The “secret plans” of the Kremlin and Foreign Ministry to improve relations with the West is a topic of heated discussion among foreign policy analysts and journalists.

• Date: 19.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 19.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from themoscowtimes.com

Russia's on-again, off-again plan to pursue World Trade Organization (WTO) membership bid jointly with Kazakhstan and Belarus (first announced in June 2009) remains up in the air.

• Date: 19.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 19.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from atimes.com

A drifting cloud of ash from an Icelandic volcano has changed direction, allowing London's Heathrow and Amsterdam's Schiphol airports to begin operating again. Central Europe has remained unaffected for the time being.

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  Markets  |  from Deutsche Welle

Hopes are high that the deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey to turn Iran's controversial enriched uranium supplies into fuel rods outside the Islamic Republic will be a major step towards solving the on-going stand-off.

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  Energy  |  from Deutsche Welle

Ukraine's decision to extend the lease for the Russian fleet in the Crimea has been extremely controversial. However, in the port city of Sevastopol, locals are enthusiastic - the Russian naval base is the primary source of income for most of the region.

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from france24.com

Ukraine’s credit ratings were raised at Standard & Poor’s on improvements in the country’s policy coordination and after a Russian gas subsidy agreement helped boost the government’s debt outlook.

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  Markets  |  from sptimes.ru

This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and India, a momentous occasion that invites reflection on where the two Asian giants are heading in the much-touted "Asian century".

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from atimes.com

There is a glut for natural gas in the US market as a result of many shale gas discoveries and their rapid development. Consequently, major volumes of LNG originally developed for the US market are being diverted to Europe and other parts of the world

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  Energy  |  from pennenergy.com