Iran and world powers kicked off a new round of nuclear talks Tuesday hoping to make enough progress to move up a gear and start drafting a historic final deal next month.
Ukraine was threatened with disintegration Monday as pro-Kremlin militants seized government buildings in the eastern city of Donetsk, declared independence and vowed to vote on joining Russia.
Former US president George W. Bush said relations with Vladimir Putin grew "increasingly tense" during his White House years, as he unveiled his portraits of world leaders, including the Russian head of state.
Chairman of Russia's Gazprom Alexei Miller on Saturday said that Ukraine must pay back the full discount it has been granted on Russian gas over the past four years, worth $11.4 billion.
Russia on Friday launched a criminal investigation into breaches of hygiene at a cheese factory after footage of bare-chested workers bathing in vats of milk went viral on the Internet.
The Russian foreign ministry on Thursday issued a complaint to the German ambassador after a German minister reportedly drew parallels between Moscow's annexation of Crimea and Hitler's actions in 1938.
US Assistant Secretary Nisha Biswal declared that the United States did not expect the crisis in Ukraine to lead to resumption of the Cold War with Russia.
Moscow on Wednesday threatened retaliatory action against US diplomats after US bank JP Morgan blocked a transfer of funds carried out by a Russian envoy.
The founder of Russia's top social network VKontakte, Pavel Durov, on Wednesday said he has resigned as chief executive in a bitter conflict with a major shareholder, a dramatic announcement some initially saw as an April Fool's joke.
Ukraine reported a gradual withdrawal of Russian troops from its border that may be linked to Washington's latest push for a diplomatic solution to the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.
Russian energy giant Gazprom on Tuesday announced it was raising the price of gas exports to Ukraine by more than a third, scrapping a previous discount amid mounting strains between the two countries.