China's defense minister said on Friday that he is willing to hold joint drills in the disputed South China Sea with Southeast Asian countries, covering accidental encounters and search and rescue, striking a conciliatory tone over an increasingly tense spat.

• October 16, 2015

Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Uruguay and Ukraine were elected to the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, pitting Kiev against veto-power Russia in what Ukraine's foreign minister promised would not be a conciliatory two-year term.

• October 15, 2015

European Union leaders have postponed a deeper discussion of the future of the euro zone until December because of divergent views in the biggest countries and because of the more pressing migration issue, diplomats said.

• October 15, 2015

Turkey asked the European Union for 3 billion euros on Thursday, easier travel to the EU for its citizens and diplomatic favors in exchange for helping stem the flow of Syrian refugees to Europe, EU officials and diplomats said after talks in Ankara.

• October 15, 2015

Hosting NATO’s top brass, Montenegro said on Wednesday it was optimistic of being invited to join the Western military alliance in December, over the objections of Russia.

• October 14, 2015

China said on Wednesday it had no plans to send military ships to Syria to fight with Russian forces after reports in overseas media that it was planning to do so.

• October 14, 2015

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday Moscow was helping the fight against Islamist insurgents in Iraq with the consent of the Baghdad government.

• October 14, 2015

Turkey has warned the United States and Russia it will not tolerate Kurdish territorial gains by Kurdish militia close to its frontiers in north-western Syria, two senior officials said.

• October 13, 2015