The Ministry of Finance does not exclude the possibility of placement of bonds on the Asian markets in order to create a benchmark for corporate bond placement.

The members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU, incluing Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia) intend to abandon the mutual payments in dollars and euros.

Serbia was obliged to impose sanctions against Russia in exchange for EU membership. This was stated by the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn.

The former Prime Minister of Brandenburg Matthias Platzeck came out for “legalization” of the accession of the Crimea to Russia. Later the press service of the German-Russian Forum denied the statement of Platzeck, but only partially.

The Guardian painted a grim picture of Russia’s future amid falling oil prices, with the Russian government barely holding the fort.

The sanctions of the West against Russia forced the US oil company ExxonMobil to start looking for alternative deposits to use the “West Alpha” drilling platform, which participated in the exploration of the Kara Sea shelf.

The Russian Government is working on the possibility of reducing oil production volumes for maintaining its prices. This was announced by the Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak.

The US Vice President Joseph Biden warned Russia against non-compliance with Minsk agreements. According to his words, the US will continue to increase pressure on Russia if it continues its policy regarding the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

A number of agreements on cooperation between Sberbank of Russia and the two largest Chinese banks, as well as the Chinese Export Insurance and Credit Corporation were signed at the APEC summit.

International business media and investors have been closely watching the court saga of the Bashneft/Yevtushenkov case in Moscow’s Commercial Court, providing ample comments on the latest decision to seize the stake in the prized asset and return it to the Russian state.

The international press was nonplussed about the Central Bank’s move to hike its benchmark interest rate by 150 basis points at a time of sluggish growth and private companies crying out for cheaper money to kick-start the economy.

The government is facing a huge dilemma – to cough up almost $50 billion requested by the Russian oil giant Rosneft for its investment plans or not.

Italy has stormed the Russian capital with two concurrent exhibitions featuring the finest Italian-made interior furnishings and products for the construction industry.

Moody's has downgraded the government of Russia's debt rating by one notch to Baa2 from Baa1 in a move that could speed up capital flight in a country already suffering from liquidity and investment crunch.

The countries - candidates for EU membership joined the sanctions against Russia previously adopted by Brussels.

There’ve been hawkish calls from some Western leaders, including a statement by the European Parliament, to disconnect Russia from the Swift transactions system over its alleged role in the Ukraine crisis.

The Western sanctions against Russia continue to be the talk of the town even despite de-escalation in the east of Ukraine after the signing of the ceasefire agreement.

Despite Moscow’s shrugging off Western sanctions as ‘foolishness’, there’s growing evidence that the restrictions imposed over Russia’s alleged role in the Ukraine crisis may be working, at least in terms of bad publicity.

The Wall Street Journal has come up with a wonderful piece on the Russia-Chinese relations, focusing on the nations’ leaders.

VTB Capital’s event, attended by the Russian president, has drawn hundreds of investors from around the world as Moscow scrambles to fights capital outflows amid several rounds of sanctions over its alleged role in the Ukraine crisis.