Ukrtransgaz, the operator of the Ukrainian gas transport system, stated that from January to May 2017, Gazprom increased the transit of gas through Ukraine to 38.26 billion cubic meters.

This is the highest recorded volume of transported gas over the past 5 years; it exceeds the average transit volume for January-May during 2013-2016 by almost 9 billion cubic meters. Other Russian gas route volumes remained stable.

Gazprom is able to cover the growth and fluctuations in demand for Russian gas …

The world clearly understands that the main threats to transatlantic security in the region are the militarization of the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, the large-scale exercises "Zapad-2017" planned for autumn, and the Belarusian nuclear power plant in Astravyets that has turned into a geopolitical weapon, as stated by the  President of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaite during her annual report to the Seimas, Delfi news agency reports.

"The world that defends democracy today fully …

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, stated that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to implement a visa regime with the Russian Federation if Ukraine’s administration adopts such a measure.

“I believe that even the introduction of a visa regime to control those who arrive from Russia is not enough for us. We have to introduce biometric passports for this, but then also control those who come,” said Klimkin.

According to the Minister, almost three million …

National Joint Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine refused to negotiate with Gazprom in Moscow; a decision noted in the company's response to the invitation of Alexander Medvedev, Gazprom Deputy Chairman of the Management Committee.

Yesterday, Medvedev said that Gazprom was ready to discuss a new transit contract because the current one expires in 2019, so he invited Naftogaz to come to Moscow.

Naftogaz believes that the territory of the Russian Federation is not a place for negotiations. "This …

Macedonia may join EU under the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which Greece insists on, as stated by Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Macedonian Radio Television (MRT).

“There are two ways – either solving the problem, or joining NATO under a conditional name and continuing negotiations with Greece on the issue that Greece has with the constitutional name of our country, in connection with our integration into the EU. They know about our desire to join the European …

On Thursday, May 8, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Bill Number 6470 that defines Ukraine’s accession to NATO as one of the bases of foreign policy. 276 people's deputies voted in favor of bill.

In the old version of Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Basics of Domestic and Foreign Policy," the priority was defined as "to deepen cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in order to meet the criteria necessary to obtain membership in this organization."

Now, the goal of …

The US White House once more reiterated that sanctions against Russia over its interference in Ukraine would be preserved until Moscow fully honors its obligations to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.

Until then, the United States is firmly committed to maintaining existing sanctions against Russia, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

"We believe that the existing executive-branch sanctions regime is the best tool for compelling Russia to fulfill its commitments," she said at a …

Russia, Turkey and Iran have postponed the planned round of talks on Syria in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which Moscow had proposed to hold June 12-13, as stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.

In turn, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the talks could resume on June 20. According to him, the meeting was postponed because the delegations were not ready.

Earlier it was reported that at the end of the last such talks in Astana last month, Russia, …