Chancellor Angela Merkel has issued a strong call for NATO and Russia to forge closer ties to avoid deepening misunderstandings over the eastward expansion of NATO and U.S. plans to deploy part of an antiballistic missile shield in Eastern Europe.
Georgia demanded Tuesday that Russia pay for a reconnaissance airplane that U.N. observers say was shot down by a Russian fighter jet.
The United States is concerned about a new sign of deepening ties between Belarus and Russia at a time of heightened tensions with both countries.
The Russian government will spend more than 4 billion rubles ($170 million) to expand and modernize the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the museum's director said.
Denmark, Russia, the U.S., Canada and Norway will hold a conference in Greenland this week to evaluate claims over natural resources including oil and gas in the North Pole waters as global demand for commodities surges.
Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom said on Tuesday it had increased gas supplies to Turkey after it asked for more gas following a stoppage of flows from Iran.
Gazprom contributes around 20% of the federal budget's revenues, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who used to head the energy giant's board of directors, said on Tuesday.