Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted on Tuesday as saying that the Syrian government was consulting with the opposition ahead of possible peace talks, but a Saudi-backed opposition group said it knew nothing of the negotiations.

• December 27, 2016

Russia's Gazprom said on Tuesday it had filed proposals with the European Commission aimed at resolving a five-year EU case over the Russian gas giant's alleged monopoly practices.

• December 27, 2016

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named Peter Navarro, an economist who has urged a hard line on China, to head a newly formed White House National Trade Council, the transition team said in a statement.

• December 21, 2016

The U.S. government spent more than a decade preparing responses to malicious hacking by a foreign power but had no clear strategy when Russia launched a disinformation campaign over the internet during the U.S. election campaign, current and former White House cyber security advisers said.

• December 21, 2016

The Kremlin said on Wednesday almost all communications channels between Russia and the United States have been frozen but the U.S. State Department disputed the statement.

• December 21, 2016

Russia, Iran and Turkey said they were ready to help broker a Syrian peace deal after the three countries held talks in Moscow on Tuesday and adopted a declaration which set out the principles any agreement should adhere to.

• December 20, 2016

The United States on Tuesday blacklisted seven Russian businessmen and eight companies and government enterprises over Russia's annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement, moves Moscow called "hostile acts."

• December 20, 2016

The Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot in the back and killed as he gave a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Monday by an off-duty police officer who shouted "Don't forget Aleppo" and "Allahu Akbar" as he opened fire.

• December 19, 2016