Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin praised outgoing fellow political veteran Silvio Berlusconi and defended his own decision to remain in power for years to come in front of an audience of foreign experts.
Vladimir Putin declared he was ready to return to the Russian presidency after current head of state Dmitry Medvedev announced he would bow to his mentor at March's election.
US oil major Exxon Mobil has clinched an Arctic oil exploration deal with Russian state-owned oil firm Rosneft. The venture seemingly extinguishes any remaining chance of UK’s BP reviving its own deal, which lapsed in May.
The international military campaign in Libya has created apparent divisions between coalition leaders carrying out the UN-sanctioned operation and other world powers.
Russia has raised 96 billion roubles (3.3 billion USD) from the sale of a 10% stake in the country's second biggest bank, VTB. The sale marks the start of the government's huge privatisation drive aimed at raising 1 trillion roubles over three years.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has said the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange shows the West has its own problems with democracy.
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says a full one-quarter of Russia's grain crops have been destroyed by weeks of drought and wildfires, leaving many Russian farmers close to bankruptcy.