* Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia would not follow the European Union's example and impose an arms embargo on Uzbekistan

* The Kyrgyz PM sees no obstacles to the ex-president's return to the country

* The Russian and Ukrainian governments have instructed authorized bodies to step up negotiations on the supply and transportation of natural gas

* Moscow could sign a treaty with Chechnya on the division of powers between the federal center and the republic early next year

* Georgia's opposition Conservative Party has filed a lawsuit in a Tbilisi city court against President Mikhail Saakashvili

* Russian Railways said it planned to invest 17.5 billion rubles ($613.39 million) in oil deliveries to China between 2006 and 2008

* The Latvian prime minister proposed placing Russian-born tycoon Boris Berezovsky on a black list of individuals banned from entering the country

* Russia's largest oil producer LUKoil signed an agreement to buy 65% of the Nelson Resources Ltd oil and natural gas company

* Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko arrived in Sakhalin to mark the launch of the Sakhalin-I oil and gas project on October 1

* State-owned oil company Rosneft said it was not after the 20% stake in Sibneft owned by embattled major Yukos but wanted the latter to repay its debts

* More than 50 new cases of Hepatitis A virus were registered in the central Russian region of Nizhny Novgorod