In recent weeks Russia has stepped up supplies of military gear to Syria, including armored vehicles, drones and guided bombs, boosting President Bashar al-Assad just as rebel infighting has weakened the insurgency against him, sources with knowledge of the deliveries say.

• January 17, 2014

A U.S. journalist and author critical of President Vladimir Putin says he has been barred from Russia, a move that has echoes of the Cold War and could strain relations with the United States.

• January 14, 2014

Less than a month before the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russian investigators appealed to civilians on Tuesday to be more vigilant and help avert the threat of "terrorist" attacks.

• January 14, 2014

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Moscow on Tuesday, the Kremlin said on Monday, and a diplomatic source said they were likely to sign a nuclear cooperation deal.

• January 13, 2014

Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month that would enable Iran to lift oil exports substantially, undermining Western sanctions that helped persuade Tehran in November to agree to a preliminary deal to curb its nuclear program.

• January 12, 2014

Iran and Russia are negotiating an oil-for-goods swap worth $1.5 billion a month that would let Iran lift oil exports substantially, in defiance of Western sanctions that helped force Tehran to agree a preliminary deal to end its nuclear program.

• January 10, 2014

A Snapshot of Key Developments in the External Relations of the Russian Gas Sector
By Jack Sharples, EGF Associate Researcher on the external dimensions of Russian gas and Lecturer in Energy Politics at the European University of St Petersburg

Key points:

• Gazprom prepares to settle in EU Antitrust investigation
• Gazprom finalises asset-swap with BASF Wintershall, with deal approved by EU competition watchdog
• Russia offers Ukraine 33 percent discount on gas price as part of package designed to keep Ukraine in Russia’s political orbit
• Nord Stream: EU and Gazprom to agree terms for use of OPAL pipeline in early 2014
• South Stream faces legal hurdles as European Commission claims aspects of South Stream’s intergovernmental agreements are in breach of EU law
• Gazprom fails to conclude deal with CNPC before year end
• Gazprom opens representative office in Brussels

• January 8, 2014

President Vladimir Putin has eased curbs on demonstrations in the Winter Olympics venue of Sochi in a gesture likely to burnish Russia's image ahead of an event dogged by security and human rights worries.

• January 4, 2014