Armenia will hold a snap parliamentary election on June 20, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday, in a decisive step aimed at diffusing political tensions and a power vacuum.

There can be no way of overstating the effect on Ukraine’s political affairs of the U.S. sanctions imposed on oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky – it is nothing short of a political earthquake.

  Ukrainian authorities say they will nationalise jet engine maker Motor Sich, majority-owned by Chinese companies “for the national security of the country”.

Without an effectively functioning government, plans to normalise relations with Turkey cannot proceed, and vital transport and trade routes will continue to be blocked.