The Prime Minister of Finland, Juha Sipilä, stated that negotiations on lifting the EU’s sanctions against Russia will be held only after the implementation of the Minsk agreements, as was reported by the Yle broadcasting company.

Sipilä was skeptical about the possible abolition of the EU sanctions against Russia and due to the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Finland, according to the Prime Minister, fully supports the common EU line in this regard.

"The EU …

Latvia has no plans to create a NATO military base in the coastal city of Liepāja, as stated by the Ambassador of Latvia in Moscow, Astra Kurme, Postimees reports.

"There are no plans to create a NATO military base in Liepāja as such. The long-term national plans are being developed for the technical preparation of the port to service warships, as well as the creation of a number of other defense facilities of the Latvian Armed Forces," she said, adding that she does not see how this could be …

The USA will not supply man-portable air-defense systems or “MANPADS” to Syria to combat terrorists, Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said. “Our position regarding MANPADS has not changed,” he stressed while speaking with journalists, RIA Novosti reported.

American authorities are closely monitoring all actions that provide assistance to the opposition, Toner added. “Of course, I will never be able to say on any given battlefield—and we talked about this before—that equipment and assistance can’t …

Ankara intends to replace its pro-Western NATO representatives with officials who are in favor of cooperation with China, Iran and Russia, The Times reported.

Journalists of the British newspaper obtained copies of emails sent by recently discharged Turkish officers to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Curtis Scaparrotti, in which the former voiced concerns over "a significant increase in ultranationalist and anti-Western sentiments" in the Turkish army.

One of the Turkish officers noted …

Russia plans to reduce oil production to 10.947 million barrels per day, based on its agreement with OPEC countries, the Russian Minister of Energy, Alexander Novak stated, Interfax reported.

According to CDU TEK, Russia was extracting 11.247 million barrels per day in October. "10.947 million barrels per day is the end result of the reduction plan," Novak said, referring to data from CDU TEK.

Novak also discussed the pace of reduction of oil production by Russia. By March, production should …

US Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Syrian authorities of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"The indiscriminate bombings undertaken by Syrian authorities contradict international law and in many cases are crimes against humanity. They must be stopped,” Kerry said after a meeting of the "friends of Syria group" in Paris.

According to him, the Syrian conflict, "is the most serious conflict since the Second World War".

Kerry, along with other participants of the …

The United States, the European Union, and Canada welcome the steps taken by Ukraine towards anti-corruption reforms and call for further reforms, in particular, for an independent and reliable verification of electronic declarations, as was said in a joint statement by the Embassy of Canada, the United States of America, and the representative of the European Union on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day.

“We welcome the impressive steps made after the Revolution of Dignity, …

The German Defense Ministry agreed to send military advisers to Ukraine, as reported by the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

The agreement was signed on Thursday in Kyiv by the Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister for European Integration, Ihor Dolhov, and the German Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defense, Ralf Brauksiepe.

According to the agreement, German advisers will be active at the Petro Sahaydachnyi National Academy of Ground Forces in Lviv. …