Swedish fighters intercepted four Russian planes flying in international air space over the Baltic sea with their transponders turned off, the country's military said on Tuesday.

• March 24, 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House next month for talks expected to focus on their joint response to China's rising power and efforts to finalize a major Asia-Pacific trade pact.

• March 23, 2015

The European Union is set to launch a first operation in a new propaganda war with Russia within days of EU leaders giving formal approval to the campaign at a summit on Thursday.

• March 19, 2015

In eight International Monetary Fund programs since independence in 1991, Ukraine has completed just one successfully. A year on from Russia's seizure of Crimea, it looks unlikely it will live up to the terms of its latest deal with the IMF also.

• March 19, 2015

European Union leaders look likely to keep economic sanctions on Russia in place until a Ukraine ceasefire deal is fully working, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday it would be wrong to ease pressure on Moscow prematurely.

• March 19, 2015

China has surpassed Germany to become the world's third largest arms exporter, a Stockholm-based think tank said in a report on Monday.

• March 16, 2015

More than 45,000 Russian troops as well as war planes and submarines started military exercises across much of the country on Monday in one of the Kremlin's biggest shows of force since its ties with the West plunged to Cold War-lows.

• March 16, 2015

Germany and other countries want European Union leaders to endorse a declaration saying that EU sanctions on Russia will not be eased unless Moscow complies with a Ukraine ceasefire deal, two officials said on Saturday.

• March 14, 2015