OECD suspends Russian membership process

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said on Thursday that it had postponed the process for Russian membership and said it would boost links with Ukraine. The OECD, a key policy forum for advanced democracies, said that at the request of its 34 members it had "postponed activities related to the accession process" for the Russian Federation "for the time being". OECD members had also agreed that the OECD "should respond positively to Ukraine's request to further strengthen existing OECD-Ukraine co-operation," the grouping said in a short statement, according to AFP.