US Secretary of State John Kerry called his Russian counterpart to urge him to stop separatist attacks on a strategic Ukrainian town and respect a fragile ceasefire.
First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan has officially refuted the reports suggesting that the largest Central Asian economy was intending to ban or limit imports from Russia.
Media reports suggest that Kazakhstan may resort to restricting Russian imports due to the pressure its domestic market from the significantly cheaper products offered by its Northern neighbour.
Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a controversial visit to Budapest, showing the world he still has a friend in Europe in Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban
Russian MPs spoke out and fans launched a Twitter campaign after the European Union slapped sanctions on a popular singer often compared to Frank Sinatra.
Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev has had a phone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the outcomes of Norman Talks in Minsk, Belarus.
The G7 voiced concern about bloody violence and the build-up of weapons in eastern Ukraine, days before a negotiated ceasefire was due to come into effect.
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have discussed the Normand Talk between Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France in Minsk on the phone.