U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday discussed with visiting Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev the need for a negotiated settlement of the protracted conflict in Syria.

China has offered to send more than 500 soldiers to the UN force seeking to contain Islamist militants in Mali in what would be its biggest contribution to the UN peacekeeping, diplomats said on Wednesday.

Leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have agreed on a harmonized plan to implement the recent Brussels-led agreement, the EU foreign police chief announced. The EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, said the prime ministers