Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov was elected leader of the Party of Regions on Friday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit Austria on April 24-25, a Russian government source said on Friday.

He is due to meet with Chancellor Werner Faymann and President Heinz Fischer and oversee the signing of an agreement on Austria's entry into the South Stream project.

The gas pipeline project is designed to carry 31 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas a year across the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further on to Italy and Austria.

The pipeline is expected to go into operation in 2015, its capacity eventually reaching 63 bcm, or some 35% of Russian gas supplies to Europe.

Russia has already signed intergovernmental agreements with Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia to implement the onshore part of the project.

The project is part of Russia's efforts to reduce dependence on transit nations, particularly Ukraine. It is widely seen as a rival project to the EU-backed Nabucco, which would also transport Caspian and Central Asian gas to Europe but would bypass Russia.

On Sunday, Putin will start a two-day visit to Italy where he will meet with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to discuss energy, scientific and cultural cooperation, among other issues.

RIA Novosti

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Friday he was ready to take over the leadership of the Party of Regions.

Russia is open to migrants who come to the country legally and want to make it their permanent place of residence, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said on Friday the Ukrainian authorities are infringing the rights of the opposition.

The United States urges Armenia and Turkey to continue efforts at reconciliation and supports Yerevan's decision to put the process on hold, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said on Friday.

Deposed Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev said he has no intention of returning to Kyrgyzstan as president, despite his statement that he has not admitted to his resignation.

The Russian lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has approved an additional plenary session on April 27 to ratify an agreement on prolonging the presence of the country's Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine's Crimea for another 25 years.

The Ukrainian opposition will not be able to hamper the ratification of a deal between Moscow and Kiev on extending Russia's use of a naval base in Ukraine's Crimea, Russian daily Kommersant said.

The extension of Russia's lease on its Black Sea Fleet base in Ukraine will not affect NATO's relations with Moscow and Kiev, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday.