The government of Armenia will debate a bill which recognizes the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, as reported on Tuesday, May 3rd on the Prime Minister’s website.

The draft bill is included on the agenda for the May 5th session. The language of the draft bill indicates that its approval is contingent upon negotiations between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with "due regard for further developments and external factors." Representatives of the oppositional factions, …

Spain has issued an international arrest warrant for Russian politicians and former officials who are closely associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin. These individuals are suspected of being involved in two organized crime groups.

A list of these suspects was made public by Judge José de la Mata. It includes high-ranking officials who have worked, or who are still working for, Russian law enforcement agencies. It also includes individuals working in the judiciary, business, banking …

Russia is planning to create three new army divisions to counteract the buildup of NATO forces.

The Russian RIA Novosti agency reported that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu made this announcement on Wednesday.

Two new divisions will be created in the Western army district and one in the Southern.

"The Ministry of Defense is taking a series of steps to counteract the buildup of the NATO forces in the immediate proximity of Russian borders. By the end of the year two new divisions will …

On May 2nd, the Czech Government decided to increase the number of Foreign Ministry employees in its offices in Ukraine.

According to the Czech Republic, this decision is aimed at speeding up the processing of applications for work permits in the Czech Republic received from Ukrainians, Radio Svoboda reported.

In particular, this change will increase the number of Consulate officials by five people at the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Lviv.

The increase in the number of staff in …

Two Ukrainian energy companies have brought a claim to the UN Arbitration Court asking for compensation for losses due to the inability to control assets in the Crimea after the peninsula was annexed by Russia, as reported by Reuters on Monday, May 2nd.

According to the agency, the two companies involved are Ukrnafta and Stabil.

They contend that Russia violated its obligations under the Russian-Ukrainian bilateral investment agreement by "expropriating" the investments of these companies …

According to Postimees, NATO fighters had to accompany Russian military aircraft five times last week. The Russian planes were flying in international airspace over the Baltic Sea.

On the 26th of April, NATO fighters stationed in the Lithuanian city of Šiauliai were alerted to a Su-27 plane travelling from the Kaliningrad region of Russia. It is alleged that the plane was flying without submitting a flight plan, had its transponder switched off and did not maintain connection with the Mission …

The largest of NATO’s military exercises this year began on May 2nd in Estonia. According to the press service of the Estonian Defense Force Headquarters, 6,000 servicemen, including 1,500 from 10 countries that are strong allies and NATO partners, took part in a series of maneuvers code-named Kevadtorm 2016.

Soldiers from Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the USA, Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania are participating. Military exercises scheduled to last three weeks …

Manfred Weber, the leader of the largest European People’s Party, heavily criticized the construction plans for the gas pipeline Nord Stream-2. The Financial Times reported on May 2nd that Weber wrote about this in his letter to the German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel, and European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete.

Weber claims that the construction of the gas pipeline runs counter to foreign-policy goals of the European Union as it …