* Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Russia was interested in signing a cooperation agreement with the European Defense Agency
* A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Brussels to discuss human rights issues with the EU
* Russian presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Konstantin Pulikovsky met with the North Korean prime minister in Pyongyang
* Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said the government would approve the Gazprom-Sibneft deal soon
* The Finance Ministry said Russia's budget surplus in the first nine months of 2005 totaled $27 billion
* Russian utility giant Unified Energy System said it was completing the development of its environmental policy
* The London office of Yukos denied reports that its Netherlands-based subsidiaries had been involved in any illegal operations
* A Soyuz spacecraft carrying the 11th crew of the International Space Station and space tourist Gregory Olsen landed in Kazakhstan
