REUTERS - Ukraine government should consider looking for alternatives to natural gas supplies from Russia.

UNIAN - Ukraine must raise gas prices to market levels in order to qualify for more aid under a $17.5 billion IMF program. Ukraine, which wants to resume cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), may need to increase household gas prices, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman was quoted as saying on Thursday.

PLATTS - Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 natural gas field producers have booked around 8.6 Bcm/year of long-term capacity to Italy in the planned 10 Bcm/year Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, developer TAP's head of communication, Lisa Givert, told

FT - The German official welcomed an agreement reached earlier this month between the Caspian littoral states — Russia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan — on a legal framework for sharing the Caspian, the world’s largest inland body of water.

WNN - Rusatom International Network - a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom - has signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation with the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The memorandum provides for establishing common principles of bilateral cooperation with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other countries.

IMF - Slovakia’s economic performance continues to be favorable, with real per capita GDP growing at the average annual rate of 3 percent over the past five years. Growth has been supported by predominantly domestic demand. Private consumption continued to benefit from strong credit growth, robust job creation, and rising wages, while investment reversed its temporary decline from 2016 that was due to a slow start in the implementation of new EU funds programming period. Unemployment reached a record low of 7.7 percent at end-2017.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «Ключевым вопросом предложения взаимодействия для российской стороны является урегулирование вопросов, которые сегодня находятся в Арбитражном суде. Должен быть восстановлен баланс интересов, чтобы взаимоотношения продолжались после 2020 года», - сказал Александр Новак.

EBRD - Using plasma technology, the facility will significantly reduce the volume of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste from the Kozloduy reactors 1 to 4, which were shut down between 2002 and 2006, and reactors 5 and 6, which are in operation.

WNN - There are 126 operational power reactors in 14 EU Member States, providing more than one-quarter of the bloc's total electricity production. In its Communication on the Nuclear Illustrative Program (PINC) published last year, the European Commission expects nuclear to maintain its significant role in Europe's energy mix up to 2050. This would require investment of some EUR40-50 billion (USD46-58 billion) in nuclear LTO by 2050.

PLATTS - "Today we submitted a petition to the Court of Appeal in Sweden," Vitrenko said as the Ukrainian company looks to find legal grounds to continue its efforts to seize Gazprom assets in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK to enforce the arbitration award.

IMF - “In this regard, I commended the President for his leadership that enabled the approval of the law, and welcomed his intention to make the court operational by the end of this year. We agreed that it is now important for parliament to quickly approve the supplementary law submitted by the President to formally establish the court, as well as the necessary amendments to restore the requirement that the HACC will adjudicate all cases under its jurisdiction, including all appeals of relevant first instance court decisions, as it was in the draft law approved in the first reading.

REUTERS - “What we’ll be looking to see is that it ensures the establishment of an independent and trustworthy anti-corruption court that meets the expectation of the Ukrainian people,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a briefing.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Глава Российской Федерации отметил, что через территорию Болгарии проходят транзитные потоки российских углеводородов в другие страны Юго-Восточной Европы. «Есть возможности развивать сотрудничество в этой важнейшей сфере – тем самым вносить ещё больший вклад в обеспечение европейской энергетической безопасности», - подчеркнул Владимир Путин.

REUTERS - Ukraine’s state energy group Naftogaz said it has asked Swiss courts to enforce a ruling that it receive $2.6 billion from Russian giant Gazprom after a long-running legal battle.

FT - Gazprom’s deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev said the company was “satisfied with the commitments decision” and was “always committed to co-operate in good faith in order to find a constructive, mutually acceptable solution”.