Belarus' hardy autocratic ruler, Aleksander Lukashenko, is set to suffer a small blow to his image ahead of upcoming elections when the EU renews its travel ban on the President and 35 of his officials next month.

• September 28, 2010

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday defended Moscow's refusal to supply Iran with S-300 air defence missiles, saying such a sale would violate UN Security Council sanctions.

• September 28, 2010

India's defense minister says U.S. export controls that restrict the sale of defense technologies to blacklisted Indian entities are a "matter of concern" and should be lifted soon.

• September 28, 2010

One of the biggest producers of wood granules in Estonia – Graanul Invest – is planning to invest hundreds of millions of kroons in Estonia and in the other Baltic states in coming years in order to establish a total of five combined heat and power plants, LETA/Eesti Paevaleht writes.

• September 28, 2010

Russia has massive stores of natural gas and its economy needs a cash infusion from sales to get it through the economic downturn that has crimped oil sales.

• September 28, 2010

China and Russia celebrated the expansion of their economic and political ties with more energy deals on Monday, one day after Russian President Medvedev said the two nations had forged an "indestructible" friendship that was "sealed by blood" in their wartime alliance.

• September 28, 2010

Syria is in talks with Russia about buying planes, said Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah Dardari

• September 26, 2010

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in northeast China for an official visit Sunday saying that Moscow's ties with Beijing were "sealed by blood" spilled fighting a common enemy.

• September 26, 2010