Russia and the European Union believe the Palestinians and Israelis should open direct peace negotiations without any preconditions, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, December 22, according to RIA Novosti.

• December 22, 2012

A Russian official has said for the first time that the Syrian government may be defeated by opposition forces

• December 13, 2012

A broad defence cooperation agreement was among five pacts signed following delegation-level talks between the visiting Ukrainian President, Viktor Yanukovych, and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday.

• December 13, 2012

Russia lashed out at the United States on Wednesday for recognizing an opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people, saying it ran against agreements to seek political transition in the Middle Eastern nation.

• December 12, 2012

Moscow says it will not seek the ouster of Assad, as international negotiators again fail to reach a breakthrough on the crisis in Syria.

• December 10, 2012

The unscheduled meeting, taking place on the side of a wider international security conference in Dublin, Ireland, marks an intensification of diplomacy just three days after CBS News reported Syria's isolated regime was preparing its chemical weapons for possible use in bombs.

• December 6, 2012

Russian company Rosatom has started investing in the Turkish Akkuyu nuclear power plant project, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying today by the newspaper Sabah.

• December 5, 2012

Access to the website of RFE/RL's Tajik service, Radio Ozodi, has been blocked in Tajikistan since last night, only days after authorities blocked Facebook inside the country.

• December 1, 2012