U.S. and North Korean diplomats began talks Monday on Pyongyang's nuclear program, the second direct encounter between the two sides in less than three months.

• October 24, 2011

By the latest estimates, Turkmenistan’s potential gas reserves are even larger than previously thought, encouraging the European Union to tap into this potential, and motivating Ashgabat to cooperate with Brussels and Baku on a trans-Caspian pipeline bound for Europe despite Moscow’s opposition.

• October 21, 2011

One day after delivering a bizarre and inflammatory speech at the United Nations in New York, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his government is in discussions with Russia about constructing another nuclear power plant in Iran.

• October 21, 2011

Two U.S. senators urged the Obama administration on Wednesday not to sacrifice Georgia's security and sovereignty concerns in Washington's effort to help Moscow join the World Trade Organization.

• October 20, 2011

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said he expects the 2009 gas contract between Russia and Ukraine to be revised "within a few days" after meeting with counterpart Vladimir Putin.

• October 20, 2011

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Ukraine and other ex-Soviet republics making up the Commonwealth of Independent State have agreed to set up a free trade zone.

• October 19, 2011

President Barack Obama accused China on Thursday of "gaming" international trade by keeping its currency weak, but was cautious about a bill before the Senate aimed at pressing Beijing to revalue the yuan.

• October 8, 2011

For the obsessive-compulsive bureaucrat, there is no more invigorating exercise than preparing for a state visit by a foreign leader to the White House.

• October 5, 2011