Saudi-Iran tensions scupper deal to freeze oil output
A deal to freeze oil output by OPEC and non-OPEC producers fell apart on Sunday after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices.
China launches upgraded drills for South China Sea fleets
China's South China Sea fleets have conducted training drills with upgraded methods that resemble actual combat conditions to increase the fleets' combat effectiveness, according to an article published by the PLA Daily on Sunday.
Iran shows off Russian S-300 defense system on Army Day
Iran showed off parts of its new Russian S-300 missile defense system during National Army Day on Sunday, where President Hassan Rouhani said the country's armed forces were no threat to neighboring countries.
Damascus skirts transition talk as Aleppo clashes intensify
Syria's chief government negotiator sought on Friday to steer a new round of peace talks away from the political transition that U.N. mediators hope to promote, as increased fighting near Aleppo threatened to undermine a shaky truce.
OSCE warns of intensified fighting in Ukraine's separatist east
Fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government troops has increased sharply in eastern Ukraine in defiance of calls to observe a year-old peace agreement, the head of an international monitoring mission said on Friday.
Iran's Soleimani in Russia for talks on Syria, missiles: sources
Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani has flouted an international travel ban and flown to Moscow for talks with Russia's military and political leadership on Syria and deliveries of Russian missiles, sources said on Friday.
Syrian opposition says will join with government in transitional body, but not with Assad himself
Syria's main opposition group is willing to share membership of a transitional governing body with current members of the government of President Bashar al-Assad, but not with Assad himself, the group's spokesman said in Geneva.
Poland says NATO must speak to Russia from position of strength
NATO should return to Cold War ways of thinking in its relations with Russia, and speak to Moscow from a position of strength to counter its renewed assertiveness in eastern Europe, Polish deputy defense minister said.
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