The Russian and Belarusian Zapad 2017 drills planned for September pose no threat, and the media’s hype surrounding this event is baseless, said Igor Petrishenko, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia, in an interview for the TV channel Russia 24.

“In order to rehearse certain kinds of missions, originating from the evolving situation at the western and outer borders of the Union State, we must do the relevant training and drills. And so this hype which is building up is, in our view, completely …

Serbian President Alexander Vučić said that the Republic wants to build a new transit gas pipeline from the border with Bulgaria using Russia’s support.

According to the Head of State, this would allow Belgrade to earn from €100 to €150 million per year.

"On the border with Bulgaria, we would have to build a receiving gas pipeline, either by ourselves or with the help of Russia. That said, at the border we would get 9.8 billion cubic meters of gas. From us [Serbia] branches would go to Bosnia …

During an interview with Radio Liberty, the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Andriy Reva, said that to date, 8 million people are working in the "shadow" sector of the economy. According to him, one of the goals of pension reform is to eliminate the informal economy in Ukraine.

"Today, according to our estimates, 8 million people work in the "shadow" sector of the economy and have no incentive to go legal. When we change the rules of pension provision and allow for retirement at 60, as of …

US military aircraft made a reconnaissance flight near the naval base of Russia in Syrian Tartus. This is reported by Interfax with reference to the information provided by the portals that track the movement of military aviation.

The website specified that the reconnaissance was conducted by US Navy P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft with the tail numbers 168756 and 168853, which departed from the Sigonella airbase in Sicily.

During the day, they carried out individual flights near the …

In the first half of 2017, gas transit through Ukraine increased by 21% to 45.7 billion cubic meters, as reported on Facebook by Magistralnye Gazoprovody Ukrainy. Gas transported through Ukraine comes from Russia to the EU.

"If these levels are maintained, by the end of the year we can expect 90 billion cubic meters of blue fuel for European consumers to be transported through Ukraine," the report said. Gas production in Ukraine has increased by 3%, reaching 10.3 billion cubic meters and …