Russia on Tuesday cast its seventh veto to protect the Syrian government from United Nations Security Council action, blocking a bid by Western powers to impose sanctions over accusations of chemical weapons attacks during the six-year Syrian conflict.

• February 28, 2017

The main opposition group at Syrian peace talks in Geneva wants to meet Russian envoys to discuss what it says are Moscow's broken ceasefire promises, a move diplomats say aims to put pressure on the Russian-backed Syrian government delegation.

• February 27, 2017

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine said on Monday they would take control of Ukraine-run businesses in rebel-held areas if the Ukrainian government does not end a rail blockade that has halted coal supplies.

• February 27, 2017

Syrian activists called on Sunday for the Assad government to engage in serious talks on political transition and for the United Nations to strengthen the fragile ceasefire as violence engulfed parts of the country.

• February 26, 2017

The PLA Navy is likely to secure significant new funding in China's upcoming defense budget as Beijing seeks to check U.S. dominance of the high seas and step up its own projection of power around the globe.

• February 26, 2017

Syrian government and opposition delegates to peace talks in Geneva on Saturday warned of the impact on negotiations after a day of violence in Syria that included jihadist suicide bombings and missile strikes by the air force.

• February 25, 2017

Japan has protested to Russia over its plan to boost troop strength on disputed islands, Japan's top government spokesman said on Thursday, the latest move in a territorial row that has overshadowed ties since World War Two.

• February 23, 2017

Opposing sides in the Syrian war came face-to-face in U.N. peace talks for the first time in three years on Thursday, to hear U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura implore them to find a way out of the almost six-year-old conflict.

• February 23, 2017