The Russian Federation has refused to participate in the meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group on the 10th of February in Minsk.  This was reported to the Ukrayinskaya Pravda by sources close to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

As previously reported, the Russian representative in the Trilateral Contact Group, Boris Gryzlov, had expressed readiness to come to Minsk to continue consultations at any time.

A meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the “Normandy …

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that the Chechen Special Forces are fighting against members of the so-called Islamic State in Syria.  He also announced the creation of an extensive intelligence network within the so-called Islamic State, where "the best soldiers of the Republic" were sent to infiltrate the extremist group.

"It is time to talk about those who contribute to the success of the Russian Air Force globally and are paying the price of their own lives," as stated in a …

A French Court rejected an appeal made by former Yukos shareholders to suspend the construction of an Orthodox Center in Paris. This plot of land belongs to the Presidential Property Management Department of the Russian Federation. The plot is almost 5,000 square metres, and is located near the Eiffel Tower.

However, the Court rejected the appeal of the former Yukos shareholders, explaining that this plot is protected by diplomatic immunity. On the 22nd of January, the Collegiate Council …

Norway will allocate about 40 million kroner (more than 4 million euros) for humanitarian aid to Ukraine.  This was reported on the 8th of February by the press service of Norway’s government.

“The humanitarian situation in some regions of Ukraine is very serious.  Five million people need help, including 1.5 million internal migrants.  Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable to the cold weather of winter,” said the State Secretary at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, …

On February 8th, Russia began a sudden inspection of the combat readiness of the troops of the Southern Military District.According to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergey Shoygu, “troops of the Southern Military District, detached formations of airborne troops and military transport aviation” were brought into a state of full combat readiness.  He added that during the inspection, there was a need to determine the missions of the armed forces in critical situations, “ …

In 2016, Lithuania will import more gas from Norway than from Russia, as stated by the Minister of Energy of Lithuania, Rokas Masiulis, Reuters reports.

Russian Gazprom enjoyed a monopoly on the Lithuanian gas market before the end of 2014, when Lithuania opened a floating liquefied gas terminal.  This allowed tankers from Norway to supply gas to Lithuania.

The volume of imports of liquefied natural gas to Lithuania this year is expected to triple following the signing of two new agreements …

Russian lawyers will use the recent decisions of courts in Stockholm and Washington to challenge the legitimacy of The Hague's jurisdiction in the Yukos case.

Russia has found new arguments to challenge the decision on the payment of 50 billion dollars to the former shareholders of Yukos, as a result of a lawsuit, reported Vedomosti.

On February 9th, in the District Court of The Hague, Moscow's appeal will question the illegality of the application of the Energy Charter to this case, as well …

In February, the representatives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will visit Kiev, where they will assist the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the head of NABU, Artem Sytnik, told Hromadske.

He said that the Anti-Corruption Bureau expects the active assistance from the FBI representatives, because they have the ability to track flow of currency worldwide.

"In February, we expect that there will be a permanent representative of the FBI in the NABU …