Moscow - A sailor was charged with activating the locked-down fire safety system on a Russian nuclear submarine over a weekend accident that asphyxiated 20 people, investigators said on Thursday.

"The inquiry established that a sailor set off the anti-fire system on board the submarine without authorization and for no reason," news agency Itar-tass quoted Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia's top investigative committee, as saying.

Cannes, France - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said he will "speak the same language" as European Union leaders when they attend a summit of the world's 20 greatest powers in Washington.

"Our stance on how the (world) financial architecture should look in the future corresponds ... I believe that tomorrow night in Washington we'll speak the same language. It's obvious," Medvedev told EU and Russian businessmen in the French resort of Cannes.

Moscow - The Russian army will fire more than 160,000 officers from 2009 to 2012 as part of sweeping military reforms, chief of the military's General Staff told news agency Interfax on Thursday.

The army propose to resettle the discharged officers in Russia's Far East and Siberia, General Nikolai Makarov said.

"For officers, fired from the army, the government is working on a programme for their employment and housing in regions that are sharply interested in attracting labour hands," Makarov was quoted as saying.

Vilnius - The Lithuanian foreign ministry said Thursday it backed a suggestion by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to abandon the Nord Stream gas pipeline project due to be built under the Baltic Sea.

On Wednesday Putin said Europe must decide whether it wants the 10-billion-dollar pipeline to link Russia and Germany or not.

Moscow - A sailor was charged with activating the locked-down fire safety system on a Russian nuclear submarine over the weekend accident that asphyxiated 20 people, investigators said on Thursday.

"The inquiry established that a sailor set off the anti-fire system on board the submarine without authorization and for no reason," news agency Itar-tass quoted Vladimir Markin, a spokesman for Russia's top investigative committee, as saying.