Alexei Ulyukayev

Russian investigators have charged Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev with extorting a $2 million bribe from Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil company, in a case that threatens to expose fault lines in President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.

Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has been detained detained on suspicion of taking a USD 2 million bribe.

According to TASS, "that allowed Rosneft (oil company) to complete the deal on purchasing the government's 50 percent stake in Bashneft."

The Turkish side has suggested the possibility of supplying natural gas through the Turkish Stream pipeline to Turkey's border with Greece, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller told reporters on Sept. 5, the TASS news agency has reported.

A Russian government plan to shore up the recession-battered economy will cost around 880 billion rubles ($11.7 billion), Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told a cabinet meeting on Feb. 18.

Some of these funds have already been factored into the 2016 federal budget, Ulyukayev said, but the government still needs to find additional money.

Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Dec. 29 that Turkey remains an important trading partner of Russia, and Moscow has no intention to create problems for Turkish and Russian businesses and citizens.

Russia may freeze work on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project for several years in retaliation against Ankara for the shooting down of a Russian air force jet, two sources at Russian gas giant Gazprom told Reuters. The Kremlin has imposed trade sanctions on Turkey over the jet incident last week but so far the measures have not affected the Russian energy exports to Turkey that are the core

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered Moscow to draw up measures including freezing some joint investment projects with Turkey, in retaliation for the Nov. 24 downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey.

Russia may toughen its response to sanctions imposed by the European Union over the crisis in Ukraine if the bloc extends its measures against Moscow, a Kremlin aide said on June 18.

Moscow will extend its embargo on European Union agricultural products but is unlikely to go further if the EU extends sanctions as expected, economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev said June 18.

Russia didn't seek a delay to the planned start of a free-trade pact between Ukraine and the EU at trilateral talks on Monday, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said.