While the Russian government has avoided official comment on the U.S. election, the prospect of divided government in Washington, D.C., could have benefits for the Kremlin.

The fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis and Armenians who call Russia home.

The U.S.-brokered truce — the third attempt by outside powers to end hostilities that erupted a month ago — went into effect early Monday. But the two sides quickly accused each other of violating it.

The U.S. Secretary of State is holding separate talks with the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington on Friday, in an effort to halt the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"I'm not clinging to power," Sooronbay Jeenbekov said. The new prime minister, sprung from jail, says he'll become president. Russia, Kyrgyzstan's main ally, is freezing aid until the situation calms.

A poll published in September found only 23% of Russians have a positive view of Trump and 43% have a negative one. Also, 55% of respondents said they were hearing about Biden for the very first time.

As Russians watch the U.S. election, the Kremlin is not hiding its preference for President Trump to win another term. It believes U.S.-Russian relations could get even worse if Joe Biden wins.

The Kremlin has close relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan. Turkey supports Azerbaijan. "The Turkish factor in this war is obvious and looks extremely threatening," says a Russian political analyst.

A long-simmering conflict involving two former Soviet republics — Armenia and Azerbaijan — has flared again. The renewed conflict threatens to draw in Russia and NATO member Turkey.

Dozens of service members on both sides reportedly have been killed in violence that began Sunday in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The conflict has the potential to draw in NATO ally Turkey.

The president of Belarus has been inaugurated for a sixth term in a secret ceremony, despite continuing mass protests by opposition supporters who say the recent election was rigged.

Navalny spent 32 days in Berlin's Charité Hospital, 24 of them in intensive care. Independent lab tests in three countries confirmed he had been poisoned by a Soviet-era nerve agent.

Speaking to NPR from Lithuania, the challenger to longtime President Alexander Lukashenko says "women understood that they are leaders" in the struggle.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the prominent Russian opposition leader was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent previously used by Russian agents, and says Moscow has some explaining to do.

The Belarusian president appears to regain the upper hand after mass demonstrations against his reelection in a vote that's been criticized by the U.S. and the European Union.

Earlier this year, Alexander Lukashenko had tried to offset Kremlin pressure by pursuing rapprochement with Western nations. Now he is directing attacks toward the West and has turned to Russia again.

Doctors in Russia said they would not allow a German plane to evacuate the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to Germany for treatment, after an apparent attempt to poison him in Siberia.

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's fiercest critics was admitted to hospital in critical condition — Alexei Navalny's staff believes he was poisoned shortly before taking a domestic flight.

The most prominent member of the Russian opposition has been hospitalized. Alexei Navalny is a vocal critic of President Putin. A spokeswoman for Navalny says he was poisoned.

As European Union leaders meet to discuss Belarus, Russia's president says there should be no "outside influence" on events there. Moscow's attitude will be a major factor on what happens next.