Ben Cardin, a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, expressed concern about the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, which are designed to reduce tensions in eastern Ukraine.  Completed a year ago, the Minsk Agreements represent a package of measures related to security and policy, agreed to by Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia, to resolve the conflict in the Donbas region.

"Thursday was the first anniversary of the Minsk Agreements.  While all parties expressed the …

The Tver Court of Moscow refused to accept the claim of the founder of the Fight against Corruption Fund, Alexei Navalny, against Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Friday, February 12th, the decision of Judge Tatyana Molitvinaya appeared on the court's web site. It says that in accordance with the Constitution, "the Russian president has immunity."

As the judge indicated, in the scope of administrative legal proceedings, no requirements can be made of the head of the State "because it would …

Ukraine may tighten its visa regulations for Israeli citizens due to an uncoordinated visit to occupied Crimea by the current Knesset member from the Shas party, who is also Israel’s former Minister of Religious Affairs, Ya'akov Margi.  The visit occurred on the 10th of February with the head of the occupation authority of the peninsula, Sergey Aksenov.

This was reported by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Gennady Nadolenko, in his comments to the Forum Daily news site, according to …

The Cabinet of Ministers intends to transfer the customs administration of Volyn, Lviv, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathia to specialized foreign companies, as announced by the Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

"We want to attract companies that have experience in the fight against corruption at customs, which can absolutely change the customs service system and bring a new management system.  The new system should provide for the simplification of obtaining customs …

On February 10th, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko held a meeting with civil society representatives.  Ukrainian political technologist, Taras Berezovets, disclosed some details of this meeting on his Facebook page.

“Yesterday at the President’s Administration, I had a private meeting with Petro Poroshenko and other civil society representatives.  Poroshenko asked not to quote him. Two film crews were also asked to leave the hall.  I wrote a couple of pages of his quotations, some of which …

A new contingent of Russian troops arrived in Crimea earlier this week to participate in military exercises, as stated by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu. The move comes after a surprise inspection of Russia’s Southern Military District on February 8th.

The exercise includes the units of the Southern Military District as well as airborne troops, transport aircraft, and air defense systems. A total of 8,500 servicemen, 900 pieces of military hardware, 50 ships, and 200 aircraft are …

The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a loan agreement from Turkey worth $50 million.  The approval comes ahead of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's visit to Kiev on Monday. This was announced by the Minister of Finance, Natalia Jaresko, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"The draft resolution will authorize the Minister of Finance to implement the government’s external borrowing in 2016 by attracting loans worth no more than $50 million with a maturity not later than five years and at a …

The Montenegro Ministry of Foreign Affairs has banned the entry of Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Rogozin, into the country.  Rogozin is on the "black list" and therefore subject to sanctions due to his position on the Ukrainian crisis.  This was reported by Glavnoe and Radio Svoboda in the Balkans.

Montenegrins have not forgotten Rogozin’s words that they will “regret” their decision to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).  The authorities are now trying to prevent a new …