The U.S. and international partners should navigate carefully but proactively or risk making a dire economic and humanitarian situation worse. The Taliban’s unexpectedly rapid and complete victory over the now defunct Islamic Republic of Afghanistan brings with it yet another shock to the long-suffering Afghan people and the country’s very …

How will the U.S., international community and the region engage with a government comprised of Taliban stalwarts? As part of the Taliban’s bid to re-establish the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” the militant group announced the line up for its caretaker government on Tuesday. Despite several leading Taliban figures saying the …

While prospects for actual conflict use are slim, Belgrade hopes that by buying Israeli weapons it can alleviate some of the pressure it may face from Washington over Kosovo and ties with Russia and China. Israel’s defense industry just added another buyer to its list. Speaking to the Serbian national …

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has banned the pro-opposition Orient News channel from media coverage in Idlib, raising fears about the state of press freedom in Syria’s Idlib. The pro-Syrian opposition Orient News channel revealed on its Twitter account Aug. 24, “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham [HTS] has decided to end the channel’s media …

France and Spain already reopened their diplomatic missions in Libya following the end of the civil war last year. Germany’s top diplomat arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli Thursday to reopen the German Embassy. “The former conflicting parties have realized that there can be no violent solution for their country,” …

It was evident in the meeting in Moscow between Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that the two countries do not see eye to eye on the Iranian nuclear agreement and Syria. On an official visit to Moscow, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid warned Sept. 9 …

Oil production shutdowns are increasingly likely as several players in the sector push their own agenda. The war of words over who controls Libya’s oil sector has now spilled over into its operations. Last week, one of the most powerful men in Libya, National Oil Corporation (NOC) chairman Mustafa Sanallah, …

A meeting of Jordanian, Egyptian, Lebanese and Syrian ministers seems to have cracked Syria’s isolation. Four Arab countries have agreed on a road map to supply Egyptian natural gas to Lebanon through Jordan and Syria during a ministerial meeting in Amman on Sept. 8. They also approved a plan to …

Trading houses are rushing to supply Russian Urals crude to the United States where oil production was hammered by Hurricane Ida in August, three trading sources said on Friday. Ida, one of the most devastating hurricanes for oil companies operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico since storms in 2005, …

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has reiterated that Germany wants to reinstate their embassy in Kabul. “Of course we want to reopen an embassy in Kabul. We need diplomatic representation on the ground,” Maas told reporters after meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh on Thursday. “It always depends …