The commander of U.S. ground forces in Europe, Lt. General Ben Hodges, expressed the need for the unrestsricted movement of military units of the alliance countries.

The U.S. commander of ground forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, spoke in favor of the creation of a so-called military ‘Schengen zone’ in order to facilitate quick and unrestricted movement of NATO units. "We need a military Schengen zone so allied units can move at the pace fo the growing threats," Hodges stated during the …

A manufacturer of agricultural machinery from Germany signed a special investment agreement with the Russian government at the St. Petersburg Economic Forum.

The German CLAAS Group was the first foreign company to sign a special investment contract with Russia. The agreement was signed on Friday, June 17, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The German company received the status of the Russian manufacturer of agricultural equipment, and its products can now qualify for the …

"There is a sharp increase in the number of complaints about human rights violations in Crimea," said Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, on Friday, June 17th, as reported by RBC.ru news portal. Moskalkova compared the data for the first five months of 2016 with the same period in 2015.

"In the Southern Federal District, the number of complaints about human rights violations increased by 80 percent and in the Crimea, by 75 percent," said the ombudswoman. These are …

During the plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope that a sense of responsibility would urge the next U.S. President to cooperate with Russia and create a safe atmosphere in the world” .

Putin did not share his opinion of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for U.S. President. However, earlier, when speaking about succession in the U.S.A., the Russian president referred to the proverb “husband and wife live …

The President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö stated in his interview with Dagens Nyheter daily that Finland will apply for membership of NATO in case the security situation deteriorates. “We can’t exclude the possibility of applying for NATO membership. It would be a serious mistake because it’s a tool of national security policy and Russia knows that we have this tool,” Niinistö noted.

“We are developing our partnership and cooperation with NATO at this stage. If we see significant deterioration …

The Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg announced that Norway has begun a large scale strengthening of its defense capability and an upgrade of the military sector for protection from unpredictable actions by the Russian Federation, Deutsche Welle reported.

According to the proposed law that should be approved by the Parliament, Norway plans to increase its military budget by 165 billion crowns (17.5 billion Euros) during the next 20 years. Solberg said the planned upgrade is the largest …

The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel recently spoke about NATO’s unflagging support of Ukraine, noting that a return to normal relations with Russia won’t be possible until the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its active borders.

“The NATO-Ukraine meeting was a constituent part of defense ministry negotiations that have recently ended. Negotiations of the same format will be held with the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko in Warsaw, in July,” …

Advisers to the heads of the sates of the Normandy quartet agreed on three pilot sites for troops and weaponry withdrawal in eastern Ukraine.

The Deputy Head of Administration of the President of Ukraine, Kostiantyn Yeliseyev, met with the advisers to the heads of the Normandy Four states and an OSCE Representative in Minsk.

"The meetings were held with the advisers to the heads of the Normandy Four states. Participating in the meeting with me were the advisers to the German Chancellor, the …