Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on Thursday his government was ready to work to repair damage caused to relations with Russia by the previous 'Orange' presidency of Viktor Yushchenko.

The chief of the Russian General Staff said Thursday that Russia would only buy a fully-equipped Mistral-class amphibious assault ship from France.

Ukraine will not choose in favor of one particular collective security system, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said on Thursday.

Russia's drug control chief said on Thursday he had a problem with NATO's reluctance to eliminate opium plantations in Afghanistan.

The date for the signing ceremony of a new strategic arms pact between Russia and the United States has not yet been set, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

German auto giant Daimler AG is accused of paying some 5.02 million euros ($6.7 million) to Russian officials to accelerate the orders of more cars for government purposes, a respected Russian business daily said on Thursday.

Belarus has filed a suit in the CIS Economic Court against Russia over oil export duties, a spokesman for the Belarusian justice ministry said on Thursday.

"The Ministry of Justice has turned to the CIS Economic Court performing the functions of the EurAsEC (Eurasian Economic Community) court with a suit over the legality of export customs duties on oil products and crude being supplied to Belarus from Russia," the spokesman said.

RIA Novosti

Russia is unlikely to make concessions to Ukraine as Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov arrives on Thursday in Moscow to seek a new gas deal with the Kremlin, a respected daily said on Wednesday.

Ukraine's new Prime Minister Mykola Azarov will try to persuade his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to review Russian gas prices for Ukraine during a meeting in Moscow on Thursday.

China will give Belarus $1 billion in loan on favorable terms and $7.5 million in non-repayable financial aid, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said during his visit to Minsk.

The council of ministers of a post-Soviet security group, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), will gather in Moscow on Thursday to coordinate foreign policy.