Lukashenko, under increasing pressure, orders all Belarus borders shut, citing "eternal threats".

The money is to be paid to the central bank on 23rd August, just before Ukraine faces $3 billion in debt payments due in September.

Azerbaijan shipped 583,029 tonnes of oil via Russia in January-July, up from 30,000 tonnes shipped in the same period last year.

Milli Mejlis MP Eldaniz Salimov was ordered locked up following a late-night brawl in a Caspian Sea resort town two hours north of Baku.

The French company is to invest 315 million euros of its own funds, while 1.08 billion euros is to come during the project implementation.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 12.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2021 after contracting 5.8 percent in the same period last year.