The chief of the Russian army's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Thursday for "very productive" talks on military cooperation and Syria, Turkish officials said, reflecting a recent warming of ties.

• September 15, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday sought to diffuse criticism of a U.S.-Russian ceasefire agreement on Syria arguing that without it violence would increase significantly with many more Syrians slaughtered or forced to flee the war-torn country.

• September 14, 2016

Germany's foreign minister said a recent attempt at a ceasefire between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists offers a "sliver of hope" and that he sees scope for further moves towards a lasting peace next week.

• September 14, 2016

A nationwide ceasefire brokered by the United States and Russia came into effect in Syria on Monday evening, the second attempt this year by Washington and Moscow to halt the five-year-old civil war.

• September 12, 2016

Libyan forces loyal to eastern commander Khalifa Haftar said on Monday they had tightened their control over four major oil ports, casting a Western-backed project to unite Libya and revive oil exports into deep uncertainty.

• September 12, 2016

Iran, a close ally and military backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, welcomed a U.S.-Russian deal for a truce in Syria, saying on Sunday the conflict should be ended through politics.

• September 11, 2016

China and Russia will hold eight days of naval drills in the South China Sea off southern China's Guangdong province starting from Monday, China's navy said.

• September 11, 2016

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed concern after North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test on Friday.

• September 9, 2016