• Following visit to Moscow, PACE President announces need for dialogue with Russia

    The President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Pedro Agramunt, has urged members to maintain communication with the Russian parliament. He said this after a two-day visit to Moscow.

    “Russia is a member state of the Council of Europe. Russia is important because without its active participation, we will be unable to effectively fight against terrorism. We will not be able to find a solution to the crisis in Syria. We will not be able to solve the crisis in Ukraine,” …

  • Yerevan supports placing Russian air defense system in Armenia

    The Armenian Parliament has ratified the government’s decision to combine its air defense system with that of Russia. The governmental proposal was adopted by the Armenian Parliament on the 30th of June despite protests from the opposition. 102 People’s Deputies voted in favor of this proposal while 8 voted against it.

    Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are all members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Moscow strengthened its military …

  • Canada to contribute troops for new NATO battalions in Eastern Europe

    Canada will take the lead role in the battalions’ creation, in order to support a program of deterrence and defense in Central and Eastern Europe, according to the government of Canada’s website.

    “As one of the four leading nations, Canada intends to create and lead the rotary multinational battle group of NATO, which will contribute to increasing the presence of NATO in Eastern and Central Europe, along with the United States, Britain and Germany,” stated the message.

    More information about …

  • John Kerry to visit Kiev before NATO summit

    United States Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev on the 7th of July before the start of the NATO Summit, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing sources in diplomatic circles. The Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, also confirmed Kerry’s visit. However, Chaly didn’t provide the exact date of the visit.

    “I think that Kerry will discuss the coordination of actions before NATO Summit in Warsaw. Ukraine and the USA hold common positions that will allow us to agree on …

  • Poroshenko posthumously gives award to opera singer who died in the Donbas

    On Thursday, President Petro Poroshenko awarded the fighter and opera singer Vasyl Slipak the "For Courage" honor posthumously.

    “For the personal courage shown in the protection of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and his dedicated service to the Ukrainian people I decree the awarding of the "For Courage" honor to Vasyl Yaroslavovych Slipak for his participation in the anti-terrorist operations (posthumously),” the decree reads.

    Vasyl Slipak was born in the Lviv …

  • Poland will consider increasing the number of NATO troops in the country if Russia does not change its position

    If Russia's position does not change, the number of NATO forces near the eastern flank of the Alliance may increase as was stated by the head of the National Security Bureau of Poland, Paul Solokh, Radio Poland reports.

    "We expect that at the summit in Warsaw, the decision to increase the presence of NATO forces will not be final. These forces can be increased if the Russian position does not change," Paul Solokh said.

    At the same time, he stressed that the process of preparation for the NATO …

  • Reconstruction of Smolensk plane crash to be presented in Poland

    The Commission responsible for investigating the Smolensk catastrophe will, in the near future, present a reconstruction of the last seconds of the plane crash which killed the former Polish president and others on the 10th of April 2010.

    Radio Poland reported that this was said by the country’s Minister of National Defense, Antoni Macierewicz.

    “I think that we will soon be presented with new or well-formulated information. The reconstruction of these events is made possible by the colossal …

  • Groysman: Ukraine insists on using its own gas transport system instead of Nord Stream 2

    Ukraine offers to use its gas transport system as an alternative to the Nord Stream-2 project, the Prime Minister, Vladimir Groysman, said in an interview with Ukrainian media.

    "The task now is diversification [of gas supplies to Europe]. And I think the capacity of Ukraine has to be utilized to its fullest. I believe it makes a lot of sense," he said. Groysman believes that the Russian gas pipeline project Nord Stream-2, which would pass to Europe while bypassing Ukraine, is a threat to the …

  • US to provide Ukrainians with $5 million for business education

    The US is planning to invest approximately $5 million into the business education of Ukrainian professionals through the SEED Grant Scholarship program. BBC reported that this was said by the Western NIS Enterprise fund.

    The scholarship program will operate between 2016 and 2018. According to reports, the program has already provided more than $1 million worth of education for 13 Ukrainian students in the US and in Britain.

    Ukrainians will be able to study at the best American and British …

  • Bulgaria urges NATO to increase support for Ukraine

    Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev met with the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko.

    Bulgarian President expressed his support in continued assistence of Ukraine by the North Atlantic Alliance. The decision about the further assistence will be made at the Warsaw NATO summit in early July.

    "During the meeting of NATO defense ministers, it was decided to increase support for Ukraine. We expect that this support will be approved at the NATO meeting in Warsaw,” said Plevneliev after talks …