Russia asked the United Nations Security Council on Friday to call for Syria's sovereignty to be respected, for cross-border shellings and incursions to be halted and for "attempts or plans for foreign ground intervention" to be abandoned.

• February 19, 2016

French President Francois Hollande said he opposed British demands at a European Union summit for special treatment for its financial markets as a way to keep Britain in the bloc, saying Britain cannot veto what happens in the euro zone.

• February 19, 2016

Turkey's presidency said U.S. President Barack Obama had shared his concerns over the Syrian conflict and promised his support on Friday, hours after a tense exchange between the two NATO allies over the role of Kurdish militants.

• February 19, 2016

Iran has proposed a project with Hungary to design and develop a small nuclear reactor that could be sold across Asia and Africa and also built in the Islamic republic, Tehran's top nuclear official said on Thursday.

• February 18, 2016

President Bashar al-Assad was out of step with the views of his main ally, Russia, when he said he planned to fight on until he re-established control over all of Syria, Russia's envoy to the United Nations was quoted as saying on Thursday.

• February 18, 2016

International lenders are concerned with the quality of reforms in Greece, in exchange for which Athens is getting loans, the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told the European Parliament's economic committee on Thursday.

• February 18, 2016

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he is sure that relations between Russia and the European Union will get back to normal sooner or later.

• February 17, 2016

Egyptian authorities have ordered the closure of a prominent local non-governmental organization that documents alleged human rights abuses and treats torture victims, the NGO and security sources said on Wednesday.

• February 17, 2016