President Viktor Yanukovych pledged on Monday to address the issue of Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera, seen by many as a Nazi collaborator during World War II, being given the country's top individual honor.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in France on Monday for an official visit to kick off a year of cultural exchanges between the two countries, as well as for talks with top officials.

Gazprom has signed a memorandum with Gaz de France Suez on the French utility's participation in the Nord Stream gas pipeline project, the companies said in a joint statement on Monday.

Ukraine's recently elected president Viktor Yanukovych said on Monday any discussion about Ukraine's accession to the European Union was premature.

Parliamentary elections in Tajikistan failed to meet many international requirements, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement on Monday.

Ukraine's ties with NATO will remain unchanged, President Viktor Yanukovych said on Monday.

A border crossing between Russia and Georgia that was closed in 2006 was reopened on Monday a Georgian police official told RIA Novosti.

Russia closed the Verkhny Lars checkpoint on the border with Georgia for reconstruction in July 2006 for an indefinite period. The South Caucasus state protested the move, saying it was an "unfriendly act."

The border checkpoint reopened at 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning (02:00 GMT), Tbilisi police deputy head Giorgi Gegechkori said, adding that no one had yet crossed.

The countries agreed to reopen the border under the Swiss and Armenian mediation.

Switzerland has represented Russia's interests in Georgia and Georgia's interests in Russia since the August 2008 war between Moscow and Tbilisi over South Ossetia. Georgia cut diplomatic ties when Russia recognized South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another former Georgian republic.

RIA Novosti

The president of the European Parliament has said if Belarus wants to benefit from EU support, it has to change its ways with regard to the opposition, NGOs and ethnic minorities, Polish Radio reported Saturday.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Karim Masimov agreed Sunday by phone that Masimov will visit the Russian capital on March 3, the Russian government said.

Parliamentary and local elections in Tajikistan ended on Sunday at 20:00 local time (15:00 GMT) with a voter turnout of 85.2%, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will visit France on March 1-3 in order to discuss a range of international and bilateral issues with French top officials, the Russian president's aid has said.