The presidents of Russia and Iran agreed on Monday to step up bilateral contacts, including over the Syrian conflict, in which both countries are allies of President Bashar al-Assad.

• March 28, 2016

A Korean-American man detained in North Korea has confessed to stealing military secrets and plotting subversion with South Koreans, the North's official news agency and foreign media reported on Friday.

• March 25, 2016

Ukraine has extended a sanctions list against Russia to include people and institutions involved in the detention of pilot Nadezhda Savchenko and other Ukrainian citizens, its Security and Defence Council said on Friday

• March 25, 2016

Syrian troops backed by Russian air support fought their way into the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Thursday, their biggest offensive yet against the jihadist caliphate, as Moscow and Washington discussed how to help to end the civil war.

• March 24, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to press President Vladimir Putin on how Russia sees a future political transition in Syria and the fate of President Bashar al-Assad.

• March 23, 2016

Talks aimed at ending Yemen's war are expected in Kuwait next month along with a temporary ceasefire, a senior Yemeni government official said, raising the prospect of an end to violence that has killed thousands.

• March 22, 2016

Kyrgyzstan initiated a special meeting of a Russia-led regional security body on Tuesday to address tensions with its bigger neighbor Uzbekistan after a group of Uzbek armored vehicles and troops were deployed near their disputed border.

• March 22, 2016

The fate of President Bashar al-Assad will play no part in talks to end the Syrian war, the head of the government's delegation said, leading the U.N. peace envoy to warn that lack of progress on the issue could threaten a fragile cessation of hostilities.

• March 21, 2016