NATO and the European Union plan to expand their cooperation in regards to countering maritime threats and cyber-attacks.

The Alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement during a meeting of the foreign ministers of NATO member states, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported.

“In the center of the agenda of the two-day meeting of the ministers will be a plan for stability, which will assess how we can continue to support our partners and neighbors,” Stoltenberg said.

According to …

The Pentagon stated that Russia has established a military base in the vicinity of Palmyra, Syria, despite Vladimir Putin’s announcement in March that the majority of Russian troops would be withdrawn from the war-torn country, Rosbalt reported.

 "It seems that they [Russia] created a kind of forward operating base, which gives them a base for a longer presence,” US Colonel Steve Warren stated during a videoconference from Baghdad.

According to him, Russia has not, in fact, reduced its troop …

The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, stated during the International Legal Forum in Saint Petersburg that Russian companies have been subjected to pressure due to the sanctions imposed by number of countries against the Russian Federation over the last two years, as reported by a Rosbalt correspondent.

“There are attempts to push sanctions forward across the world contrary to agreements and international law. Our companies have been subjected to this pressure for two years. What kind …

The Council of Venice calls for the lifting of sanctions against Russia

The regional Council of Venice passed a resolution calling on the Italian Government to condemn the policy of the EU Council on Crimea and demand the lifting of sanctions against Russia, RIA Novosti reports. Venice also recognized the Crimea as part of Russia.

27 of the 51 members of the regional council voted in favor of the document. 

The document states that due to the anti-Russian sanctions Italy lost 3.6 million …

During his visit to Italy, Polish President Andrzej Duda spoke out against the isolation of Russia, Polish radio reports. “No one is interested in a new cold war,” Duda stated during his speech at the NATO Defense College in Rome.

President Duda called for dialogue with Moscow based on the principles of international law. At the same time, he noted that Russian actions in Ukraine undermine the security system in Europe.

Earlier, Andrzej Duda spoke of the new phases of deployment of an  …

The Coordinator of the Crimean Human Rights Group, Olga Skrypnyk, stated that only one of seven Ukrainian schools is still working in annexed Crimea, Krym.Realii reported. According to Skrypnyk, Russia has manipulated the situation such that parents no longer wish classes to be taught in the Ukrainian language.

“For example, there was a case in Yalta Ukrainian High School, when an employee of the City Education Department urged and intimidated parents to reject the use of the Ukrainian …

The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, stated at a meeting with the Director of the State Security Department of Lithuania, Darius Jauniškis, that the issue with Western partners supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons is still unresolved. The Ukrainian defense industry isn’t able to supply a sufficient number of weapons to effectively counter Russian military aggression.

"Currently, the Ukrainian defense industry is the only producer of …

On the 23rd of May 2016, Ukraine and the US will sign an inter-governmental agreement on mutual assistance between Customs Administrations, according to the Minister of Finance of Ukraine, Oleksandr Danylyuk.

“I have just initialed a draft agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the US on mutual assistance between Customs Administrations. Tomorrow, I will submit a draft order on approval of the agreement to the Cabinet of Ministers. The signing of the approved agreement is scheduled …