Moscow, Russia News

In return for the security assurances by the great powers, Ukraine decided to give up what was then the world's third largest nuclear weapons stockpile and acceded to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked whether President Barack Obama regretted being "dismissive" about Mitt Romney's contention Russia was America's "number one geo-political foe" at a press conference Thursday.

Emotions among residents in this Crimean capital ranged from confusion and dread to elation over news Thursday that the self-proclaimed authorities here would move ahead with a referendum on whether to secede from Ukraine or demand more autonomy.

The scuttled decommissioned Russian vessel Ochakov lays on it's side off the Black Sea shore outside the town of Myrnyi, western Crimea, Ukraine.

The EU has joined Ukraine's government in condemning as "illegal" a move by the Crimea region to set up a referendum to join Russia.

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has likened President Putin's stance on Ukraine to tactics used by Hitler in the 1930s.

In this Tuesday Sept. 17, 2013 file photo, artistic director of the Bolshoi ballet Sergei Filin attends a meeting of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia.

DAMASCUS: Syria's President Bashar Assad has expressed his "solidarity" with Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on the crisis in Ukraine, state media reported on Thursday.

Mar. 5, 2014 - HOLLYWOOD -- International Reggae-Pop Star Orisha Sound Releases Single Remix for "World War III" DJ Ryan Otter Plus Grammy Winner Beenie Man Equals a Hit Los Angeles, CA - The international pop-reggae star Orisha Sound revives this year's hit single "World War III" feat.

Michael McFaul, who stepped down last week as U.S. ambassador to Russia and is considered one of the leading American experts on post-communist Russia, has joined NBC as a news analyst, the network announced.

A marble statue of Vladimir Lenin towers over the Supreme Soviet, the national parliament of Transnistria, in Tirapsol, capital of Transnistria, a breakaway state in Moldova.

FRIENDS OF ISRAEL reported that the head of a prominent European Jewish group requested that the Israeli government urgently send security personnel to Ukraine in order to protect the Jewish communities there, which have been targeted during the political unrest gripping the country.

Far from screwy, Vladimir Putin is way ahead in the sane game as he's out maneuvered the West in every foreign policy engagement for the last decade.

BREACHED BARRIERS: Russian forces patrol near the Ukrainian navy ship Slavutich in the harbour of Sevastopol on Tuesday.

Pro Russian soldiers guarding Ukraine's infantry base in Perevalne, Ukraine, patrol the area Tuesday, March 4, 2014.

Images and headlines on the front pages of Russian and Ukrainian papers paint a sombre picture of the crisis in Crimea.

KYIV. March 5 - A Crimean delegation led by Supreme Council Chairman Volodymyr Konstantynov will visit Moscow on March 6-8, Konstantynov told reporters.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper answers a question in the House of Commons on Feb. 25, 2014.

Members of radical group Right Sector have been widely seen as the driving force behind the protests in Kiev Photo: Darko Bandic / AP MOSCOW - Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on terrorism-related charges against the leader of a Ukrainian nationalist group widely seen as the driving force behind the ousting of former ... (more)

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, salutes during the playing of the U.S. national anthem after a wreath-laying ceremony at the Russian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on June 26, 2009.