Turkey has been trying for years to join the European Union, presenting itself as a growing economic and political power and a bridge to Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

• October 3, 2013

Turkey's $4 billion order for a Chinese missile defense system is a breakthrough for China in its bid to become a supplier of advanced weapons, even though opposition from Washington and NATO threatens to derail the deal.

• October 3, 2013

EU regulators are preparing to charge Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom with abusing its dominant position in central and eastern Europe, the EU's antitrust chief said on Thursday, in a move that could lead to a fine of up to $15 billion.

• October 3, 2013

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons, even it has to stand alone against the threat.

• October 2, 2013

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called on Russia to reverse its recognition of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

• October 2, 2013

After a quarter century of Middle Eastern land wars and a sharp fall in big powers' naval spending after the Cold War, sea power is back in vogue in response to the rise of China and Western reluctance to deploy ground troops in conflicts like Syria.

• October 1, 2013

Russia expressed doubt on Tuesday that Western nations can persuade Syrian opposition representatives to take part in an international peace conference in time for it to take place in mid-November.

• October 1, 2013

Tajikistan's parliament ratified a deal with Russia on Tuesday to extend by three decades Moscow's military presence in the volatile Central Asian nation, which may face new security threats after NATO troops leave neighbouring Afghanistan.

• October 1, 2013