A new policy by the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Industry and Trade will pose challenges for foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers this year. New rules will make it necessary to receive a Russian variant of a certificate of conformity of quality if they wish to do business in the country.

The chief representative of Pfizer in Russia told Business FM that there isn’t enough time or resources to check drugs under the new policy while still working within budget and schedule constraints. This …

Officials in London may publish the list of people who, as a result of the investigation into the death of Alexander Litvinenko, will be denied the right to enter the United Kingdom as reported by Rosbalt on January 23rd, citing The Guardian.

The UK’s Anti-Corruption Champion, Eric Pickles, is currently investigating this possibility. He will submit the results of his research to the Ministers.

Publication of the ‘black list’ will allow the public to find out who is prohibited from entering …

Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalia Jaresko believes that there is still a chance to avoid a legal battle with Russia over the three billion dollar debt, the repayment of which Kiev missed in December, as stated during the World Economic Forum in Davos during an interview with Bloomberg News that was published on January 23rd.

According to Jaresko, Ukrainian and Russian officials might meet "soon" to discuss the issue.

Russia bought three billion dollars worth of Ukrainian government bonds at …

Representatives of the State Concern Ukroboronprom met with American delegates led by the Deputy Secretary of State, Frank Rose, to discuss the implementation of joint projects in the production of modern weapons and increased cooperation in the security sector.

“The U.S side is ready to contribute to the development processes of Ukraine and hopes for its success,” Rose noted. He said that American experts have pointed out qualitative changes in the work of Ukroboronprom. Ukraine and the US …

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland, Timo Soini, stated that it is necessary to take tough steps in order to stop illegal migration across the Russian-Finnish border. “It seems that rough measures are even desperately required. We have to bring an end to illegal immigration and migration,” the Minister stated in an interview.

The influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa is rising south of the Murmansk region on the border with Finland. Refugees are no longer allowed to cross …

On the 23rd of January, pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine violated the ceasefire agreement 37 times. The Chief Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine reported that weapons prohibited by the Minsk Agreements were observed in the cities of Donetsk and Bulavinskoye.

Information about the presence of weaponry–tanks, self-propelled guns (SPG) and 122-mm Grad rocket launchers-was provided by representatives of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission.

Ukrainian …

The total outflow of means from funds invested in Russian assets increased to $91.8 million during the week beginning January 14th. According to Interfax, based on data provided by the Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) analysts, last week investors withdrew $70 million from Russian investments—an outflow of means increased by 30%.

Sberbank CIB estimates the total net cash outflow from funds investing only in shares of the Russian Federation also increased to $42.1 million from January 14 …

City authorities in Moscow have rejected an application submitted by the liberal Yabloko party to hold a public rally to call for the removal of Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen Republic.

Radio Free Europe reported that Yabloko instead plans to hold a rotating one-person picket on January 26th in front of President Putin’s administration building, as public demonstrations in Russia of more than one person must be approved by the authorities. Russian opposition groups report that it is …