Vladimir Putin

BRUSSELS - The situation in Crimea cannot be compared to Kosovo, spokesperson of the European Commission Alejandro Munoz said on Friday.

There is no room for comparison between Crimea and Kosovo, he told reporters in comment to Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements about similarities between NATO's intervention in Kosovo and Russia's in Crimea.

Some 547 athletes from 45 countries will compete for 72 gold medals over 10 days in the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi.

The Games, opened by Russian president Vladimir Putin, will begin amid an escalating political crisis in Ukraine.

US President Obama urged Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a one-hour phone call Thursday to pursue a diplomatic solution to his military incursion into Crimea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rating has remained at a two-year maximum level for the last two weeks.

According to the data published by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (WCIOM) on March 6, quoted by the ITAR-TASS news agency, 67.8% of the respondents approve of Putin’s work. 

BELGRADE - The first Serbia-Russia business expo and the first Belgrade business forum were opened in Belgrade on Wednesday with participation of 87 Russian and 100 Serbian companies.

The expo, which is organized in Hotel Metropol Palace, brings together companies from the sectors of traffic, energy, medical equipment and agriculture.

 Deal securing cheaper Russian natural gas for industries and households applies from July 2013 for 10 years

By Chryssa Liaggou

The Environment and Energy Ministry announced on Tuesday that Greece has secured a 15 percent discount on natural gas from Russian energy giant Gazprom for 10 years, adding that the measure will be retroactively applied from July 2013.

Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed indignation at another case of vandalism of the Soviet Army monument in Bulgaria's capital city of Sofia.

Bulgaria's President Rosen Plevneliev met briefly with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the closing gala of the Winter Olympic Games on Sunday.

The Soviet Army Monument in the Bulgarian capital Sofia was painted in solidarity with Ukraine.

A Ukrainian flag was drawn on the front façade of the monument, with the message "Glory to Ukraine" written underneath in Ukrainian.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for emergency measures to stabilize the violent situation in Ukraine, the Kremlin press service said Saturday.