A first attempt by Ukraine's new government to secure lower Russian gas prices ended without visible success on Tuesday, although Kiev might refresh talks at a meeting of the countries' prime ministers later this week.

• March 25, 2010

In recent years, state-owned natural gas pipelines in Ukraine have been the source of such tension that a midwinter fight between Russia and Ukraine over pricing — often leading to Russia’s shutting the valves and leaving people in Europe freezing — has become an annual ritual.

• March 25, 2010

In the beginning of April 2010, 34 major consumers of electricity in Estonia will change suppliers when 35% of the electricity will open up, abandoning Eesti Energia and start buying electricity from Latvenergo, LETA/Äripäev writes.

• March 25, 2010

Bulgaria’s two major trade unions have declared themselves explicitly against the government’s intention to raise the value-added tax from 20% to 22%.

• March 25, 2010

Russia and China have quietly made clear to the Iranian government they want Tehran to change its approach to the nuclear issue and accept a U.N. atomic fuel offer, Western diplomats said.

• March 24, 2010

Last week there was a visit of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Belarus where he took part in a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the union state.

• March 24, 2010

As we approach the fifth anniversary of Kyrgyzstan's so-called Tulip Revolution, it is appropriate to ask some hard questions. For instance, were the events of the spring of 2005 really a revolution at all?

• March 24, 2010

Despite the impact of the global economic crisis on all of the economies within the former Soviet Union, averaging a 7 percent decline in GDP in 2009, defense spending has increased in each state with the exception of Belarus (which remained unchanged in 2009 year-on-year at 1.5 percent of GDP).

• March 24, 2010