French President Francois Hollande and his Russian host Vladimir Putin said Thursday they shared the same objectives on Syria, but there were few signs their talks led to any breakthrough on concrete steps to resolve the conflict.

Hollande said both Russia and France had the same goal to bring peace while avoiding the collapse of Syria but differed in particular on the role of President Bashar Assad in a power transfer.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck Thursday off the coast of far eastern Russia, the U.S. Geological Survey said, with Russian officials saying the tremor caused no damage or casualties.

The USGS said the quake hit off the Kuril islands in the Pacific at 1405 GMT at a depth of 53 kilometers (33 miles).

Russia's main investigative body claimed Wednesday that Alexei Navalny, the charismatic leader of protests against President Vladimir Putin, illegally obtained his license to practice law.

Investigators said in a statement that the opposition leader and one of Russia's most popular bloggers gave "inaccurate" information to the bar.

Iran and world powers agreed on Wednesday to hold new talks in March and April over the Islamic republic’s disputed nuclear drive, with Tehran hailing a "more realistic" approach by their counterparts at two days of talks in Kazakhstan.

There was no sign of a breakthrough in the decade-long deadlock over Iran's nuclear ambitions in the Kazakh city of Almaty but the agreement on new meetings suggested there was still potential for progress.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday slammed "extremists" within the Syrian opposition who he said were blocking the start of dialogue in the war-torn country by making unrealistic demands.

Speaking hours before meeting new U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for the first time in Berlin, Lavrov said that recent faint hopes that dialogue was possible between the opposition and the regime of Bashar Assad had dissipated.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi urged Lebanese politicians on Tuesday to resign if the 1960's electoral law was adopted in the upcoming elections, pointing out that the talks he will hold with Russian officials during his trip to Moscow will discuss peace in the Middle East.

“We salute Russia's calls for drawing an end to wars in Lebanon, Syria and the region,” al-Rahi said upon his arrival to Moscow.

The Syrian regime is ready to talk with all parties, including armed rebels, who want dialogue to end the conflict, Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said on Monday at talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

"We are ready for dialogue with all who want dialogue, including those who are carrying arms," Muallem said at the Moscow talks with Lavrov, in an apparent reference to the rebels battling the regime of President Bashar Assad.

President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning smoking in public places in Russia from June, a cornerstone of the government's bid to improve public health, the Kremlin said Monday.

The law, called "On protecting the health of citizens from the danger of passive smoking and the consequences of the use of tabacco," makes smoking illegal in restaurants, cafes, hotels, trains and a host of other places.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday criticized the procrastination of the government in referring the new wage scale for the public sector to the parliament and urged politicians for some soul-searching over the proliferation of illegitimate arms and the controversial electoral law.

“Are your consciences clear to the strike of teachers and the closure of schools?” al-Rahi asked politicians in his sermon.

Cuban President Raul Castro expressed satisfaction with his talks this week with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the daily Granma newspaper reported on Saturday.

"It has been a good visit," said Castro after Medvedev wrapped up his three-day visit to Cuba, where he met with the Cuban leaders and his brother, revolutionary icon Fidel.