French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has urged his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif to exert efforts to end Lebanon's presidential crisis, informed sources said.

The Iranian sources told pan-Arab daily al-Hayat published on Thursday that Fabius told Zarif about the importance of contacting Lebanese parties that are allied with Iran to urge them to find a solution to the deadlock.

Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on Wednesday that sought to set up a special tribunal to try those responsible for shooting down flight MH17 over Ukraine.

Eleven of the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, which had been drafted by Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

Russian investigators said Wednesday they were probing a leading opposition coalition for fraud after it was barred from registering for regional elections.

The RPR-Parnas coalition, which includes the former party of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov and that of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was this week disqualified from September polls in the Siberian region of Novosibirsk. 

Ukraine's security service on Wednesday announced the capture of a Russian army major who was allegedly delivering explosives to pro-Kremlin rebels in the separatist east.

Moscow denies any involvement in Ukraine's 15-month conflict and describes Russians caught in the war zone as "volunteers" who joined the fighting without any direct orders from the army.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday unveiled a monument to a Catholic Church leader derided by Moscow for initially welcoming Nazi soldiers during World War II.

Andriy Sheptytsky lead the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church for more than four decades and was always lionized by the nationalist west of the often fought-over east European state.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Wednesday made an "urgent" appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin not to veto a U.N. Security Council resolution to try those who shot down flight MH17 over Ukraine.

Rutte's office said he telephoned Putin, ahead of the vote in New York later Wednesday, to seek his backing for setting up an international tribunal to try the as-yet unidentified suspects behind the downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet that killed 298 people in July of last year.

Mongolia on Wednesday marked 25 years since its first democratic election, a key milestone in the transformation of the once Communist nation squeezed between giant neighbors Russia and China.

President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who as a student led protests that helped spark the changeover from seven decades of Soviet domination, told a commemoration that his country was now "an active democracy unique to the region".

A Russian wanted in Britain over the death of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko will not appear before an inquiry into his poisoning, the probe heard Tuesday, dealing it a setback days before its conclusion.

After several days of uncertainty, Dmitry Kovtun failed to give evidence via video link from Moscow to the inquiry at London's High Court by a 1000 GMT deadline set by its chairman.

Ukraine's truce monitors reported Tuesday coming under "targeted" fire in the past few days in incidents that have forced them to review future operations in the war-torn state.

The Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) remains at the heart of global efforts to end the 15-month conflict between Western-backed Kiev and pro-Russian insurgents that has already claimed more than 6,500 lives.

A Russian businessman wanted in Britain over the death of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko was on Monday given a final chance to give evidence to the inquiry into his death.

Dmitry Kovtun had been due to appear via video link from Moscow for three days from Monday, after reversing a previous decision not to do so in March, but has given a series of reasons for being unable to testify.