Kiev

Russia said on Nov. 18 it hopes its ties with the EU had not yet crossed the point of no return over the Ukraine crisis after Brussels slapped more sanctions against Kremlin-backed separatists fighting Kiev.
      
"We are hoping that the 'point of no return' has not yet been crossed," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

More people die as shelling of Donetsk continues

DONETSK -- At least two women were killed on Friday in the shelling of the town of Donetsk carried out by the Ukrainian army, Voice of Russia is reporting.

Strong detonations were heard in downtown and near the airport, where rebels and Ukrainian security forces continue to fight.

"Big reinforcements" arrive in Donetsk - report

DONETSK -- According to the French agency AFP, "big reinforcements in heavy weapons are arriving tin Donetsk, a stronghold of pro-Russian rebels in the east of Ukraine."

AFP reporters said they saw "six tanks and two armored vehicles near Shahtyorsk, on the road to Donetsk."

KIKINDA - Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who is also the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), said on Saturday that the visit of SNS MPs to eastern Ukraine during the recent elections there is an internal party matter.

SNS MPs Vladimir Djukanovic and Branislav Blazic were in Donetsk during the elections, which are not recognised by Kiev.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet US Secretary of State John Kerry in Beijing on Saturday ahead of next week's APEC summit, Russian news agencies reported on Friday.
      

Serbia's "essential role" in resolving Ukraine crisis

BELGRADE -- French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said Serbia will "play an essential role" in resolving the crisis in Ukraine, when it assumed OSCE presidency in 2015.

Foreign Ministry: No observers in Ukraine

BELGRADE -- Representatives of Serbia's official institutions had not been employed as observers in the electoral process in the east of Ukraine on November 2.

The Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced on Wednesday that such representatives had in no way been involved in that process.

BELGRADE/KIEV - Serbian Ambassador in Kiev Rade Bulatovic was summoned to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) over two Serbian MPs' visit during the recent elections in Donbass that Kiev does not recognize.

Serbian ambassador summoned by Ukrainian MFA

BELGRADE -- The Serbian ambassador in Kiev has been summoned to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister over the visit of two Serbian MPs to the Donbass region.

Russian gas giant Gazprpom on Wednesday confirmed receiving the first tranche of payment for past deliveries from Ukraine's Naftogaz. 

The payment opens the way for resumption of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine under an agreement between Moscow and Kiev reached last week in Brussels.