- Russia would pay off all of its debt to the Paris Club of creditors by August 21 this year
- Russia's federal budget for 2007 would increase spending by 415 billion rubles ($15.4 billion) compared with initial figures approved in March
* Russian energy giant Gazprom said it had bought Pennine Natural Gas Limited in a bid to expand into direct sales to commercial and industrial consumers in the United Kingdom
* Ukraine's parliament officially announced the formation of a majority coalition that includes the bloc of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, pro-presidential grouping Our Ukraine, and the Socialist Party but postponed the election of its speaker and heads of committees until June 27
* Greek company OTE (Hellenic Telecommunications Organization SA), which holds a 90% stake in Armenian telecom company ArmenTel, said Russia's VimpelCom and Mobile TeleSystems would be among four bidders
* President Vladimir Putin said high-tech branches could help Russian-British cooperation reach a higher level
* The Russian Foreign Ministry said it had summoned North Korea's ambassador to Moscow Pak Ui Chun over reports that the communist was allegedly preparing to test a long-range ballistic missile
* Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said Ukrainian prime minister-designate Yulia Tymoshenko's comments on the need to revise gas agreements with Russia and secure a return to lower prices were an alarming signal to Europe
* Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the energy giant would raise the price of natural gas supplies to Moldova by 45% to $160 from $110 per 1,000 cubic meters from July
* Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi was named alongside two other cities as an official candidate to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games
* Ukraine's pro-Russia Party of Regions will become a strong but constructive opposition after three Western-leaning "orange" movements struck a deal to form a parliamentary majority, a party member said
* Russia's government gave preliminary approval to the 2007 draft federal budget
* Sergei Mironov, speaker of the Russian parliament's upper chamber, said talks to free four Russian diplomats kidnapped in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, almost three weeks ago had produced some progress
* Alexander Medvedev, a deputy chairman of Gazprom's management committee, said:
- Russia and South Korea are planning to sign an agreement on supplies of natural gas to the southeast Asian country by yearend
- Gazprom is looking for ways to reach gas end consumers in China
* Gazprom Neft, formerly known as Sibneft, said it intends to float 10-15% of its shares if Gazprom ups its stake in the company to 95%
* The Georgian defense ministry said a fifth train with Russian military equipment had left the northwest Georgian region of Adjaria for Armenia
* Technopromexport, Russia's leading builder of energy facilities and electricity exporter, said it had signed a strategic cooperation deal with Saudi company Urban Development on building energy facilities in the Middle East country
* Ukraine's Justice Ministry said gas prices for domestic consumers would rise again starting July 1
