One of the two mistral class helicopter carriers originally built for Russia by France was transferred to Egypt, the radio station France Bleu reported.

A ceremony took place in the port of Saint-Nazaire, during which an Egyptian flag was raised above the ship.The second ship will be delivered in September. This was previously reported by French military expert Philippe Chapleau, who also said that the mistral carriers were given Egyptian names.

"The former 'Sevastopol' and 'Vladivostok' will …

Moscow does not mind if OSCE observers carry personal firearms, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

“Russia is ready to offer a compromise and agree that the OSCE observers stationed at the front line in eastern Ukraine carry personal arms,” Lavrov said during an interview with the Russian “Saturday News” TV program.

“We said, as long as this helps the common objective, we are ready to give our consent that the group of observers who will be monitoring the contact line and the …

According to a press release by the international investigation team, Holland’s Prosecutor’s office, which is heading the joint investigation team determining the cause of the Malaysian passenger plane crash in the Donbas, will present a report on the weapon which was used to attack the airliner.

The report will not constitute the final results of the investigation, Prosecutors said. Despite the noticeable progress in the investigation, they still don’t have enough information to provide a …

Poland will establish a volunteer army detachment to help prevent threats from Russia, Spiegel Online reports referring to the Foreign Ministry official responsible for paramilitary groups, Grzegorz Kwasniak.

According to an official, the goal of establishing the new group is to prepare for a possible hybrid war, like the one Russia is waging against Ukraine.

It is expected that the establishment of a paramilitary group will begin in September. It will consist of 35,000 volunteers that will …

Sanctions against Russia will be lifter only after Ukraine gains full control over its borders, as stated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the Congress of the Christian Democratic Union,  Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung rerported.

“I am convinced that Russia is slowly moving towards integration into the common European economic zone from Vladivostok to Lisbon,” Merkel said.

“At the same time, despite the aspirations of the EU to accept Russia into the common European economy, we …

For the first time Ukraine and NATO held a joint seminar on defense industry reform, during which the transformation of the domestic military-industrial complex and the possibility of Ukraine's cooperation with the Alliance were discussed, as reported by the press service for Ukroboronprom.

The seminar was held on June 1st at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy. The event was attended by the members of the NATO International Staff, representatives of Ukroboronprom, the …

The discussion surrounding the cancellation of EU sanctions against Russia is premature, as stated by the German Chancellor's foreign policy advisor, Christoph Heusgen, Deutsche Welle reports. "If the current situation stays the same, I see no reason for sanctions not to be extended for another six months," Heusgen said.

He indicated that the removal of restrictive measures on Russia is connected to the implementation of the Minsk Agreements. At the same time, according to Heusgen, the Minsk …

The Naval exercise, BALTOPS 2016, led by NATO started on June 3rd in the southern part of the Baltic Sea near the coasts of Sweden, Denmark and Poland, Delfi.lt reports. BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) exercises have been carried out since 1971. In 2016, training will be held from June 3rd to the 18th. They began on Friday in the Estonian waters of the Baltic Sea.

A total of 50 ships from 18 NATO nations and alliance partners will take part in the maneuvers, as well as 60 aircraft, helicopters and …