The U.S. special envoy to Lebanon said Monday that his team would discuss the long-term cessation of hostilities with Israel, after Beirut endorsed a U.S.-backed plan for the Hezbollah militant group to disarm, AP reports.   Tom Barrack, following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, also said Washington would seek an economic proposal for…

Ukraine is negotiating a deal with Azerbaijan to import gas from the South Caucasus country this year, Kyiv’s energy minister said on Monday.   “We are currently in talks. Azerbaijan is interested in this,” Svitlana Hrynchuk told Ukrainian outlet RBC-Ukraine.   Ukraine imported test volumes of gas from Azerbaijan earlier this year as it seeks…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump in Alaska has given new momentum to efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Writing on X, Erdogan stated that Ankara welcomes the efforts of Moscow and Washington in this direction.   He expressed hope that further…

French President Emmanuel Macron has reflected on his discussions with European leaders and the Ukrainian President regarding the Putin-Trump meeting in Alaska. “Coordination meeting this morning with President Trump, President Zelensky, and my European partners following the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska.       At the conclusion of this meeting, we…

U.S. President Donald Trump urged agreement acceptance, stating that whether a ceasefire agreement for the Ukraine war is possible depends on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.   Trump emphasized again in an exclusive interview with Fox News shortly after the U.S.-Russia summit held in Anchorage, Alaska, that “it depends on Zelensky to finalize the agreement,” adding,…

According to Fox News, U.S. President Donald Trump has departed for Alaska aboard Air Force One from Andrews Air Force Base to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.   The White House Press Office reports that the American delegation accompanying Trump includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick,…

Zarmik Poghikyan, the Lurer correspondent in Syria, reports on the aftermath of the fires that broke out in Kessab. Vast forest areas near several settlements in the region have been reduced to ashes due to the fires. Fruit orchards adjacent to the forests have also burned. Fortunately, there have been no human casualties, but the…

Syria has welcomed the initialing of the “historic” Armenian-Azerbaijani peace agreement in Washington, the Syrian foreign ministry has said, lauding the US for making it possible.    In a statement, the Syrian foreign ministry said the accords will contribute to the establishment of peace and security in the South Caucasus and strengthen the principle of…

Reuters. The Kurdish YPG militia, which spearheads the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), should abide by its integration agreement with the Syrian government, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday (August 13).   NATO member Turkey has been one of Syria’s main foreign allies after the ousting of Bashar al-Assad last year.   The…

Roskomnadzor has announced a “partial restriction” on calls made through the Telegram and WhatsApp messaging platforms, according to RIA Novosti. The agency explained the decision as necessary “to counter criminals, based on materials from law enforcement agencies.”   “According to law enforcement and numerous citizen complaints, the foreign messengers Telegram and WhatsApp have become the…

Boris Ruge, Assistant NATO Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, held a meeting with Armenian and Azerbaijani ambassadors at the alliance.    “On behalf of NATO I congratulated the Ambassadors of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the historic meeting facilitated by the US Government in Washington. NATO welcomes this breakthrough and will continue to…

IAEA’s deputy director general and head of the Department of Safeguards Massimo Aparo has held talks in Tehran with Iranian officials and left the Iranian capital on Monday afternoon, IRNA reports.   Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said about Aparo’s visit to Tehran that “he left Tehran after holding…

In a coordinated diplomatic effort ahead of the talks, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has organized an online meeting between Zelensky and key European leaders. The meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Kyiv time on Aug. 13, The Kyiv Independent reports.   European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will take part in the calls with…

US President Donald Trump is considering deploying up to 1,000 National Guard troops to D.C. and could make the announcement as early as Monday, one defense official and two U.S. officials confirmed on Sunday night, NBC Washington reports.   Trump has vowed to “stop violent crime” in D.C. and posted on Truth Social multiple times…

Greece welcomes the announced agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan as a significant step towards ending decades of conflict in South Caucasus, Embassy of Armenia to Greece reports.   “We commend both sides and the US Administration for making progress towards the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan possible.   The signing and ratification of…

The US-brokered peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia after almost 40 years of armed conflict is a historic turning point and a sign of hope, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said.   “When diplomacy replaces weapons, it’s always great news. May this step also be a good omen for other war zones around the…

Regarding U.S. involvement, we should take the following into account: as you know, when the Crossroads of Peace project was developed, we essentially proposed it to all our partners — meaning we invited them to invest within the framework of the Crossroads of Peace initiative. I must note that some of our partners had at…

The United States has doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to $50 million over allegations of drug trafficking and links to criminal groups, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced, Reuters reports.   In a video posted to X, Bondi accused Maduro of collaborating with prominent criminal groups…

President of Azerbaijan and ExxonMobil signed an energy deal on Thursday (August 7) at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington, D.C., Reuters reports.    ExxonMobil Vice President John Ardill and Azerbaijan Minister of the Economy Mikayil Jabbarov sat side by side as they signed the agreement. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Azerbaijan President Ilham…

Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the suitable places to hold a meeting with United States President Donald Trump.   Putin said that he was not ‘on the whole’ against meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, adding that ‘certain conditions should be created’ for such a…

The Ministry of External Affairs of India on Wednesday reacted to United States President Donald Trump imposing an additional 25% import tariff on India due to oil imports from Russia.   “The United States has in recent days targeted India’s oil imports from Russia. We have already made clear our position on these issues, including…

French firefighters were battling on Wednesday to control the country’s biggest wildfire in almost 80 years, with the blaze in the southern Aude region having already swept through an area bigger than Paris, Reuters reports.   One person died in the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, about 30 kilometers from the city of Perpignan, the prefecture said….

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said lower energy prices would prompt Russian President Vladimir to “stop killing people” in Ukraine.   “If energy goes down enough, Putin is going to stop killing people,” Trump said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”   “If you get energy down, another USD10 a barrel, he’s going…

Russia no longer considers itself bound by self-restrictions on deploying intermediate-and shorter-range missiles (INF) as the conditions for observing the moratorium have vanished, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.   The ministry noted certain steps taken by the collective West in the sphere of proliferating such missiles and emphasized that they create a…

Representatives of the Russian leadership, including Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, have different assessments of the situation, including harsh ones, however, Vladimir Putin as the president determines the country’s foreign policy, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told a news briefing, TASS reports.   “In any country, members of its leadership have…

China’s restrictions on the export of critical minerals are disrupting defence manufacturing in the West, forcing military suppliers to scramble for alternative sources and driving up costs across the industry. The situation has also brought to light the world’s heavy reliance on China for rare earth elements (REEs).   According to a report by The…

US special envoy Steve Witkoff tells families of hostages in Tel Aviv that a majority of Israelis and Gazans want hostages held by Hamas to be returned, as quoted by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in a Hebrew statement, The Times of Israel reports.   “A majority of Israelis want the hostages at home,…

Turkey on Saturday turned on a supply of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria, whose infrastructure was ravaged by civil war, with annual deliveries expected to reach up to two billion cubic metres, France 24 reports. Syria’s Islamist authorities, who toppled Bashar al-Assad in December, are seeking to rebuild the battered country where power cuts…

In the face of President Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs on Indian goods and criticism of energy and defence purchases from Russia, India on Friday said its ties with the US had overcome several challenges and New Delhi is committed to taking the relationship forward, Hindustan Times reports. Responding to the US’s 25% reciprocal tariff that…

Slovenia has been one of the most vocal EU countries calling for the bloc to take action against Israel. The country recognised a Palestinian state in June last year and has since repeatedly called for a ceasefire in Gaza and increased aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip, Euronews reports.   Slovenia will be “the first…