Helsinki - Top military leaders from the United States and Russia met Tuesday near Helsinki for their first time since this summer's war between Russia and Georgia.

The agenda was reported to have included talks on the situation in Georgia, an ally of the United States that in August fought a short war with Russia.

The meeting was attended by the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, and General Nikolai Makarov, head of Russia's general staff.

Details of the discussions were not released, but it was reported to be the first direct meeting between these two defence chiefs.

Moscow/Minsk - Moscow will give Belarus a two billion dollar credit to purchase Russian natural gas Minsk cannot otherwise afford, the Belapan news agency reported Tuesday.

Russian Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin announced the loan at a Moscow press conference. At least half of the money would be transferred to the Belarusian government by the end of 2008, he said.

MMoscow  - Five Russian soldiers were killed and six injured in an ambush in the Cacausus republic of Dagestan on Tuesday, Russian news agencies reported.

A three-vehicle column of Interior Ministry troops was attacked about 40 kilometres from the republic's capital of Makhachkala, agencies quoted an unnamed law-enforcement official as saying.

The attacks come after one of the most serious assaults on government troops by insurgents over the weekend in the neighbouing republic of Ingushetia.

Moscow/Yerevan - President Dmitry Medvedev began a two-day visit on Monday to Armenia, caught in a precarious security deadlock in the Caucasus following Russia's recent war with Georgia.

The trips marks Medvedev's fifth meeting this year with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, a firm Moscow ally.

"The main provision on the agenda of Medvedev's visit will be talks in the tete-a-tete and extended formats talks with Sarkisian,"

Moscow/Yerevan - President Dmitry Medvedev began a two-day visit on Monday to Armenia, caught in a precarious security deadlock in the Caucasus following Russia's recent war with Georgia.

The trips marks Medvedev's fifth meeting this year with Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian, a firm Moscow ally.

"The main provision on the agenda of Medvedev's visit will be talks in the tete-a-tete and extended formats talks with Sarkisian,"

a Kremlin official said on customary condition of anonymity Monday. "This vividly proves the high level of political dialog aimed at the further strengthening of strategic partnership."

The official added that trade and economic relations were the primary topics of discussion.