Ukraine can exchange the head of of the party "Opposition Platform - For Life" Viktor Medvedchuk, arrested on suspicion of treason, for Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia, said the Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov.

"The decision on the exchange is made by the President of Ukraine. I think if we can do that, we'll be happy to do it," Danilov said.

Medvedchuk is currently under house arrest. His house and the office of the "Opposition Platform" were …

Belarus began to have problems with the sale of oil products abroad, a key source of income in hard foreign currency for the country's economy.

Argus Media reports, citing market sources, that European banks began to refuse to finance deals after the US announced the imposition of sanctions against the largest Belarusian refinery Naftan.

Although the sanctions officially come into force in June and formally apply only to American legal entities, the payment for Belarusian goods in dollars has …

McDonald's Corp. will raise the wages of workers at its U.S. locations, CNBC reported.

Non-administrative staff at about 660 McDonald's restaurants in the U.S. will receive $11-17 an hour, and supervisors will receive $15-20 per hour.

About 36,000 people will get the 10% pay raise.

As a result, even the lowest-paid full-time McDonald's employee will receive $1,760 a month.

At the current exchange rate, it is about 130,000 rubles, which is more than the monthly income of 97.3% of the Russian …

Russia has no plans to absorb anyone, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, RBC reports.

"Russia has no plans to absorb anyone. It has never done that," he said.

Bloomberg news agency wrote the European Union fears that Moscow is preparing to annex the Donbas. The agency referred to an internal EU memo saying that organizing elections in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and issuing passports to local residents "are aimed at actual integration of these …

Russia sees itself among the mediators in resolving the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A number of countries, including Russia, are making efforts and using their contacts to encourage the parties to the conflict to act with restraint, said Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, without giving any details. According to him, the sides should recognize that there is no alternative to a diplomatic solution.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflict in …

The Pechersky District Court in Kyiv placed under house arrest Ukrainian politician and leader of the Opposition Platform for Life party Viktor Medvedchuk, reported the news website Graty.

The prosecution demanded Medvedchuk's arrest. The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine was ready to release Medvedchuk on a 300-million-hryvnia bail (about $10 million). The politician said that he does not have such money.

"I will not be able to pay this money, because me and my wife were subjected to …

Russia is not going to interfere in the internal affairs of Ukraine, said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the charges brought against the head of the political party Opposition Platform for Life, Viktor Medvedchuk.

"Of course, we are watching this very thoroughly," Peskov said, adding that Moscow would like to make sure that it is not about persecution for political reasons, about "some kind of campaign" associated with the desire to get rid of competitors.

"This would …

The statement of the head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov that the Israeli authorities should apologize to the Arab population for the situation in East Jerusalem does not reflect the official position of Russia, said the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov.

"You know that the foreign policy position of the Russian Federation is formulated by the President," Peskov said.

According to him, Kadyrov's statement cannot be considered an official position of Moscow.

"We …