The East-West standoff over the Ukraine crisis has brought the threat of nuclear war in Europe closer than at any time since the 1980s, a former Russian foreign minister warned on Saturday.

• March 19, 2016

The ceasefire in Syria is broadly holding but the United States should be doing more to support it, Russia's Defence Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

• March 19, 2016

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia could scale up its military presence in Syria again within hours and would still bomb terrorist groups there despite a partial draw-down of forces ordered after military successes.

• March 17, 2016

Russian warplanes flew home from Syria on Tuesday as Moscow started to withdraw forces that have tipped the war President Bashar al-Assad's way, and the U.N. envoy said he hoped the move would help peace talks in Geneva.

• March 15, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday he would start pulling his armed forces out of Syria, five months after he ordered a military intervention that turned the tide of the war in favor of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

• March 14, 2016

Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said on Monday he will meet his Australian counterpart next week to discuss China's military buildup in the disputed South China Sea and hold talks with fellow claimants the Philippines and Vietnam.

• March 14, 2016

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday called for world powers to take "immediate punitive steps" against Iran, following its ballistic missile tests last week.

• March 12, 2016

The U.S. State Department for the first time on Friday accused Syria of violating a truce with rebels and urged Russia to use its influence to stop the attacks, warning they could "tear asunder" the fragile peace process aimed at ending the war.

• March 12, 2016