KIEV, Dec. 17 – The National Bank of Ukraine plans to take a more active stance on the interbank currency market from the second half of December in order to smooth the pace of the hryvnia weakening, the head of a group of advisors to the NBU head, Valeriy Lytvytsky, told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

KIEV, Dec. 14 - Ukraine has assured the European Union it will retain the existing level of exports duties on some goods, and the European Union has promised the quick completion of a working group's report on Ukraine's joining the World Trade Organization, the press service of First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mykola Azarov reported on Friday, referring to the results of a phone talk between Azarov and European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

MOSCOW, Dec. 14 - Mintimer Shaimiyev, president of Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, has sent a letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko with a request that he personally intervene in the conflict among shareholders of UkrTatNafta (Kremenchuk refinery, Ukraine).

BRUSSELS, Dec. 17 - The European Union and Ukraine have officially announced the launch of negotiations on a Common Aviation Area agreement.

MOSCOW, Dec. 17 –An official of Russia’s Gazprom has expressed concern about the stated intention of Yulia Tymoshenko to renegotiate deals Ukraine has signed with the gas giant.

KIEV, Dec. 17 - Closing down a Ukrainian coal mine that has been the scene of three deadly accidents in the past few weeks would lead to an explosive accumulation of methane under the city near which it is situated, the chairman of the mine lessee board said in an interview published in a newspaper on Dec. 15.

KIEV, Dec. 17 – A comprehensive testing of Parliament’s computer vote counting system on Friday showed repeated malfunctions similar to the one that disrupted the prime minister vote last week, a lawmaker said Monday.

KIEV, Dec. 17 – Our Ukraine-People’s Self-defense further challenged its leader President Viktor Yushchenko Monday by saying it needed more time to agree on the nominations to the government that had been made by the president.

KIEV, Dec. 16 ??“ President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych made little progress in talks over 2007 budget at a meeting late night Friday suggesting the standoff between the two will probably continue.

KIEV, Dec. 15 ??“ President Viktor Yushchenko used his constitutional power Friday to suspend the government??™s resolution appointing senior officials at the Internal Affairs Ministry after the Cabinet had refused to clear the appointments with the president.