Eastern Europe

BAKU. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Baku continues to abide by the provisions of the trilateral statements adopted by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said."Azerbaijan remains fully committed to rigorou...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Swedish government has decided to contribute nearly $30 million to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said following a meeting with Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch in Sto...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russia's Energy Ministry expects the country's upward trend in energy consumption to continue in 2023, the ministry said in a statement following the speech of Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov at meetings with deputies...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The overall budget of technical assistance projects to be implemented in Ukraine under the International Climate Initiative will reach 44.5 million euros, the Ukrainian media said on Tuesday with the reference to the website of...

WASHINGTON. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The launch of a Crew Dragon spacecraft of the United States company SpaceX supposed to carry an international crew including Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev to the International Space Station (ISS), which was called off o...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russia could limit exports of minimally processed fish products in order to increase supplies to domestic processing enterprises.According to the minutes of a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko in ear...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The security, economic, humanitarian, and social assistance that the United States has provided to Ukraine since the start of the crisis has amounted to about $50 billion, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said."F...

ASTANA. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's Foreign Affairs Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has called on the countries of Central Asia and the United States to formulate new routes for international trade."It is very important for us to work on creating...

BISHKEK. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan's management board has decided to hold the key policy rate at 13% per annum, National Bank spokeswoman Aida Karabayeva said at a press conference on Tuesday.The inflationary background in Ky...

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK/MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Municipal Court on Tuesday concluded its review of the Russian Prosecutor General's claim against Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL - formerly the operator of the Sakhalin-1 project) for ta...

BAKU. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has said he does not view online diplomacy as an effective method of peace treaty negotiations between Baku and Yerevan and has urged Yerevan to resume in-person meetings."Armenia ...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russia's decision to cut oil production will help balance the global market, Alexander Dyukov, CEO of Gazprom Neft , told reporters."At the moment, there is a certain surplus in the market. Accordingly, the decision tak...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko has urged European colleagues to support Ukraine's nomination as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s Board of Governors.Galushchenko made the call at...

ASTANA. Feb 28 (Interfax) - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he expects his upcoming meeting with the foreign policy chiefs of the Central Asian nations to strengthen regional ties."We're grateful to you, we're grateful...

ALMATY. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russia's Rosatom is transferring stakes in three uranium joint ventures with Kazakhstan to a Russian entity.Kazakhstan9;s government has passed a resolution allowing the disposal of stakes in three uranium enterprises in...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Foreign Ministry of Taiwan has earmarked approximately $56 million in its 2023 budget for civil infrastructure projects in Ukraine, the Caribbean News Global media outlet said on Monday.Taiwan plans to help rebuild hospital...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Ukraine is actively working on reforms that are needed to start negotiations on accession to the European Union, Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said."We are not just waiting for negotiations on further f...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Gazprom Neft and Shell (SPB: RDS.A) have still not completed the deal to sell the Dutch company's stake in the Salym project in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous District (KhMAD), Gazprom Neft CEO Alexander Dyukov told reporte...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - It's time to begin negotiations on Ukraine's entry into the European Union this year, the Ukrainian media quoted Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as saying on a social network on Tuesday."Ukraine has always bee...

TOKYO. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Japanese government has decided to tighten sanctions on Russia over the situation in and around Ukraine and update its sanction lists currently including 94 organizations and 48 individuals, as seen from a statement on the J...

ASTANA. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan stands ready to further develop relations with the United States, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is currently in Astana on an official visit....

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The United States has provided the first installment totaling $1.25 billion in grant funding intended to support Ukraine's budget in order to ensure the country's sustainable public administration, Ukrainian media repor...

KRASNOYARSK. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Gazprombank Leasing expects its lease portfolio to grow in 2023, the company's CEO and vice president of parent Gazprombank , Maxim Kalinkin said in an interview with Interfax."We are counting on a positive dynamic...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Russia has registered 9,753 new cases of Covid-19 and 35 related deaths over the past 24 hours, the coronavirus response headquarters said in a statement on Tuesday.Russia "has recorded 9,753 new cases of Covid-19 and 2,053...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian national power grid operator Ukrenergo has completed repairs following a major blackout in the city of Odessa and the surrounding area on Monday, the DTEK power supply company reported on Tuesday."This enables...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The support provided by international partners has helped maintain Ukraine's energy system, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said."This assistance is not only in the form of money but also in the form of al...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Gas prices in Europe are declining owing to growth in imports of liquefied natural gas, and the spot price in the region is $530 per thousand cubic meters, which is the lowest price since the beginning of November 2022.UKRAINIA...

