Russian Prime Minister Vladimir has announced that his proposed customs union with former Soviet republics Belarus and Kazakhstan will not come into force by its previously planned July deadline.

• Date: 24.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 24.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from Deutsche Welle

This week Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made his first state visit to Ukraine. After five years of cold relations between the two countries, this trip was meant to cement much warmer ties with Ukraine’s new, Moscow-friendly leader.

• Date: 22.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 22.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from csmonitor.com

NATO and Russia said on Wednesday they intend to boost efforts to develop a joint system to protect their troops from attack by short-range missiles.

• Date: 21.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 21.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from boston.com

Russia’s Deputy Premier Igor Sechin, taking direct aim at Middle Eastern oil producers, has urged Japan to increase its imports of Russian oil in addition to cooperating with his country on the development of its natural resources.

• Date: 20.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 20.05.2010  |  Energy  |  from News from Pacifik

The “secret plans” of the Kremlin and Foreign Ministry to improve relations with the West is a topic of heated discussion among foreign policy analysts and journalists.

• Date: 19.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 19.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from themoscowtimes.com

Russia's on-again, off-again plan to pursue World Trade Organization (WTO) membership bid jointly with Kazakhstan and Belarus (first announced in June 2009) remains up in the air.

• Date: 19.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 19.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from atimes.com

Ukraine's decision to extend the lease for the Russian fleet in the Crimea has been extremely controversial. However, in the port city of Sevastopol, locals are enthusiastic - the Russian naval base is the primary source of income for most of the region.

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  External Relations  |  from france24.com

There is a glut for natural gas in the US market as a result of many shale gas discoveries and their rapid development. Consequently, major volumes of LNG originally developed for the US market are being diverted to Europe and other parts of the world

• Date: 18.05.2010  |  Published on EGF: 18.05.2010  |  Energy  |  from pennenergy.com