Speaking before the opening of the concert dedicated to the Europe Day at the State Theater of Opera and Ballet in Tbilisi, President Giorgi Margvelashvili stated that Georgia is taking steps in the direction of European integration, and that the forthcoming elections will be held in accordance with European standards, RBC reported.

“Georgia became independent 25 years ago but we are still taking steps in order to become free. We need to build our values to belong to European society. We need …

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated that the countries that doubt the effectiveness of the sanctions against Russia should consider strengthening them.

“From time to time, we hear that some European countries believe that the sanctions are not effective. Well, then, if someone considers them ineffective, they should not be lifted or eased, on the contrary, they should be extended and tightened!” Poroshenko said at the First Minute of Peace gathering in Kiev on Sunday evening. …

The Ministry of Defense of Estonia reported that two NATO warships, one Spanish frigate and one British, will arrive in Tallinn next week, BNS reported. The warships are part of the Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG1).

The group consists of two warships, the Spanish Alvaro De Bazan frigate and the British Iron Duke frigate. The ships will stay in the capital of Estonia until the 15th of May.

The NATO warships will attend the Estonian Navy’s anti-mine exercises before entering the port of …

As was stated in the address by the Security and Defense Council’s Secretary Alexander Turchinov, regarding a day of remembrance and reconciliation, he called on "the civilized world" to remember that an aggressor cannot be placated.

"In the 30’s, when Hitler came to power, he violated the Treaty of Versailles, he started building his military forces... He was allowed to do that. But this was not just swallowed; an appeasement policy was implemented, believing Hitler’s assurances that it was ' …

On Sunday, a KIL-158 Russian vessel, with cargo bound for Syria, sailed through the Black Sea. This was reported by Turkish newspaper, Hurriyet.

The website uploaded a video showing the vessel passing Istanbul. The newspaper speculated that there were possibly two tanks on the deck under a camouflage net.

The vessel was accompanied by a Turkish Coast Guard ship and a police helicopter.

The media had also reported that the landing ships and auxiliary vessels of the Russian Navy were involved …

On Monday, US Air Force fighters began to take part in Finnish Air Force aviation exercises. These Cross Border Training exercises will last until the 20th of May.

According to the Finnish TV and radio company, Yle, eight US fighters from Oregon arrived at the Rissala airbase on Friday. US Air Force planes had previously participated in aircraft exercises in Finland’s airspace. This will however be the first time that US fighters will depart from the Finnish airport.

The participation of the …

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated the presidents of nine states, including the so-called republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, on Victory Day. He did not, however, extend these well wishes to the leaders of Ukraine and Georgia, but he did congratulate the citizens of these countries. This was reported on the Kremlin’s website.

“Vladimir Putin congratulated leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, …

As reported by Rzeczpospolita, after leaving Latvia and Lithuania, the Russian Gas monopoly, Gazprom, may abandon its work in Estonia as well. According to the daily, the Board of Directors of Gazprom has to make a decision on the termination of its participation in Eesti Gaas on May 11th.

As of today, 51.38% of the shares of the Estonian company belong to Finnish Fortum, 37.03% of the shares are owned by Gazprom, and 10.02% belong to the Latvian company, Itera Latvija, which is part of the …