Turkey appears to be deliberately purchasing less Russian gas until the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom completes the $7 billion Turkish Stream gas pipeline, reports finanz.ru.

At the end of the first quarter of 2019, Russia had for the first time in history lost its competitiveness on the Turkish gas market to liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, Qatar, Algeria and other countries.

The total amount of Russian gas bought by Turkish clients, including the state-owned company Botas and …

The well-known Russian gymnast and former MP Alina Kabaeva has given birth to twins, Dom2Life.ru reports. The birth took place at the Kulakov Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology in Moscow.

According to the news outlet, Kabaeva was placed in the VIP ward, and all other patients on the fourth floor were temporarily relocated to other wards. Numerous bodyguards were present to ensure that she was not disturbed.

“Food for the famous birthing mother was brought in from local elite restaurants. …

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine published information on the beginning of pre-trial investigation under article "Interference in the activities of the judiciary." The decision to open an investigation was made after the statement of judges of Kyiv District Administrative Court (KDAC), who complained of pressure from ex-President Petro Poroshenko, as well as the heads of the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice and the National Bank, the press service of the court reported.

The judges …

Since the Venezuelan oil that Rosneft has been sending to factories in India was bought with prepaid contracts, the US State Department gave approval for these shipments, said Vice President of the Russian company Didier Casimiro as quoted by RBC news agency. 

“We are allowed to use Venezuelan oil because the Venezuelan oil that we supply to refineries in India is under Rosneft’s prepaid contracts. Therefore, the US State Department gave its consent,” Casimiro said.

He also added that the …

Ukraine is willing to desist from implementing the Minsk Agreements if several European states agree to loosen sanctions against the Russian Federation in the Council of Europe, stated Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin as reported by Interfax-Ukraine.

“A lot of people asked me yesterday how the Council of Europe will (move forward on the issue of sanctions against the Russian Federation). I told them honestly that if they choose to follow several other countries, I’ll go out and say …

Washington has not requested a bilateral meeting of Russian and US presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at the G20 Summit in Osaka, said the Aide to Russian President, Yuri Ushakov, RIA Novosti reports.

Ushakov answered that "nothing has happened" on this matter.

Earlier, media sources reported that the US allegedly sent a request to organize a meeting of the presidents of the two countries. According to the RBC news agency, negotiations were proposed to be held at the end of June …

Ahead of his inauguration, Ukraine’s President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky has held a meeting with a number of prominent religious leaders. During the meeting, Ukrainian priests, mullahs and rabbis recorded a joint video message to the pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas who have declared autonomy in Luhansk and in Donetsk.

In the video, the religious figures highlight the need to be filled with love, to set aside weapons, and to engage in peaceful dialog.

The clip begins with a statement by …

President-elect of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky’s team uploaded a video petition to the administration’s official YouTube channel asking Ukrainians if they approve of the Verkhovna Rada’s work. The presenter noted that currently, Ukrainians have a confidence level of “no more than 4%” in their parliament.

“Together we are creating a video petition aimed at the president. If this video gains more than one million views, it will catch the president’s attention,” Zelensky’s team said on a Telegram …