Naftogaz has been trying to lobby support for the U.S. to proceed with sanctions against Nord Stream 2. But U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described the pipeline as a “fait accompli”.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s strident warnings that Moscow would tolerate no talk of membership appears to have again deterred the alliance.

The foundations of Azerbaijan’s pragmatic foreign policy were laid by late President Heydar Aliyev in the early 1990s and, today, this has become Azerbaijan’s brand, i.e., the so-called “multi-vector” or “balanced” foreign policy strategy.

Placing a major new plant in Mariupol would provide a big boost to the town, a key forepost in the Donbass conflict and scene of major shelling in early 2015.

Europe and Central Asia's economy is forecast to expand 3.9 percent in 2021, stronger than previously forecast, the World Bank said.