France said on Thursday that a three-day nationwide ceasefire announced by the Syrian army was not good enough and it was unrealistic to expect a revival of peace talks without a long-term truce.

• July 7, 2016

Ex-Soviet Georgia could start a gradual drift back into the orbit of its former overlord Russia if it does not see tangible signs soon that it will be invited to join NATO.

• July 7, 2016

NATO envoys will hold a further formal meeting with Russia on July 13, days after the alliance's summit in Warsaw, in a sign Washington and Moscow want to defuse tensions in Europe.

• July 6, 2016

On the curbside outside the civilian airport in Kaliningrad, Russia's Baltic Sea outpost, a group of about 20 servicemen in Russian navy uniforms lined up earlier this month, waiting for a bus to take them to their base.

• July 5, 2016

Turkey said on Monday it wanted to cooperate with Moscow in combating Islamic State in Syria but denied having suggested it might allow Russia to use its Incirlik Air Base, near the Syrian frontier.

• July 4, 2016

Serbia is performing a delicate balancing act between its European aspirations, partnership with NATO and its centuries-old religious, ethnic and political alliance with Russia.

• July 3, 2016

Pakistan's top foreign policy official warned on Friday that pushing too fast against all Islamist militants in the country could lead to "blowback" in the form of more terrorist attacks.

• July 1, 2016

An official inquiry into Britain's role in the Iraq War will finally deliver its findings next Wednesday, seven years after it was set up, with attention firmly focused on how far it will criticize former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• June 30, 2016