From our Brussels correspondent:
Russia, Ukraine, EU To Resume Gas Talks In April
BRUSSELS – Representatives of Russia, Ukraine, and the European Union have held talks in Brussels on gas supplies.
The Russian and Ukrainian Energy Ministers, Aleksandr Novak and Volodymyr Demshishin, met on March 20 together with Energy Union Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to discuss a possible new agreement on Russian gas supplies to Ukraine.
The "winter package" deal, signed by Russia, Ukraine, and the EU in October 2014, expires at the end of March.
Demshishin said Kyiv and Moscow decided to work on a draft deal ready for signature at their next meeting in mid-April.
He also said Kyiv sees no need to buy Russian gas next month.
Novak said Moscow would consider a discount for gas supplies to Ukraine in the second quarter.
The European Commission said it would “consider to undertake its best efforts to help Ukraine finding the adequate financial support to purchase gas” as the country needs to fill its gas storages with up to 20 billion cubic meter during the summer months.
Latest from our news desk:
Dutch Experts Visit MH17 Ukraine Crash Site
Dutch experts have returned to Ukraine to probe the crash site of a passenger jet, including visiting a location previously considered unsafe because of fighting with pro-Russian separatists.
The Dutch Justice Ministry said on March 20 that a 12-person team consisting of defense and police officers would remain in the area until March 28.
The Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, killing all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.
On March 19, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for "unbiased and transparent" investigation into the downing of the plane.
The call came after Dutch broadcaster RTL reported that a metal fragment from the crash site matches a Russian-made surface-to-air BUK rocket.
Russia has suggested that the airliner was downed by the Ukrainian military.
A brave and harrowing report from the BBC's Natalia Antelava about the cease-fire violations around Pesky.
Here's an update from our news desk:
Ukraine's state statistics service has reported that the country's economy shrank by 6.8 percent in 2014, citing financial strains caused by fighting in the eastern part of the country.
The statistic service also revised its figures on March 20 for the fourth quarter of 2014, saying the economy contracted by 14.8 percent, not 15.2 percent as previously announced.
Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has drained Kyiv's state coffers, as have sharply reduced commercial ties with Russia, its traditional trading partner.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently approved a new $17.5 billion financing package for Ukraine, has forecast that its economy will shrink by some 5.5 percent this year and return to growth in 2016.
The IMF warned that efforts to restore financial stability to Ukraine face "extremely high" risks from continued fighting in eastern Ukraine, where a shaky cease-fire has been in place since mid-February.
(Reuters)