• Kiev accuses separatists of blocking the exchange of prisoners

    During the meeting of the humanitarian subgroup of Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk on Wednesday, March 23rd, representatives of the self-proclaimed republics of the Donbas were "debating absolutely destructively," said a spokeswoman for Ukraine, MP Iryna Herashchenko, as reported by Deutsche Welle. "They, yet again, artificially understate the number of hostages on their territories. We are painstakingly collecting information about the locations of prisoners, whom neither the mission of the …

  • Biden calls on Poroshenko to fix political crisis in Ukraine

    US Vice President Joe Biden reminded the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, about the critical importance of creating a stable government and parliamentary coalition in his country during a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian leader on March 22nd, 2016.

    According to a White House report on the conversation, the stabilization of the Ukrainian political system is the main condition for the successful implementation of the necessary reforms in Ukraine.

    In addition, Biden and …

  • Poroshenko: Ukraine opened first nuclear research lab 'for peaceful purposes'

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and the US ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, took part in the launch of the Neutron Source Facility on March 23. The research lab is located at the National Science Center, Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology.

    "The Neutron Source Facility will allow Ukraine to conduct research in various fields of science and technology, produce almost the entire spectrum of radioisotopes for needs of medicine and industry, as well as solve problems of the …

  • Russia is investigating one thousand cases of citizens supporting terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq

    More than a thousand cases on Russian involvement in terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq are being investigated in Russia, as reported by Prosecutor Yury Chaika. “Access to thousands of resources on the Internet has been limited at the request of the Prosecutor General’s office; unlawful information has been removed from nearly seven thousand websites. More than a thousand cases are being investigated for involvement of our citizens in terrorist groups on the territory of Iraq and Syria,” he …

  • Russian Foreign Ministry confirms Lavrov and Kerry discussed Savchenko case

    During a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Moscow, the two diplomats discussed the fate of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, reports Interfax. The exact results of the talks remain unknown.

     "Yes, the issue was raised," answered the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, when asked if Kerry and Lavrov discussed the issue.

    According to Zakharova, the talks between the Foreign Minister and Secretary of State …

  • World Bank: Ukraine has removed the middleman in relations with Gazprom

    The World Bank notes that the government of Ukraine has made decisive steps towards removing the middleman between Gazprom and Ukraine in an attempt to root out a major source of corruption. This was stated by the World Bank Country Director for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Europe and Central Asia, Qimiao Fan.

    "The Ukrainian government has already taken some important steps towards transforming the gas market… [by removing things] that resist change in the area that drives reforms. An …

  • Chechen prosecutor's office: We found no extremism in Kadyrov's statements about Russian opposition

    The Chechen Prosecutor's Office reported that it found no extremism in statements made by the head of the Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, concerning the non-systemic Russian opposition, according to the Prosecutor of the Chechen Republic, Sharpuddi Abdul-Kadyrov, as reported by RIA Novosti reported.

    "Those who turned about the extremist manifestations in these expressions, we gave them the answer — we did not see any extremism in his speeches", the Prosecutor said.  

    In January, Kadyrov stated that …

  • Azerbaijani official: Baku pushes for reconciliation between Russia and Turkey

    The Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan on Socio-Political Affairs, Ali Hasanov, said that Baku makes every effort to push for reconciliation between Russia and Turkey, as stated on TV channel ANS as well as on Minval.az on Monday, March 21st."We are trying to reconcile the relationship between Turkey and Russia, so that these countries will find their common interests and build the relationship, looking to the future, not looking back at the past," he said.Hasanov stressed that due to the …

  • Lukashenko: Belarus does not need to choose between Russia and the EU

    During a meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that his country does not need to choose between East and West, between Russia and the European Union, RBC reported.  

    "If the partners with whom we are in dialogue insist that we have to choose between the East or the West - that is, whether you are with Russia or the European Union, to put such a choice in front of us and to put us in such a position is inappropriate. I am …

  • Poland forms new commission to investigate Smolensk plane crash in 2010

    The Ministry of Justice of Poland formed a new commission to investigate the plane crash near Smolensk in April 2010 that killed Polish President Lech Kaczyńsk. According to Polish Radio, it will include "experienced prosecutors from across the country," and will be headed by the Deputy Attorney General, Marek Pasionek.

    "The task of the group is to conduct a full, comprehensive analysis of all materials associated with the tragedy near Smolensk, concerning the main and all other related …