The European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Arias Cañete, stated that the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project should be stopped, EUobserver reported. According to Cañete, the European Commission failed to prevent the construction of the gas pipeline on legal grounds. Miguel Arias Cañete noted that there is no reason to develop infrastructure for fossil fuels, when the European Union strives to switch to renewable energy after 2050.

In September, a group of European gas …

The Russian Embassy in Damascus has come under mortar fire, as reported by Russia’s RIA news agency citing the Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“One shell, which luckily didn’t explode, fell into one of the courtyards of the embassy’s compound. The second one fell in the close proximity to the embassy’s walls. Demining specialists had to be called in to neutralize the unexploded shells,” the Ministry of Foreign affairs stated.

The Ministry notes that the incident …

Two Members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, will visit Ukraine on December 30th and 31st, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The two Republican Senators will also visit Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, and Montenegro.

Speaking in Estonia on Tuesday, McCain said US-NATO relations will not change once Donald Trump is sworn in as president.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that supplying the armed opposition with man-portable air defense systems might lead to an exacerbation of the situation in Syria.

Lavrov noted, "the permission to supply the anti-government units with arms, including MANPADS,” which was included into United States Defense Bill, "may lead to further escalation of tensions and more casualties."

Kerry and Lavrov discussed questions regarding the settlement of the …

The Polish national gas operator PGNiG said that the new agreement between the European Commission and the Russian company Gazprom on the use of the OPAL gas pipeline is suspended as of Tuesday, December 27th. This is due to the fact that the European Court in Luxembourg accepted the lawsuit, filed by PGNiG, against Brussels’ new treaty with Moscow. Thus, the new agreement will be frozen until a court in Luxembourg decides on the case.

The European Court of Justice has not yet commented on the …

According to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, John McCain, the election of Donald Trump as the president of the United States was a surprise, but this result will not affect the US - NATO relationship. According to McCain, who was speaking in the Estonian capital of Tallinn, NATO should prepare for Russia’s possibly aggressive behavior.

When he touched upon the issue of cyber security, he stated that, "there is no doubt that the Russians were engaged in hacking, but …

The youngest son of the President of Belarus, 12 year-old Nikolai Lukashenko, stated that he is not interested in becoming a successor to his father as head of state.

Belarusian television aired an interview by a young Russian journalist, Yevgeny Grishin, with Nikolai Lukashenko.

“Honestly, I would not like to be a president,” Lukashenko Junior said.

“It would be a very complicated life. I’m not sure that I’m ready,” the son of the President added.He specified that he has not yet decided …

India has become the largest buyer of Ukrainian wheat in the world. This year, the country imported approximately 1.5 million tons of this grain crop, Interfax-Ukraine reported, quoting grain market expert Elizabeth Malyshko.

“From July to December, India imported approximately 1.5 million tons and topped the ratings of importer-countries of Ukrainian wheat since the beginning of the market season,” Malyshko said. Thailand and Indonesia with 1.4 and 1.3 million tons respectively are the other …