Europe

KIEV, December 31. /TASS/: The Ukrainian government is proactively discussing the potential restart of direct natural gas purchases from Russia, CEO of Naftogaz of Ukraine Andrei Kobolev said at a press conference on Tuesday.

"An intensive and proactive discussion [of direct supplies] is currently underway inside the Ukrainian government and broader political circles. We can return to this after it ends; Naftogaz is not holding such negotiations at this point," Kobolev said.

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/: Russia and Belarus have not yet agreed on gas issues, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"Now we should not exaggerate the risks, although, indeed, we have not managed yet to reach an agreement. Yesterday there was a very detailed discussion between the presidents of Russia and Belarus, they discussed integration issues as well as gas and oil issues. So far, no agreements have been reached," he said.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, December 31. /TASS/: Over 300 personnel of Russia’s Southern Military District held an exercise in North Ossetia to practice missile strike control, employing an Iskander tactical missile system, the District’s press office reported on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/: The Russian engineering troops have received the first batch of portable electric power sources based on solar panels, the Defense Ministry of Russia reported on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/: Russia has been able to reverse the negative trend of falling people’s living standards, that’s the major accomplishment of 2019, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"For objective reasons, Russians’ living standards were either stagnating or falling. This negative trend was observed over the past three or four years," he said. "This year, we were able to reverse that trend. So far, we cannot talk about any substantial growth. Nevertheless, this trend has been reversed."

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky have exchanged New Year greetings and spoken out in favor of developing Russian-Ukrainian relations in 2020.

According to the Kremlin’s press service, Putin and Zelensky talked by telephone to exchange New Year greetings and speak out in favor of developing Russian-Ukrainian relations in 2020.

31 December 2019; AFP: Outgoing WADA President Craig Reedie says the Russian doping scandal shows that clean sport is under attack, but the anti-doping organization now has the tools to better weed out drug cheats.

Taking stock of his six years at the helm of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the 78-year-old Briton insists the group is "stronger" than ever as it faces the "unprecedented" challenge of the doping crisis in Russia.

LISBON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - An Angolan court has ordered assets of Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the country’s former leader, to be frozen in the highest-profile move of an anti-corruption drive launched by President Joao Lourenço.

Since ending ex-President Jose Eduardo dos Santos’ nearly 40-year grip on power in 2017, Lourenço has been trying to reduce the influence of the former first family, recover lost assets and privatize state firms.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose on the last trading day of the decade on Tuesday and was on track for monthly and annual gains, supported by a thaw in the prolonged U.S.-China trade row and Middle East unrest.

Brent crude was up 11 cents at $66.78 a barrel by 1143 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 6 cents at $61.74 per barrel.

The volume of trade remained low as many market participants were away for year-end holidays.

BERLIN, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed efforts to reach a diplomatic solution for the Libyan conflict in two separate phone calls with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a government spokesman said. 

“A further exchange was agreed to strengthen diplomatic efforts,” the government spokesman said, adding that Merkel also discussed the developments in Syria with Erdogan and Putin during the phone calls which took place on Sunday.