Sitting at a long table in Russia's Foreign Ministry, Syrian opposition leaders outlined a plan to protect Moscow's interests if the Kremlin agreed to the removal of its longstanding ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

• June 6, 2013

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday it was unacceptable for Russian forces to put up a fence on the border of Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia, believing it could further inflame tensions in the region.

• June 6, 2013

President Vladimir Putin dismissed criticism of Russian arms sales to Damascus on Tuesday but said Moscow had not yet delivered the S-300 missiles that Western governments say could prolong Syria's civil war.

• June 4, 2013

A British request to blacklist the armed wing of Hezbollah ran into opposition in the European Union on Tuesday, with several governments expressing concern that such a move would increase instability in the Middle East.

• June 4, 2013

Any expansion of NATO to include Sweden and Finland would upset the balance of power and force Russia to respond, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday, underlining Moscow's nerves over moves to bring the Western alliance closer to its border.

• June 4, 2013

Russia said on Monday it blocked a U.N. Security Council declaration on the siege of the Syrian town of al-Qusair over the weekend because it amounted to a demand for a unilateral ceasefire by government forces.

• June 3, 2013

The United States and Germany told Russia on Friday that arming President Bashar al-Assad's forces could jeopardize international efforts for a peace conference on Syria.

• June 1, 2013

Russia plans to resume nuclear submarine patrols in the southern seas after a hiatus of more than 20 years following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Itar-Tass news agency reported on Saturday, in another example of efforts to revive Moscow's military.

• June 1, 2013