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The development of the natural gas motor fuel market in Kamchatka Territory is stalling because people do not know how the equipment works and are not prepared to convert automobiles to this fuel, but the regi...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Railways signed a contract with the Ukrnafta state company to buy natural gas, 8 million cubic meters of which will be delivered in March."Direct contracts with manufacturers are our vector of the development of r...

NEW YORK, UN. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Three bulkers carrying more than 144,000 tonnes of corn departed the Ukrainian ports on Monday, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) said.The Seaguardian is carrying 64,877 tonnes of corn to the Netherlands, the Glorious S...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Germany is allocating 5 million euros in funding to support a project in Ukraine to repair schools, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine said."The UNDP-led project will support resilience building and gr...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD), the producer of the world's third most popular whisky, The Officer's Choice, is entering the Russian market, national daily Kommersant said on Tuesday, citing Alcohol Siberian Group (...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Georgian government has permitted Ukrainian citizens to enter Georgia without a visa and stay in the country for up to two years.The government's decree to this effect is available for viewing on the website of the Jour...

CHISINAU. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Moldova's state-owned Energocom power company has extended the contract for supplying electricity from the Moldova GRES regional power plant in Transnistria for March 2023, Energocom's press service reported.According...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Ukrainian manufacturers need support amid shrinking demand and a lack of capital, and this problem should be discussed in a dialogue with the International Monetary Fund while developing a short-term economic policy, head of th...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - There is a possibility that Poland will close completely its border with Belarus, Polish Deputy Interior Minister Maciej Wonsik said."Poland is prepared for various situations, and I wouldn't rule out a situation where ...

TBILISI. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The head of the European Union Delegation to Georgia Pawe Herczyski on Monday met the country's Justice Minister Rati Bregadze to deliver a formal EU demarche over the health condition of the imprisoned former president of...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The United States will provide the third tranche of equipment in March to help restore power infrastructure in Ukraine, Ukrainian media said, citing remarks made by U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in an interview with V...

MOSCOW. Feb 28 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal believes that Ukraine is completing the development of its anti-corruption infrastructure and that tolerance for corruption in Ukrainian society has become zero."Ukraine is completing ...

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - Ukraine has exported 31.78 million tonnes of grain since the start of the 2022-2023 agricultural year on July 1, Ukrainian media reported, quoting the Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry website.Exports for this agricultural year...

BRUSSELS. Feb 28 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union on Monday decided to prolong for another year the restrictive measures linked to internal repression in Belarus, according to the council's communique published in Brussels.It cited Belar...

MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Cyprus-registered T.A.S. Overseas Investments Limited, part of the Ukrainian TAS group, which also includes the Dneprovagonmash plant, has received a 40.03% stake in the TransAnt GmbH joint venture set up by Austria's OBB R...

ASTANA. Feb 27 (Interfax) - An expert mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) started working in Kazakhstan on Monday to help prepare a report detailing the country's nuclear power infrastructure, the press service of the Kazakh Energ...

ST. PETERSBURG. Feb 22 (Interfax) - St. Petersburg-based Slotex JSC has launched production of furniture components at a former Ford factory site in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad region, the same one where SV Rus, a subsidiary of South Korea's Sungwoo Hitech...

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - A sub-commission of the Russian government's commission on foreign investment has approved a deal for Yandex to buy Uber out of the MLU B.V. joint venture, a source close to the sub-commission told reporters."De facto, ...

YEREVAN. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan has assured Armenia of the readiness to begin dialogue with Stepanakert, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said."When we initiated a discussion of the peace treaty with Azerbaijan, we agreed on holding t...

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - American actor Steven Seagal has been awarded the Order of Friendship, under a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin and published on the official website of legal information.The award was conferred for Seagal's great ...

MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax) - Russia's Federation Council on Wednesday voted for a bill that suspends Russia's participation in the New START treaty.The corresponding document was submitted to the State Duma in the evening of February 21 by Russian ...

MOSCOW. Feb 27 (Interfax) - The Moscow Exchange will commence trading in settled futures contracts for the Turkish lira/Russian ruble and Hong Kong dollar/Russian ruble currency pairs on March 1, a press release from the exchange said.Contract lots are eq...

MOSCOW. Feb 22 (Interfax) - The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky have backed proposals by the National Bank of Ukraine to impose sectoral sanctions against all banks registered or located in Russia, in...