Eastern Europe

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Russian Finance Ministry backs proposals by VTB chief Andrei Kostin to make it compulsory for Russian borrowers to issue local bonds to replace outstanding Eurobond issues.However the ministry thinks there should be excepti...

CHISINAU. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Moldova had inflation of 30.2% in 2022, which was the highest figure for the republic since 2001, the press service of the National Bureau of Statistics reported.Food prices surged 31.8% in 2022, non-food products grew 19.9%,...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Coal mining enterprises of DTEK commissioned 28 faces in 2022, including three in December, the Ukrainian media said on Tuesday with the reference to the corporate website.Miners provide the necessary amount of fuel to Ukrainia...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Domestic oil companies have completed contracting for oil supplies from Russia for export in February, and they have not reported any problems amid the restrictions imposed by Western countries, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander ...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Inflation in Russia totaled 11.9% in 2022, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said at a meeting the president held with members of the government.Annual inflation will slow sharply at the end of the first q...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Russia's civil shipbuilding program to 2027 is estimated at 231 billion rubles, of which the National Wealth Fund will provide 136 billion rubles and state Transport Leasing Company 85 billion rubles, which it will raise on...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government that the main problem in the oil issue now is the high discount on Russian oil prices to the Brent benchmark...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Agro-industrial holding Astarta, Ukraine's largest producer of sugar, has completed the 2022 sugar production season, processing around 2 million tonnes sugar beet, Ukrainian media reported, quoting a statement posted on th...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has terminated an intergovernmental agreement with Russia on the mutual opening of offices of the trade-economic mission and the trade mission.The government made the decision on Tuesday, the Ukrainian ...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - TMK is not including European subsidiaries in the group's structure starting from December 2022.According to a list of affiliated entities published by the company, companies no longer included on the list beginning on Dece...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Ukraine is making as much effort as it can to continue exports of the necessary amounts of foodstuffs to African countries and is considering the implementation of new logistical projects in Senegal to step up exports of its ag...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has appointed Rufat Mahmud as the new head of its Russian subsidiary, Socar Rus LLC, with the corresponding changes entered in the Unified State Registry of Legal Entitie...

ASTANA. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan and Russia's Rosatom are implementing a roadmap for preparations for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan, Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov said."Together with Rosatom, we have adopted...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The net inflow of people to Ukraine, which amounted to 33,000 in the last week of the last year, decreased to 15,000 in the first week of the new year, the Ukrainian media reported on Saturday, January 7, referring to the infor...

CHISINAU. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Transdniestria has spoken in favor of resuming 5+2 meetings in 2023 without preliminary conditions or any reservations, Transdniestrian Foreign Minister and Tiraspol's political representative to talks with Chisinau Vital...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has approved the drawing of up to 18 billion euros as micro-financial assistance of the European Union in 2023.The government made the decision on Tuesday, the Ukrainian media said, quoting Government R...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Russian Presidential Business Rights Commissioner Boris Titov has been elected chairman of the Russia-Cuba Business Council at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the ombudsman's press service told Interfax."T...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Russia in 2023 is among the top 50 countries with the strongest passports: its citizens can visit 118 countries without visas, according to the updated rating of national passports of the company Henley & Partners.In January 20...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - As of 10:00 a.m. on January 11, power consumption in Ukraine grew due to low air temperatures in the country's eastern and central regions, leading to an increase in capacity shortages."In order to maintain the balance ...

BISHKEK. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Kyrgyz parliament has adopted a law under which foreign citizens who invest $230,000 in the country's economy will have the right to receive 10-year visas.The Kyrgyz parliament considered and passed in the third readin...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Foreign investors will have access to a simplified procedure for obtaining a residence permit in Russia starting on January 11, with the relevant government decree coming into force on Wednesday."On January 11, a resolution...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Any restrictions on Russian oil will be countered, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said."Of course, Russia will do everything to meet its interests. Any restrictions will be countered. Russia will be balancing its interests...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The state commission has decided to extend the expedition of the Russian-U.S. crew of the Soyuz MS-22 on the International Space Station (ISS), Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said.The cosmonauts and the astronaut will return to Ea...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Ukraine intends to allot 1.56 billion hryvni in government support for the agricultural sector in 2023, which is already included in the state budget, and receive $432 million to credit the sowing campaign at a low interest rat...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) does not think it necessary to impose special restrictions due to the complicated Covid-19 situation in China, head of the...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia will from January 13 resume operations for the purchase or sale of foreign currency in the domestic foreign exchange market in the framework of the Finance Ministry's implementation of the fiscal ...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government will launch a pilot program of free exchange of incandescent lamps for energy-saving LED lamps on January 16, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said."A decision made by the government today wil...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Ukrainian gas storage operator Ukrtransgaz JSC has completed largescale reconstruction of the central block of wells at one of its underground gas storages (UGS), Ukrainian media reported on January 6 with reference to Naftogaz...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Sergei Kovalenko, head of the Yasno company supplying electricity to the Ukrainian capital, has warned Kiev residents of probable power outages during periods indicated as light gray in the graphs, which means there will be pow...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The European Union in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will finance rural households, smallholder farmers and small-scale agricultural enterprises in Ukraine's western regions for ...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - There will be no Third World War, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said when addressing the Golden Globe Awards 2023 in Los Angeles by video link on Tuesday evening."The First World War claimed millions of lives. The S...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Europe has resumed business activity following the holidays, thereby restoring the pace of gas consumption to more significant levels from the symbolic figures at the start of the year.Gazprom's request for pumping Russian ...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Ukrainian Railways is buying rails of the European manufacturer Saarstahl Rail at a price of 1,730 euro per tonne in 2023, whereas the prices of other manufacturers are at a level of 1,900 euro per tonne, the press service said...

