China offered on Thursday to mediate in stalled efforts to engage the Afghan Taliban in peace negotiations, reflecting its desire to play a more active role in a region it sees as part of its sphere of influence.

• February 12, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he expected that there would be a new round of talks on the Syria conflict following from a meeting of some opposition figures and the Damascus government in Moscow last month.

• February 10, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday he expected that there would be a new round of talks on the Syria conflict following from a meeting of some opposition figures and the Damascus government in Moscow last month.

• February 10, 2015

The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine were due to attend a peace summit on Wednesday, but Ukraine's pro-Moscow separatists diminished the chance of a deal by launching some of the war's worst fighting in an assault on a government garrison.

• February 10, 2015

The European Union delayed putting more Ukrainian separatists and Russians on its sanctions list on Monday to give a Franco-German peace plan for Ukraine time to work.

• February 9, 2015

U.S. President Barack Obama made clear he was some way from a decision on whether to arm Ukraine in its conflict against Russian-backed rebels, saying on Monday he still hoped for a diplomatic solution.

• February 9, 2015

NATO and Russia failed to narrow their differences over the Ukraine crisis in talks on Saturday but agreed they would keep talking to each other.

• February 7, 2015

Germany's Angela Merkel warned on Saturday that sending arms to help Ukraine fight pro-Russian separatists would not solve the crisis there, drawing a sharp rebuke from a leading U.S. senator who accused Berlin of turning its back on an ally in distress.

• February 7, 2015