France’s far-right National Front party has asked Russia for a €27 million loan to help finance its 2017 election campaigns, The Times reported on Friday, citing the party’s treasurer, Wallerand de Saint-Just.

In 2014, the National Front, led by Marine Le Pen, received an €11 million loan from a bank with Russian ties. At the time, French media claimed that the loan bought the party’s support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Le Pen’s party claims that the results of the Crimean referendum in 2 …

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the potential sale of 30 Mi-8/17 helicopters to Budapest, despite the EU’s sanctions banning such transactions.

According to an informed source who spoke with UNIAN, "the Hungarian Ministry of Defense wants to buy about 30 multipurpose helicopters Mi-8/17 from Russia. The contract value is estimated to be more than $ 400 million. Orban's visit to Moscow on February 17th included a discussion of a contract.” …

Ukraine intends to prove that the $3 billion loan given by Russia to former Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, was first and foremost a bribe. This was stated by Klimkin in an interview with the Ukrinform news agency on Thursday, February 18th, in Kiev.

"Of course, we will work at aiming to prove that it was indeed a bribe. And the fact that this case will be considered by a London court gives us more opportunities to do so. We are preparing for this and all the corresponding statements …

Moscow and Yerevan have reached an agreement that will provide Armenia with $200 million to purchase Russian arms, according to the Russian government’s official legal data website.

"The Russian side is providing the Armenian side with a state export loan of up to $200 million for financing the delivery of Russian military products in line with the list contained in Appendix No1 to this agreement," the government website reported.

The 10-year agreement will cover the purchase of a variety of …

Moody’s, the American rating agency, has lowered the forecast of the Russian GDP to 2.5%.  This is according to press release by Moody’s, as reported by the RBC news agency on the 18th of February.  The previous forecast had assumed a 1% decline in the GDP.

Moody’s has also adjusted the forecast of Brazil’s GDP to 3%, Saudi Arabia’s GDP to 1.5% and South Africa’s GDP to 0%.  According to Moody’s, the reason for changing the forecasts of the main oil-producing countries, such as Saudi Arabia …

Mexico has officially recognized that the Titan-2 crane vessel registered in Crimea belongs to the Kiev-based company, Chornomornaftogas.  This was reported by the Naftogaz of Ukraine press service.

The vessel was hired by a Swedish company in 2003 as a bareboat charter.  In 2011, the Swedish company sub-chartered it to Mexican company, Oceanografia SA de CV.  However, after a while the Mexican company went bankrupt and the vessel was expropriated by the Mexican financial authorities. …

Today, Russia undertook the unilateral registration of the 49th so-called humanitarian convoy. According to the State Border Service, two humanitarian assistance convoys, consisting of 101 vehicles, passed through the Russian crossing points at Donetsk and Matveev Kurgan and entered Ukraine between 5:55 am and 6:50 am.

"The convoy was monitored by the Ukrainian Inter-ministerial group, but only by means of visual observation and without implementation of any control measures as the movement of …

Moscow has hinted that they will not cooperate further with the International Criminal Court of The Hague (ICC) in its investigation into war crimes committed in Georgia in 2008 following the Court's announcement that all parties involved will be held accountable.

Last month, the ICC made the decision to start an investigation into the war crimes committed in Georgia in August of 2008. The Court stated that “such crimes include murders, crimes against humanity, unlawful deportation, …