WASHINGTON, March 4 - President Barack Obama spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday about a potential resolution to the crisis ignited by Russian intervention in Ukraine's Crimea region, Reuters reported, citing a senior administration official.

MOSCOW, March 4 - President Vladimir Putin delivered a robust defense of Russia's actions in Crimea and said on Tuesday that he would use force in Ukraine only as a last resort, easing market fears that East-West tension over the former Soviet republic could lead to war.

KIEV, March 1 – Ukraine is studying the possibility of building a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Mediterranean Basin just before the Bosporus Strait to ship the liquefied natural gas through the existing pipeline network, President Viktor Yanukovych said.

KIEV, March 1 – The European Union is ready to establish a tripartite consortium with Ukraine and Russia to manage the Ukrainian gas transportation system, subject to certain guarantees, said Jan Tombinski, head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.

KIEV, March 1 – President Viktor Yanukovych says that he doesn't know any details about the growth in the income of his son Oleksandr.

"I know no details. I know that he is used to working a lot, and has created a good team. The main thing I demand of him and constantly tell him, is everything they do, they must do transparently, since he's under the microscope," Yanukovych said during the final press conference in Kiev on Friday answering the media's question of how his son became a billionaire.

KIEV, March 4 - President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin ended their talks near Moscow on Monday without issuing any statements, a sign the parties had failed to sort out differences.

BRUSSELS, March 1 – NATO experts have drawn up and given to Ukraine recommendations on security measures for the Euro 2012 European Football Championship.

The Ukrainian side is working to implement them, and in addition, Kiev has requested assistance, said Evert Somer, the chief of NATO's security experts aiding Ukraine to prepare for Euro 2012.

KIEV, March 2 – The possible bribery of lawmakers in Parliament is political corruption, rather than a crime, and an assessment of this phenomenon should be made by voters, Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Zanfirov has said.

KIEV, March 2 – Corruption in Ukraine has become a major threat to national security, National Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Kliuyev said.

"Corruption in many ways is the reason for the ineffectiveness of the entire system of central and local government," Kliuyev said.

He said that this was a key reason for the delay in reforms in Ukraine.

KIEV, March 2 - Six Ukrainian coal miners are missing after an explosion hit a small unauthorized coal mine in Yenakiyevo, the Donetsk region, on Wednesday, the Emergency Situations Ministry reported Friday.

The accident happened at an abandoned coal mine after the coal miners had tried to resume its operation in order to start unauthorized coal extraction. The coalmine was officially closed and its equipment dismantled months ago.