defend itself.’  Meanwhile fighting in Damascus has reached ‘a new intensity’.  China continues to criticise intervention: ‘Several wars in this century prove that ‘promoting democracy’ and ‘humanitarianism’ are just a pretext for foreign powers to seek private gain.’