The skirmishes have stirred concern about the stability of a late 2020 Moscow-negotiated armistice.

The Caspian delicacy is known worldwide and supplied to Europe’s royal courts and Michelin-starred restaurants. But overfishing, and lack of regulation, brought it to the brink of disappearing.

National Bank of Ukraine Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko said oligarchs have a "destructive" influence over the county's central bank.

Skirmishes continued around the still undefined border, now more than eight months after Azerbaijan reversed three decades of humiliation by retaking long-occupied areas.

Germany and the United States, during Merkel’s final visit as Chancellor to Washington, concentrated their efforts not on whether the pipeline should be completed but rather on how Ukraine might be compensated if it loses its status as a transit country for Russian gas.