In an interview with the newspaper Kommersant published on January 11, the deputy prosecutor general of Russia, Ivan Sydoruk, admitted that despite some successes in countering rebel activities in the North Caucasus, the government still faced serious challenges in the region.

• January 24, 2013

The U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's December rocket launch and expanded existing U.N. sanctions, and Pyongyang reacted with a vow to boost the North's military and nuclear capabilities.

• January 23, 2013

Russia warned Israel and the West on Wednesday against any military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. but suggested Tehran should be quicker to cooperate over inspections of its nuclear sites.

• January 23, 2013

Up to 150 Russians are preparing to flee the bloodshed in Syria over the next two days on board two planes sent to Beirut from Moscow, a Russian diplomat told AFP on Tuesday.

• January 22, 2013

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase security cooperation between the two countries.

• January 22, 2013

Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan would not mind hosting a Russian radar station on its territory, News-Armenia reported.

• January 18, 2013

International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi and envoys from Russia and the United States - backers of opposing sides in Syria's civil war - failed to make a breakthrough in talks on Friday seeking a political solution to the conflict.

• January 15, 2013

The United States sent its top Asian diplomacy and security officials to South Korea and Japan to calm tensions between two U.S. allies whose squabbling has frustrated efforts to deal with a troublesome North Korea and an increasingly assertive China.

• January 15, 2013