The European Union took steps on Wednesday towards lifting visa requirements for Turkish citizens, in a move underscoring a new thaw in relations between Ankara and the 28-member bloc.

• Date: 05.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 05.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan near Moscow and discussed the war in Syria and Iran's nuclear program, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

• Date: 04.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 04.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

China's Foreign Ministry made a noncommittal response on Wednesday to a query whether Beijing would provide any more aid to Ukraine, as President Viktor Yanukovich arrived in the country from his crisis-torn homeland.

• Date: 04.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 04.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich will head to China on Tuesday looking for loans and investment, despite the massive protests unleashed by his decision not to sign a trade pact with the European Union.

• Date: 03.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 03.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Demonstrators are blockading government buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, as they step up their campaign for the resignation of the government.

• Date: 02.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 02.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.bbc.co.uk/

British Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in China saying he would advocate a multi-billion-dollar free trade deal between Beijing and the European Union, stoking tensions with the EU executive which condemned the move as premature.

• Date: 02.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 02.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will seek a delicate balance between calming military tensions with China and backing ally Japan against Beijing on a trip to Asia this week that is being overshadowed by a territorial row in the East China Sea.

• Date: 02.12.2013  |  Published on EGF: 02.12.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich vetoed last-minute attempts by the European Union to rescue a trade deal that could have been signed at a summit on Friday and would have signaled a historic shift away from Russia, EU diplomats said.

• Date: 30.11.2013  |  Published on EGF: 30.11.2013  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/