Russia is delaying delivery of its S-300 air-defense system to Iran and is also calling for Tehran to adhere to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines for enrichment of nuclear fuel.  The moves follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's two-day visit to Moscow. The Interfax News Agency quotes the deputy director of Russia's Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, Alexander Fomin, as saying delivery of the S-300 air defense system to Iran has been delayed by technical problems.

A senior U.S. official says American and Russian negotiators meeting in Geneva are closing in on a deal for a key nuclear disarmament treaty, and the United States Senate would likely ratify it.   U.S.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says Moscow has agreed to sell Libya weapons in a $1.8 billion deal. Mr.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says a new arms control treaty with the United States is 95 percent complete, but that U.S. missile defense plans are still an issue. Mr. Medvedev said Sunday he is optimistic a new deal will be reached soon. But he called it "sly" to talk about cutting nuclear arms without talking about missile defense. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called U.S. plans for a missile defense system for Europe the main obstacle to a new arms treaty. U.S. officials say the arms control talks would only cover strategic offensive weapons.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says opposition parties and increased political competition can help modernize Russia.  He issued the call for reform in a live, nationally-televised meeting of the State Council, in which representatives of small Russian parties condemned media censorship and the ruling United Russia Party.  Russian President Dmitri Medvedev told a Kremlin meeting of various political party leaders and governors that Russia's political system must become more flexible to reflect society's growing diversity.  He says that requires cooperation rather than commands. The Kr

A suicide bombing in Russia's southern Dagestan republic Wednesday killed six policemen and wounded at least 16 other people. Authorities say a suicide bomber attempted to drive a car packed with explosives into a police station near Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala. Russian media report the blast left a two-meter wide crater, and that bomb fragments broke windows as far as 300 meters from the site. Dagestan borders Chechnya, where the long-running fight between Russian troops and Islamic separatists has spilled over into neighboring republics in the North Caucasus. Russian Presiden

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev says his country will develop a new generation of nuclear weaponry, even as it works toward a new strategic arms treaty with the United States. Mr. Medvedev spoke Wednesday in Moscow, in a wide-ranging interview with the editors of three state-controlled television channels. He said new missile technology will be developed in full accordance with any new arms agreements reached with Washington. The current Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expired earlier this month, and senior U.S.

U.S. President Barack Obama says the United States and Russia are 'quite close' to agreeing on a new arms control treaty. Mr. Obama discussed the issue with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in a private meeting Friday while both were attending the Copenhagen climate conference. Mr. Medvedev said some work is still needed on the technical details. Delegates from both countries have also been holding negotiations on the treaty in Geneva, Switzerland. U.S.

Russia's top diplomat is accusing the United States of holding up progress on a new nuclear arms treaty, saying he does not expect the presidents of Russia and the United States to sign a new accord when they meet Friday in Copenhagen. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on Thursday for Washington to accept deeper reductions to its nuclear arsenal and less intrusive verification measures than those in the current treaty. The two governments have been negotiating to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as START.  Earlier this year, President Obama and his coun