Romania is concerned about the increased Russian military activity in the Black Sea. Strengthening European security will be the main topic in January, when this country, in the order of rotation, will take over the European Union presidency, said Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor.

“The Russian Federation is using the Black Sea to move forces into the eastern Mediterranean areas,” stated Mihai Fifor at the international conference hosted by the Aspen Institute.

“The situation has changed …

Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland warned that Russia’s participation in statutory bodies would be terminated if it did not pay its contributions to the OSCE budget in 2019, Evropeyska Pravda reports.

Jagland said that the Committee of Ministers can terminate Russia’s participation in the PACE and Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in accordance with the statute that imposes restrictions against the State that does not pay membership fees. Russia may …

The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan, Yoshihide Suga said that a protest was sent to the embassy in Moscow regarding the military exercises on the Kuril Islands, TASS reports. Suga pointed out to that “the increased presence of the Russian army on the four northern islands contradicts Tokyo’s position on this territorial dispute.”

Japan believes that it’s necessary to solve the territorial problem at its roots. It is determined to conduct “persistent negotiations.” The Sankei Shimbun newspaper …

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko warned that he will take on Dmytro Firtash next month. "In the coming month, Mister Firtash will have good news for us from the prosecutor’s offices. It will concern regional gas enterprises, chemical factories and enterprises in the temporarily annexed territories,” the Prosecutor General told journalists on Wednesday at the presentation of the strategy of development of the Prosecutor’s Office in the Crimea in 2019 to 2022.

Lutsenko expressed his …

Thailand’s military is interested in acquiring Ukraine’s new BTR-4MV1. The Ukrainian armored transports could become the primary vehicles for the Royal Thai Marine Corps, as reported on the website of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) following the “Weaponry and Security” exhibition and the Aviamir XXI aerospace showroom.

The BTR-4MV1 is a thoroughly revamped version of the BTR-4 which takes into account NATO standards and experience from operating in the NATO zone. It has …

Russia is determined to create one of the best anti-doping systems, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at the international forum Russia – Sports Power in Ulyanovsk, reported the website of the Kremlin.

The president said that a national plan has been developed and is being implemented for this purpose. “We consider this a matter of principle both for Russia and the entire world,” Putin said.

 “We have seen failures in our anti-doping system but I want to note that these are not solely our …

A joint US-Israeli delegation secretly visited Ukraine to acquaint themselves with several specimens of important weaponry, including an S-300 anti-air defense system, Vietnamese news portal Soha News reports.

According to the article, Ukrainian specialists explained to delegation members the tactical and technical characteristics of the S-300 in Ukraine’s possession, and suggested that American and Israeli fighter jets be sent to Ukraine in order to test the system’s capabilities.

Responding …

Naftogaz is holding $9 million of the debt owed by Russian company Gazprom, based on the decision of the Stockholm arbitration, reported the press service for Naftogaz.

The company reminded that the Stockholm arbitration formula for gas pricing was changed, which resulted in lower service rates and general transit cost.

Naftogaz was clarified that Gazprom deliberately refuses to implement the decision of the arbitration and continues to pay the price set by Naftogaz.

“Thus, Naftogaz has …