![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-europe.jpg)
Latest Articles about Europe's East
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Yanukovych_Putin_EDM_November_11__2010_01.jpg)
Ukraine’s Government Frantically Seeks Another Discount On Russian Gas
Undermining their own negotiating position, Ukraine’s top leaders sound desperate for a price discount on Russian gas, and hurriedly offer pre-emptive concessions to Moscow. On April 21 President, Viktor Yanukovych, declared, “Ukraine cannot afford this [current] price. The situation is on the edge. Our industry... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Minsk_Bombing_AP_EDM_April_19__2011.jpg)
Terrorist Act In Minsk: More Questions Than Answers
On April 11, at around 6:00 pm local time, a bomb exploded at the Kastrichnitskaya (October) Metro Station in central Minsk, killing some commuters instantly, injuring over 200 others, and causing mayhem. It represents the first genuine terrorist act to be reported by the Belarusian... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Viktor_Yanukovych_EDM_October_18th__2010_01.jpg)
Top Ukrainian Officials Admit Justice Inequalities
Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, and his team have admitted their helplessness in fighting corruption. While Yanukovych complained in his state-of-the-nation address that corrupt officials torpedoed his reform efforts last year, his chief financial inspector accused unnamed members of the current executive of corruption in a... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Belarus_Ruble_EDM_April_12__2011.jpg)
Rumors Of Devaluation Spell Trouble For Belarus
On April 7 in Moscow, Russian and Belarusian officials on the Commission on Common Economic Space discussed the latter’s request for another loan from Russia of around $1 billion. Belarus has also requested $2 billion from the Anti-Crisis Fund of the Eurasian Economic Community (also... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Transnistria_EDM_April_9__2011.jpg)
Tiraspol’s Tail Wagging Moscow’s Dog, Blocks Negotiations on Transnistria
Expectations raised by Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergei Lavrov, about re-starting negotiations to resolve the Transnistria conflict, have shattered on both counts: process and substance. Transnistria’s Moscow-installed authorities have defiantly contradicted Lavrov, with apparent impunity. Moscow has quickly backtracked, and Tiraspol has aborted the attempt... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Kuchma_Putin__EDM_April_6__2011.jpg)
Ukrainian Former President Faces Charges Over Journalist Murder in 2000
The Prosecutor-General’s Office on March 21 launched an investigation against Leonid Kuchma, suspecting him of involvement in the murder of the opposition journalist Georgy Gongadze in 2000, Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat Kuzmin announced on March 22. The Prosecutor-General’s Office on March 24 officially charged Kuchma, president... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Merkel_Medvedev_EDM_March_31__2011.jpg)
Moscow Signals Interest In Berlin Initiative On Transnistria
On March 29 in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held talks with his Moldovan counterpart, Iurie Leanca, on resuming and advancing a resolution of the Transnistria conflict (Moldpres, March 30; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 31). European Union and Moldovan officials note some positive Russian signals in... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Ukraine_EU_EDM_March_30__2011.jpg)
Ukraine Sends Mixed Signals on Free Trade With The EU, Russia
Ukraine finds it increasingly difficult to balance its relations between the European Union and Russia, which are viewed in Kyiv as equally important trading partners. While talks on political association and free trade with the EU slowed somewhat recently, Moscow is stepping up its pressure... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Putin_Lukashenko_EDM_march_29__2011.jpg)
Belarus Resists Integration With Russia as Pressure Grows
On March 15, the Russian and Kazakh Prime Ministers, Vladimir Putin and Karim Masimov, visited Minsk for trade and energy talks with their Belarusian counterpart, Mikhail Myasnikovich, under the auspices of the Common Economic Space (CES). Additionally, Putin held a personal meeting with Belarusian President... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Transneft_Pipeline_March_28__2011_EDM.jpg)
Ukraine Set To Take Over Transneft Oil Product Pipeline
On March 25, the Rivne oblast’s economic court ruled that the state of Ukraine, not Russia’s Transneft, is the rightful owner of the “Samara [Russia] – West” oil product pipeline’s section on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine’s State Prosecutor's Office had brought this case before the Rivne... MORE