ASTANA. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The Kazakh Constitutional Court adopted a resolution on Wednesday to recognize the Law on the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Yelbasy as null and void."Given the will to exclude Clause 4 Article 46 and some ...

NEW YORK, UN. Jan 11 (Interfax) - Bulkers were unable to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday because of bad weather, the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) said."The Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) reports that no vessels left Ukrainian ports today [January...

MOSCOW. Jan 11 (Interfax) - The electricity consumption by residents in Kiev fell by at least a third overall due to power outages and energy saving in October-November, CEO of the YASNO power supplier Sergei Kovalenko said."In Kiev, the electricity c...

BERLIN. Jan 10 (Interfax) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is visiting Kharkov as part of her visit to Ukraine that was not announced in advance, RTL reported on Tuesday.According to the media group, there were no reports about her visit earlie...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan is interested in cooperation with Russia in the modernization of gas pipelines, the expansion of gas supply, and gas transit to third countries, the Russian government's press service said after a meeting of Russ...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Ukraine had consumer price inflation of 0.7% in December, as in November 2022, Ukrainian media quoted the State Statistics Service as saying.Inflation was 2.5% in October, 1.9% in September and 1.1% in August.It was 26.6% for t...

MINSK. Jan 10 (Interfax) - The authorities in Belarus have refused to pardon Russian citizen Sofia Sapega, her lawyer Anton Gashinsky told Interfax."I can confirm this information," Gashinsky said, responding to a question posed by Interfax on Tue...

BAKU. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Exports of Azerbaijani gas are expected at 24 billion cubic meters in 2023, including around 12 bcm that is to go to Europe, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said."All told, our exports [of gas] are expected at a level of 2...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian government has obligated electrical power market players - the Transmission System Operator, the distribution system operators, electrical power suppliers and non-household consumers - to ensure continual electric...

MOSCOW. Jan 9 (Interfax) - Power consumption in Ukraine increased as of 11:00 a.m. on January 9, amid a cold spell and the industrial and business sector's increased demand for electricity with the start of the new working week, Ukrainian media report...

YEREVAN. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Armenia does not rule out a request to the UN Security Council for sending an international peacekeeping mission to Nagorno-Karabakh when the five-year mandate of the Russian peacekeeping contingent expires, Armenian Prime Min...

ALMATY. Jan 9 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan plans to boost capacity to process base metals.Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov held the fifth meeting of the Council of Domestic Entrepreneurs to discuss the urgent issues facing the mining and metals industry."In ...

BAKU. Jan 9 (Interfax) - The Azerbaijani government expects domestic oil production of 30.27 million tonnes in 2026, which would be 3% below the forecast figure for 2023.According to the government's respective forecasts for 2023-2026, which Interfax ...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Ukraine last year exported, according to preliminary data, 99.8 million tonnes of products and goods of all kinds worth $44.1 billion, which is respectively 38.4% and 35% less than in 2021."This is the first year when expor...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Russia had a federal budget deficit of tentatively 3.3 trillion rubles or 2.3% of GDP in 2022, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a cabinet meeting."We overshot our revenue target last year, the total was just under 28...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - A meeting of the Russian, Turkish and Syrian foreign ministers is being prepared, it will take place in Moscow but its date has yet to be set, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Tuesday."[The meeting] is being pr...

MOSCOW. Jan 10 (Interfax) - European traders have displayed an increasing interest in the Ukrainian gas transmission system since the start of 2023, as the gas prices in the European Union have been declining and the storage facilities have been filled at...