Canada's decision to expand the anti-Russian sanctions will have a negative impact on the relations between the two countries. This was reported by the press service of the Russian Embassy in Canada.

"The decision of the Government of Canada to extend the existing anti-Russian sanctions deserves condemnation and is contrary to its stated intentions to change the policy and restore communication internationally. Instead of making a change to an unsuccessful policy, a repetition of …

The Belarusian Popular Front (BPF) issued a statement at the Party Congress on Sunday demanding that the authorities stop accepting Syrian refugees, Interfax reported.

The party noted that throughout the course of the war in Syria, more than 300 Syrian refugees have arrived in Belarus. The authorities in Minsk have taken measures to facilitate the process of receiving refugee status and asylum in Belarus.

"The demographic crisis in Belarus, where a large number of our fellow citizens travel …

The head of the Central Election Commission of the Crimean Tatars, Zahir Semdlyaev, believes that the purpose of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Crimea on March 18th was to “soothe the Crimean people who live in poor socio-economic conditions.”

"He arrived to promise, to reassure local residents a little, to say that we must still be patient for about another hundred years, and then everything will be fine for sure. But in any case, they [the officials] are fine now, and about …

According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, Russia will not bring up the issue of sanctions during US Secretary of State John Kerry’s upcoming visit to Moscow. If Kerry were to initiate such a discussion, however, the Foreign Ministry would welcome it.

“We are not bringing it up [the subject of sanctions], we did not impose the sanctions. If our American colleagues wish to, of course, we will hear them, but we discuss it neither with the Europeans …

Ukraine has gas reserves of 1 trillion cubic meters that could last for 50 years if sustainable production is maintained, according to the Ukrainian Minister of Energy and Coal Industry, Vladimir Demchyshyn, as quoted by Ukrinform.

"Our reserves are 1 trillion cubic meters. We extract 20 billion. We have enough gas for at least 50 years," he said. By Demchyshyn’s estimate, Ukraine lagged in developing Ukrainian gas extraction in the last 20 years.

"We buy at least 15 billion cubic meters of  …

As reported by Reuters, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the US and EU not to lift sanctions until Moscow has fulfilled its obligations related to the settlement of the conflict.

"We have seen their actions, we have seen the economic sanctions by the US and EU and, I believe, it is important for us that the sanctions remain in effect," Stoltenberg said at a conference of the German Marshal Fund on March 18 in Brussels.

The Foreign Ministers of the EU are trying to preserve the …

Ukraine is holding negotiations in the Geneva Plus format for the de-occupation of Crimea with the international community involving participation from the EU, US and signatories from the Budapest Memorandum using the 'Geneva Plus' format.

As the President of Ukraine stated on March 18 on his Facebook page, "over the last two years, there have been mass arrests and repressions in Crimea. The rights of the Crimean Tatars are cynically violated. The behavior of Crimean occupants is becoming more …

The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, reported on Friday on the separatists' website that it is impossible to hold elections under Ukrainian law on the territory of the Donbass region.

"We have insisted and continue to insist that the elections in the Republic should be held according to the international standards of the OSCE. Such international standards suit us and Europe as well as all the world community, which completely fits the …