A plan by Washington to station tanks and heavy weapons in NATO states on Russia's border would be the most aggressive U.S. act since the Cold War, and Moscow would retaliate by beefing up its own forces, a Russian defense official said on Monday.

• June 15, 2015

German politicians from across the political spectrum backed Chancellor Angela Merkel's firm line in aid talks with Athens on Monday despite the growing risk of a Greek default that could push it out of the euro zone.

• June 15, 2015

China will pledge a multi-billion dollar investment in Europe's new infrastructure fund at a summit on June 29 in Brussels, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters - Beijing's latest round of chequebook diplomacy to win greater influence.

• June 15, 2015

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Dr Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas and Lecturer in Energy Politics at the European University of St Petersburg

• Gazprom and the EU: PGNiG files a lawsuit in Stockholm arbitration court, seeks renegotiation of gas price formula; British energy company, Centrica, increases gas imports from Gazprom and Statoil
• Turkish Stream: Gazprom claims that Turkish Stream offshore construction will begin in first half of June 2015, and first gas supplies will be delivered by end of 2016; Greek government expresses support for all aspects of ‘Turkish Stream’ – except for the name, of course
• Ukraine: A curious mixture of threats and promises in the Gazprom-Naftogaz relationship:
  o Gazprom continues to provide gas to Naftogaz under pre-payment conditions, in line with extension of the ‘Winter Package’;
  o Naftogaz increases imports of Russian gas, benefits from continuation of discount and oil-indexed prices;
  o Gazprom agrees not to implement financial penalties for Naftogaz’s failure to meet its take-or-pay commitments during the winter package;
  o Naftogaz submits its Statement of Claim in its gas transit arbitration case against Gazprom – seeks $10bn in addition to its $6bn claim relating to ‘overpayment’ for gas supplies;
  o Gazprom CEO claims that company is seeking $29bn in its arbitration case with Naftogaz;
  o The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine launches its own investigation into Gazprom
  o Naftogaz begins stockpiling gas for the winter, but Gazprom express concerns that it is not storing enough to ensure a winter of risk-free gas transit
• Belarus: Gazprom Transgaz Belarus promotes development of natural gas powered vehicles at Belarusian Industrial Forum, supported by the Belarusian President
• China: Russian President ratifies Intergovernmental Agreement with China on gas supplies via the eastern route, as Gazprom and CNPC sign Heads of Agreement of gas supplies via the western (Altai) route

• June 15, 2015

Ukraine protested to Russia on Saturday after mobs vandalized its embassy in Moscow and its consulate in Rostov-on-Don overnight, a day after Russia made a similar protest to Ukraine over damage to the Russian consulate in Kharkiv.

• June 13, 2015

Greece does not believe its European partners will ultimately let the country leave the euro zone, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Saturday, as the country races to agree a cash-for-reforms deal with its creditors.

Athens is trying to clinch a deal before an end-June deadl

• June 13, 2015

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday calling on EU governments to maintain sanctions on Russia over its action in Ukraine, the second such critical vote in the EU legislature in as many days.

• June 11, 2015

Russia accused the United States on Thursday of coercing Kiev into pressing on with the conflict in east Ukraine and urged Washington to fully implement a treaty on eliminating intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.

• June 11, 2015