Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu Jan. 30 held a series of meetings with African leaders on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Davutoğlu met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe to discuss both Turkey’s nomination for a rotating U.N. Security Council seat and U.S.-Africa relations.

Peace talks between Syria’s regime and opposition have made slim progress, but have raised hopes for a solution to the country’s civil war, U.N. mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said Jan. 30, announcing that the next round of

Azerbaijan and Serbia discussed cooperation in the defense sector, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told Trend on Jan. 30. On January 30, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov

Activists say the latest Syrian Government shelling has killed at least 16 people in a rebel—held area of the northern city of Aleppo.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said he plans to meet Ukraine opposition leaders during the Munich Security Conference.

The U.S. on Thursday blamed the Syrian government for slow progress in removing its stockpiled chemical weapons, urging Damascus to take “necessary steps” to expedite the process.

The Montenegrin government said it would engage in “increased political activity to win greater public support for NATO membership.” Leaders of political parties in the ruling coalition are said to

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for a “constructive dialogue” in Ukraine amid the ongoing unrest in the country. Merkel held telephone talks with the Russian leader asking him to “push at his end for a constructive dialogue between the opposition and government,” the Chancellor’s office said in a statement. 

Turkey’s foreign minister on Thursday welcomed the adoption of a new constitution in Tunisia as a significant step on the road to democracy.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said the operation to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme is “now behind schedule” despite Damascus’ ability to speed up the process. Ban told the Security Council in a report that “while remaining aware of the challenging security situation, it is the assessment”