Russia said on Monday President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize passports issued by separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine complied with international law, after the move drew criticism from France, Germany and the European Union.

• February 19, 2017

Russia's combative ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died suddenly in New York on Monday after being taken ill at work, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

• February 19, 2017

Russia does not interfere in other countries' interior affairs, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday at the start of his first meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

• February 17, 2017

About 2,000 Belarussians staged one of the country's largest protests in recent years on Friday to voice their opposition to a law that imposes a tax on those not in full-time employment.

• February 17, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump's defense secretary on Thursday said he did not see possible military collaboration with Russia now, in a blow to Moscow's hopes to mend ties with Washington after Trump's election.

• February 17, 2017

China and India accounted for more than half of the total number of global deaths attributable to air pollution in 2015, researchers said in a study published on Tuesday.

• February 14, 2017

U.S. lawmakers, including some leading Republicans, called on Tuesday for a deeper inquiry into White House ties to Russia, after national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned in President Donald Trump's biggest staff upheaval so far.

• February 14, 2017

The European Union's decision-making process should be changed to ensure states openly take a stand on controversial issues, the EU Commission proposed on Tuesday, in a move aimed at tackling growing euroscepticism.

• February 14, 2017