India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes its military to match China's. NEW DELHI — India has decided to buy 126 fighter jets from France, taken delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine from Russia and prepared for its first aircraft carrier in recent weeks as it modernizes its military to match China's...

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, sending a clear message that Russia intends to stand by its strongest ally in the Middle East amid an international outcry over the country's response to a civil revolt. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus on Tuesday, sending a clear message that Russia intends to stand by its strongest ally in the Middle East amid...

Since the publication in 1918 of the first volume of Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," prophecies about the inexorable doom of what he called the "Faustian Civilization" have been a recurrent topic for intellectuals. Since the publication in 1918 of the first volume of Oswald Spengler's "The Decline of the West," prophecies about the inexorable doom of what he called the "Faustian Civilization"...

Kyrgyzstan received military trucks and communications equipment from Russia on Wednesday, the first part of an aid package to reinforce its fragile borders ahead of the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from nearby Afghanistan. BISHKEK — Kyrgyzstan received military trucks and communications equipment from Russia on Wednesday, the first part of an aid package to reinforce its fragile borders ahead of the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from...

A military attack on Iran would trigger a "chain reaction" that could destabilize the world, and new sanctions over the country's disputed nuclear program would "stifle" its economy, hurting its people. A military attack on Iran would trigger a "chain reaction" that could destabilize the world, and new sanctions over the country's disputed nuclear program would "stifle" its economy, hurting its people, Foreign...

People have been asking me all week why the Kremlin is so stubbornly supportive of Syrian President Bashar Assad. "Is Russia's support based solely on weapons contracts with Syria," they wonder, "or the Kremlin's desire to maintain its naval base at the Tartus port?" People have been asking me all week why the Kremlin is so stubbornly supportive of Syrian President Bashar Assad. "Is Russia's support based solely on weapons...

Russia is considering withdrawing its military helicopters servicing the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan after voicing alarm at attacks on Russian personnel there. UNITED NATIONS — Russia is considering withdrawing its military helicopters servicing the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan after voicing alarm at attacks on Russian personnel there, a senior official said. 
The statement by Susana Malcorra, of the UN Department of Field Support, came during a...

A federal anti-extremism police division asked popular blogger and photographer Ilya Varlamov for information regarding photographers suspected of infiltrating military facilities. A federal anti-extremism police division asked popular blogger and photographer Ilya Varlamov for information regarding photographers suspected of infiltrating military facilities, Varlamov wrote on his LiveJournal page Tuesday. Varlamov spoke with police after receiving a phone call requesting that he come to talk with...

One soldier has died and 42 more were hospitalized with pneumonia in the Krasnoyarsk region, prompting speculation that the temperature inside the soldiers' barracks was kept too low. One soldier has died and 42 more were hospitalized with pneumonia in the Krasnoyarsk region, prompting speculation that the temperature inside the soldiers' barracks was kept too low. Ivan Permitin, an 18-year-old private stationed in the Krasnoyarsk region town of Uzhur, died of septic shock...

Russia will stonewall any UN sanctions on Syria and will push for a quick start to talks between the Syrian government and the country's opposition. Russia will stonewall any UN sanctions on Syria and will push for a quick start to talks between the Syrian government and the country's opposition, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday. Lavrov said Moscow would block any attempts to get the UN approval for sanctions against Syria that have been imposed by other...

The most popular protest song in Moscow today comes from burly men in blue berets, unlikely heroes of a peaceful middle-class movement challenging the strongman rule of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. MOSCOW — The most popular protest song in Moscow today comes from burly men in blue berets, unlikely heroes of a peaceful middle-class movement challenging the strongman rule of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The simple but catchy song was performed at a protest...

Syrian forces bombarded Homs on Saturday in a campaign to crush a revolt against President Bashar Assad, whose ally Russia said it would not support an Arab peace plan circulating at the United Nations. Syrian forces bombarded Homs on Saturday in a campaign to crush a revolt against President Bashar Assad, whose ally Russia said it would not support an Arab peace plan circulating at the United Nations. Activists said seven people were killed in the latest attacks...

BRUSSELS — Russia would regard any military intervention linked to Iran's nuclear program as a threat to its own security, Moscow's departing ambassador to NATO warned on Friday. "Iran is our neighbor," Dmitry Rogozin told reporters in Brussels. "And if Iran is involved in any military action, it's a direct threat to our security." Rogozin was speaking two days after the killing of a nuclear scientist in Tehran by a hitman on a motorcycle. Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev...

Russia's defiance of international efforts to end Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests is rooted in a calculation that it can keep a Mideast presence by propping up its last remaining ally in the region — and has nothing to lose if it fails. Russia's defiance of international efforts to end Syrian President Bashar Assad's crackdown on protests is rooted in a calculation that it can keep a Mideast presence by propping up its last remaining...

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has warned Moscow against wasting money on an artificial enemy if it stations missiles in Kaliningrad in response to the Western alliance's missile defense plans. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has warned Moscow against wasting money on an artificial enemy if it stations missiles in Kaliningrad in response to the Western alliance's missile defense plans. But Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin insisted that the U.S...

A military court on Friday convicted a Russian officer of providing the CIA with secret information on Russia's new intercontinental ballistic missiles and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. A military court on Friday convicted a Russian officer of providing the CIA with secret information on Russia's new intercontinental ballistic missiles and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. Lt. Col. Vladimir Nesterets pleaded guilty to passing on classified...

Military contractors misspent more than 25 billion rubles ($822 million) in 2011, or almost 3 percent of the total value of all defense orders for the year, the Federal Service on Defense Contracts said Friday. Military contractors misspent more than 25 billion rubles ($822 million) in 2011, or almost 3 percent of the total value of all defense orders for the year, the Federal Service on Defense Contracts said Friday. More than 870 billion rubles ($28.6 billion) were spent on defense contracts...

Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's leading self-proclaimed patriot and its former envoy to NATO, was appointed last month as deputy prime minister in charge of overseeing the defense industry. Although his appointment came as a surprise to most observers, there had been several signs that this was coming. Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's leading self-proclaimed patriot and its former envoy to NATO, was appointed last month as deputy prime minister in charge of overseeing the defense...

A senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday that the push to adopt a Western-Arab draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria would lead the country down a “path to civil war.” A senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday that the push to adopt a Western-Arab draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria would lead the country down a “path to civil war.” Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov underscored Moscow’s opposition to the draft, which endorses an Arab League plan calling for...

A Canadian naval intelligence officer has been charged with handing over secrets to another country — reported by Canadian television to be Russia. OTTAWA — A Canadian naval intelligence officer has been charged with handing over secrets to another country — reported by Canadian television to be Russia. Jeffrey Paul Delisle faces charges for giving "a foreign entity" secret information between July 6, 2007, and Jan. 13, 2012. He was arrested in Halifax...