Ukraine indicated on Wednesday it would bar French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen from entering the country after comments she made that appeared to legitimize Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

• January 4, 2017

A top aide to President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview aired on Sunday that the White House may have disproportionately punished Russia by ordering the expulsion of 35 suspected Russian spies.

• January 2, 2017

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico urged other European leaders on Monday to stop calling referendums on domestic issues, saying they posed a threat to the EU and to the euro.

• January 2, 2017

Republican Senator John McCain said on Sunday the United States could only improve its relations with Russia by taking a tough stance with President Putin, calling for stronger sanctions against Moscow.

• January 2, 2017

Japan has approached China and South Korea about holding a trilateral summit in Tokyo in February aimed at deepening cooperation on such issues as a free trade deal, the environment and counter-terrorism, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.

• December 31, 2016

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin for refraining from retaliation in a dispute over spying and cyber attacks, in another sign that the Republican plans to patch up badly frayed relations with Moscow.

• December 31, 2016

Russia urged the U.N. Security Council on Friday to give its blessing to a fragile ceasefire in Syria, the third truce this year seeking to end the nearly six years of war in Syria.

• December 31, 2016

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the Syrian government was consulting with the opposition ahead of possible peace talks, but a Saudi-backed opposition group said it knew nothing of the negotiations.

• December 27, 2016