Russia expressed doubt on Tuesday that Western nations can persuade Syrian opposition representatives to take part in an international peace conference in time for it to take place in mid-November.

• October 1, 2013

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel is in South Korea for talks, where the eventual transfer of military control to Seoul is expected to be a key issue.

• September 30, 2013

Iran's deputy foreign minister says Tehran is willing to discuss limits to its uranium enrichment but will not suspend the process completely.

• September 30, 2013

Ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock, the United States and Russia agreed on Thursday on a U.N. Security Council draft resolution that would demand Syria give up its chemical arms, but does not threaten military force if it fails to comply.

• September 27, 2013

Russia threatened on Thursday to ban visa-free travel for Japanese officials to four disputed Pacific islands if they make statements demanding the territories be returned to Japan.

• September 26, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Greenpeace activists broke the law during an Arctic oil protest, but that they are not pirates.

• September 25, 2013

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad criticised the United States for threatening to attack Syria over its chemical weapons program, saying it was finding "excuses for war", China's state television said on Monday.

• September 23, 2013

Russia denounced U.N. investigators' findings on a poison gas attack in Syria as preconceived and tainted by politics on Wednesday, stepping up its criticism of a report Western nations said proved President Bashar al-Assad's forces were responsible.

• September 18, 2013