NATO members in Central and Eastern Europe need to beef up defense spending after cutting it for the past five years while Russia has sharply increased its military budget, the head of the Western alliance said on Thursday.

• Date: 15.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 15.05.2014  |  Security  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Europe is partly to blame for the crisis in Ukraine although this is no excuse for Russian behavior towards the former Soviet republic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's deputy said on Wednesday.

• Date: 14.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 14.05.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday Russia's defense industry should stop relying on foreign components and become self-sufficient following Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.

• Date: 14.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 14.05.2014  |  Security  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Russia said on Tuesday new European Union sanctions will hinder efforts to defuse the crisis in Ukraine and urged the West to persuade Kiev to hold discussions on the country's future structure before a May 25 presidential election.

• Date: 13.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 13.05.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Ukrainian leader Oleksander Turchinov accused Russia of working to overthrow legitimate state power in Ukraine on Monday after pro-Russian rebels declared a resounding victory in rebel referendums on self-rule in eastern regions.

• Date: 12.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 12.05.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

Germany and France are ready to agree more extensive sanctions against Russia if a planned presidential election in Ukraine on May 25 is foiled, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande said on Saturday.

• Date: 10.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 10.05.2014  |  Security  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

China's foreign ministry blamed the United States on Friday for stoking tensions in the disputed South China Sea by encouraging countries to engage in dangerous behavior, following an uptick in tensions between China and both the Philippines and Vietnam.

• Date: 09.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 09.05.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/

President Vladimir Putin flew in to Crimea on Friday for the first time since it was annexed by Moscow, proclaiming as he marked the Soviet victory in World War Two that incorporating the former Ukrainian territory had made Russia stronger.

• Date: 09.05.2014  |  Published on EGF: 09.05.2014  |  External Relations  |  from http://www.reuters.com/