Russia has proposed to Tokyo building a natural gas pipeline connecting fields in its far east with northern Japan, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Diversification of gas supply has been a strategic priority for the European Union since its dependence on imports began to grow in the early 2000s.

Russia seeks an acceleration of its business ties with China. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev suggested on Monday that the two countries could soon reach an agreement on a second pipeline.

Russian oil giant OAO Rosneft is devising a legal strategy to fight Western sanctions in European courts, according to people familiar with the strategy—a tactic modeled on the so-far successful legal campaign waged by Iran’s Bank Mellat.

OAO Gazprom said profit for the first half of the year fell by almost one-quarter as Ukraine's Naftogaz didn't pay for gas supplied by the Russian state-controlled gas group.

With the rouble down 18 percent against the dollar this year and sanctions chipping away at economic ties with the West, ordinary Russians might be forgiven for rushing to put their money in a nice, "safe" foreign currency.

Morgan Stanley ’s deal to sell an oil trading business to Rosneft , the state-owned Russian oil group, is close to collapse amid the profound chill in relations between Russia and the US.

European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has asked Ukraine and Russia to take part in another round of talks to try to solve a gas pricing row on Oct. 21 in Berlin, a Commission official said on Thursday.

Poland’s ambition to achieve energy independence from Russia is being undermined by drillers giving up on the nation’s shale wells after disappointing results.

French banking giant BNP Paribas SA has stopped offering letters of credit to finance commodities trades involving sanctioned Russian banks, according to people familiar with the matter—the latest fallout from tightening economic restrictions imposed by the West against Moscow.