ANKARA, Turkey Talks expected to boost Ankara’s energy hub ambitions began Thursday as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Putin’s visit is also expected to focus on Turkish support for a Russian natural gas pipeline project that Moscow wants to build ahead of …

Moscow/Tbilisi Russia and Georgia marked the one-year anniversary of the South Ossetia War on Friday with somber ceremonies in Georgia, and defiant statements from the Kremlin. Georgian officials organised midnight bonfires in towns across the former Soviet republic, and church bells rang in memorial of victims of the August 2008 …

BUCHAREST, Romania Romania’s president on Thursday met with International Monetary Fund officials to discuss the second tranche of $17.1 billion in loans to support the country during the economic turmoil.