Europe

SUKHUM, May 1. /TASS/: The Abkhazian Foreign Ministry is calling on the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to stop making unfounded statements and show a balanced approach to assessing the situation in the republic.

KIEV, May 1. /TASS/: Ukraine’s authorities are not seeking to carry out a fair investigation into the tragedy that occurred in the southern city of Odessa five years ago, the political council chief of Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life party, Viktor Medvedchuk, said on Wednesday.

TBILISI, May 1. /TASS/: The construction of US military base in Georgia is inadvisable and may be viewed as a provocation, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili told VOA's Georgian Service in an interview in Tbilisi.

"I don't think that it would be recommended," she said. "We don't need to take steps that might be viewed as provocations, and I don't think that the United States would be ready for having here a military base that would attract probably reactions both from Russia and from these ... terrorist movements that are very active in the region."

MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/: The Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft should revise the system of oil quality control for main oil pipelines, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday at the meeting with Transneft CEO Nikolai Tokarev.

"Self-control is not sufficient," the head of state said. "It means that this system should be changed," Putin said. "Do this definitely and report to the prime minister," he added.

MOSCOW, May 1. /TASS/: More than 100,000 people gathered in Moscow for a demonstration of trade unions dedicated to Spring and Labor Day, the Interior Ministry’s press service told TASS on Wednesday.

"A demonstration is being held in Moscow organized by the Moscow Federation of Trade Unions, which is dedicated to celebrating Spring and Labor Day," a spokesman said.

Police, troops of the National Guard and members of people’s guards are ensuring security and public order.

LONDON, April 30 (Xinhua): Ajax took a 1-0 lead over hosts Tottenham in the first leg of the European Champions League semifinal thanks to a goal from Donny van de Beek here on Tuesday.

Van de Beek broke the deadlock in the 15th minute when he received a through pass from Hakim Ziyech and slot it past Hugo Lloris.

Tottenham, without injured Harry Kane and suspended Son Heung-min, nearly conceded a second 10 minutes later, but Van de Beek's shot was well saved by the French goalkeeper.

30 Apr 2019; DW: Spanish election authorities have banned the Catalan former President Carles Puigdemont from running as a candidate for the European Parliament.

Puigdemont and two former colleagues in the regional government had wanted to highlight the cause of Catalan independence on an international stage, after secessionist efforts were swiftly quashed by Madrid in 2017.

ATHENS, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the results of Sunday's Spanish general elections as a message of hope against the far-Right.

"The electoral percentages of the Socialists and the Podemos party muddle the disturbing rise of the far-Right and pave the way for the continuation of a progressive government in Spain," Tsipras tweeted on Monday.

29 Apr 2019; DW: Germany will continue to train soldiers from Saudi Arabia despite its brutal military campaign in Yemen, reported German news agency DPA on Monday.

Five Saudi soldiers are expected to start an officer's training course in July with the German army, while two others are to receive similar preparation with the air force. Seven more Saudi soldiers will begin German language training in July in anticipation of starting officer's training in 2020.

Kiev, Apr 28 (AFP) President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed an offer by Vladimir Putin to provide passports to Ukrainians, and pledged instead to grant citizenship to Russians who "suffer" under the Kremlin's rule.

The Russian president on Saturday said Moscow was considering plans to make it easier for all Ukrainians to obtain Russian citizenship, after it earlier moved to grant passports in the country's separatist east.

Kiev has been fighting Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine since 2014 in a war that has killed 13,000.