“He didn’t say why. He just turned it down,” a Defense official told McClatchy.

Kerry's last-ditch attempt to strike a peace deal for Syria has failed to convince key players on Capitol Hill.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the incident could harm U.S.-Russian relations as the countries cooperate on a Syrian peace summit.  

Turkey has reportedly struck a deal to explore for oil in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region in a move that’s likely to rile the United States and Iraq.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Tuesday that its state-owned oil firm will work with U.S. giant ExxonMobil Corp. to develop oil in the Kurdish-run area, according to media reports. Erdogan said Turkey would pursue separate arrangements with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The news could make for a tense meeting between Erdogan and President Obama, who are scheduled to meet this week in Washington, D.C.

The Senate Foreign Relations panel on Tuesday cleared President Obama's choice to be ambassador to Libya, setting up a full Senate vote. Read more...

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) will introduce legislation Wednesday calling for increased drilling on U.S. federal lands to displace Iranian oil on the world market, according to a copy of the bill obtained by The Hill.

The bill requires the president to establish enough “Iranian Oil Replacement Zones” on federal lands to produce 1.25 million barrels of oil per day — approximately the amount Iran exports every day.

An Inhofe aide told The Hill that would divert oil the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to nations that still buy Iranian crude, such as China, India and Japan. The goal is to give President Obama wiggle room to enforce full sanctions on Iranian oil by ending waivers awarded to some nations. 

Acting Energy Department (DOE) Secretary Daniel Poneman said the Obama administration is not backing down from requests that India eschew solar policies that it says might violate international trade rules.

At issue are Indian requirements that solar energy firms buy all inputs from domestic producers. The subcontinent says that will help grow its solar industry, but the U.S. contends local-content requirements are outlawed by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“At this point our view is, we are in a discussion with India. Our views on … local content are clear, and we’re hoping we can work through this,” Poneman told The Hill on Tuesday after speaking at the U.S.-India Energy Partnership Summit in Washington, D.C.

The Syrian regime has responded to last week's U.S.-Russian call for peace talks, Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday, bringing the distant prospect of a negotiated end to the 26-month civil war one step closer to reality.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has shared with the Russians a list of Syrian officials it wants invited to the conference, Kerry announced during a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. Kerry would not share the names on the list but said the talks, under the auspices of the United Nations, appeared on target to take place in early June.

If Assad “decides not to come to the table,” Kerry said, “it will be another one of President Assad’s gross miscalculations.

“Now, I don’t believe that that is the case at this moment. The Russians – Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has informed me that President Assad has already given him the names of people who will negotiate.”

The Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on an imprisoned Mexican drug trafficker who smuggled tons of drugs into the United States on behalf of the Los Zetas cartel.

Alfredo Andrade Parra, 39, is responsible for bringing thousands of pounds of cocaine and marijuana into the country from Mexico every month, the department alleges, and is also wanted in Texas for multiple counts of trafficking and money laundering.

He was arrested by Mexican authorities in April.