According to unnamed sources in a Der Spiegel report, the current format of the G7 is unlikely to be re-expanded to the G8 to include Russia, the Office of the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, stated, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

"The G8 format is dead," the source in the agency said. Merkel's staff is skeptical that Moscow will be able to fulfill the conditions for their return to the Group of Eight.

According to the journal's information, the US authorities are against the …

The State Department's Deputy Spokesperson, Mark Toner, stated that pro-Russian separatists are responsible high number of ceasefire violations in the Donbas.

“We are certainly concerned at the level of violence in eastern Ukraine which has reached its highest level since the ceasefire agreements in September,” Toner said.

He emphasized that about 30,000 ceasefire violations were registered in April; which he described as “a huge number.” At the same time, as Toner noted, “The OSCE reports …

Ukrainian political prisoners Oleg Sentsov and Alexander Kolchenko, who are being held in Russia, filled out all necessary documents for their extradition to Ukraine. Radio Liberty journalist Anton Naumlyuk posted on Facebook about this recent development in their plight.

"Oleg Sentsov and Olexandr Kolchenko finished all paperwork necessary for their transfer to Ukraine. The documents were handed over to the Federal Penitentiary Service to be transferred later to the Ministry of Justice," …

The State Border Service of Ukraine announced that security will be increased during the May holidays, especially along the coastal areas, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Naval forces and aircraft will be used on a daily basis during this time to monitor Ukraine’s coastlines and administrative border between the mainland and the Crimea.

“Tactical ship groups are to cover approaches from the sea. In the air are ‘Diamond’ planes to monitor the situation in the sea and the administrative border with …

The memorial display on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge dedicated to the memory of murdered politician Boris Nemtsov was disassembled again, presumably in preparation for the May holidays. Two activists on the bridge were detained.

"Holidays began. The memorial on Nemtsov Bridge was cleaned up. The next few weeks will be difficult.  What’s a without traffic getting blocked? Most likely the government will clean up often. But holidays pass, and memory remains. Let them destroy [the memorial]. …

According to a report released by the Finnish government, if the country joined NATO, it would provoke a crisis in relations with Russia, Evropeyskaya Pravda reported.

As noted by the Yle Finnish broadcasting company, a working group which assesses the implications of the possible accession of Finland to NATO submitted a report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini. 

According to the report, membership in NATO would most likely affect Finland's security, as it would help deter …

Norway intends to build a fence at the checkpoint "Borisoglebsk - Storskog" on the border with Russia, as reported by the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, NRK, with reference to the local police chief, Katrina Ellen Hetta.

Norwegian authorities have already notified Russia of its intention.

The Nordic state has insisted that the fence will not impact traffic across the border, but will help with the increasing flow of migrants.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will visit Russia next week to meet with Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Radio Svoboda reported.

According to the Kremlin, Abe will arrive on May 6th and will discuss economic cooperation with Putin. The two leaders are also expected to discuss international issues.

The Japanese and Russian Foreign Ministers held talks two weeks ago.

The meeting between Abe and Putin is viewed as a step towards improving bilateral relations between Russia and Japan, which have …