The Ukrainian parliament committee for international affairs on Monday recommended against ratifying a new deal extending Russia's use of a naval base in Crimea.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday he is proud of how he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have managed to divide leadership in the country without interfering with each other.

The party of former Ukrainian premier Yulia Tymoshenko may be forced to attack its opponents during a debate on the ratification of a deal to extend the lease of a Russian naval base, a lawmaker said on Monday.

The interim Kyrgyz government published a draft constitution on its site on Monday, which cuts the powers of the president and changes the Kyrgyz presidential regime into a parliamentary one.

Ukraine's opposition has warned against the ratification by the parliament of a deal extending Russia's use of a naval base in Crimea, with lawmakers due to consider the agreement on Tuesday.

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Armenian Catholicos, and the Grand Mufti of the Caucasus signed an agreement on the Nagorny Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan's Baku on Monday.

Russia is ready to render various assistance in overcoming the current political turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, a Russian deputy foreign minister told the head of the Kyrgyz interim government on Monday.

Kyrgyzstan's interim government thanked on Monday Russia for its assistance in the arrest of former Kyrgyz interior minister, Kyrgyz media reported.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will pay a working visit to Ukraine on April 26.

European foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Kyrgyzstan, where the opposition took power amid a bloody uprising earlier this month, along with other issues during a meeting in Luxemburg on Monday, a spokesman for the EU's Council of Ministers has said.

Ukraine's gas transportation system will give the country some $6 billion in annual revenues if Kiev manages to persuade Russia and the European Union to invest in the modernization of Ukraine's pipelines, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has told Ukraine's ICTV channel.

Kyrgyzstan's former interior minister was flown to Manas airport near Bishkek on Monday after being detained in Moscow in a joint Kyrgyz-Russian operation, Kyrgyzstan's AKIpress agency reported.

Energy cooperation and the demarcation of Russian-Norwegian maritime borders will be the key issues during talks between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Norway's top officials on April 26-27 in Oslo, the Russian presidential aid has said.

Medvedev will travel to Norway on an invitation from King Harald V.

On Monday, the Russian president will meet with the king and his spouse, Queen Sonia, and hold talks with the president of the Norwegian parliament, Dag Terje Andersen, Sergei Prikhodko said. On Tuesday, the Russian leader is expected to discuss bilateral relations with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

The agenda of the forthcoming talks includes a wide range of issues, Prikhodko said.

"Among the key issues is cooperation in the spheres of energy, fishery, environmental protection, nuclear and radiation security. Special attention in expected to be paid to the issues concerning talks on the delimitation of maritime areas in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean," he said.

The Arctic territories, believed to hold vast untapped oil and gas reserves, have increasingly been at the center of disputes between Russia and Norway, as well as the United States, Canada and Denmark as rising temperatures lead to a reduction in sea ice.

Under international law, the five Arctic Circle countries each have a 322-kilometer (200-mile) economic zone in the Arctic Ocean.

Russia and Norway have been in talks on the delimitation of their maritime borders in the disputed areas for more than 30 years. After a meeting in February, the Russian and Norwegian prime ministers described the talks as "productive", saying the resolution of the issue would boost energy cooperation between the two countries.

Prikhodko said the development of the Shtokman gas condensate deposit in the Barents Sea was the key project in the Russian-Norwegian energy cooperation. The project involves the Russian, Norwegian and French energy giants, Gazprom, Statoil and Total.

The Oslo talks will also focus on European security issues, relations between Russia and NATO, disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation issues, joint anti-terrorism efforts and measures to be taken to stop climate change, the presidential aid said.

Russia and Norway were planning to strengthen trade cooperation, Prikhodko said. As a result of the global economic recession, trade turnover between the two countries fell by 21% in 2009 if compared with 2008. However, the situation have improved as of late: in the first two months of 2010, the turnover has risen by 47%, year-on-year, the presidential aid said.

On Monday, Medvedev and Stoltenberg will also take part in a Russian-Norwegian business forum in Oslo.

A range of bilateral agreements are expected to be signed during Medvedev's talks with Stoltenberg on Tuesday.

"Among them are intergovernmental agreements in the spheres of energy efficiency, renewable energy sources, ecology, education and science, and cooperation between law enforcement agencies," he said, adding the two sides were expected to issue a joint statement summing up the results of the talks.

On April 27-28, the Russian president is to pay a state visit to Denmark.

RIA Novosti