NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - A consortium led by Russian oil major Rosneft(ROSN.MM) will announce on Monday completion of a $12.9 billion deal to acquire Indian private refiner Essar Oil, strengthening ties between the world's largest oil producer and the fastest growing fuel consumer.

• August 20, 2017

AMMAN, Reuters - President Donald Trump has made a decision on the United States' strategy for Afghanistan after a "sufficiently rigorous" review process, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday.

• August 20, 2017

Venezuela's alliance with Russia is "perfect," the president of state oil company PDVSA said on Friday, blasting what he said was a U.S.-led attempt to sully the growing ties between the two nations.

• August 19, 2017

The UK government is trying to send a trade Trojan Horse to Ireland. The European Union wants Northern Ireland’s knotty border issue resolved before Britain’s wider exit terms from the bloc can be agreed. New proposals from London deftly advance the government’s trade agenda, couched in concern for the region’s peace process. It may not work, but it’s smart, because having Dublin onside raises the chances of Britain getting what it wants.

• August 19, 2017

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia

China's growing involvement in the South Caucasus may provide Armenia a much needed flexibility in its foreign policy.
On August 9, 2017 work started on the construction of China's new Embassy building in Yerevan. Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Yerevan's Mayor Taron Markarian, and visiting Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai participated in the ground-breaking ceremony of the 40,000-square-meter embassy compound that should be completed by the end of 2019. READ MORE

• August 18, 2017

Germany on Wednesday vowed to do all it could to defuse tensions between the United States and North Korea, lauding China's role in pressuring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to delay plans to fire missiles towards the U.S. territory of Guam.

• August 16, 2017

China has assured the Philippines it will not occupy new features or territory in the South China Sea, under a new "status quo" brokered by Manila as both sides try to strengthen their relations, the Philippine defense minister said.

• August 15, 2017

China has appointed a new special envoy for the North Korean standoff, the foreign ministry said on Monday, a relatively low-profile diplomat now in charge of Asian affairs, amid renewed international concern over China's nuclear-armed neighbor.

• August 14, 2017