Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom said on August 6 it had slowed gas shipments abroad after fire struck a processing plant in western Siberia. No one was hurt in the fire, which happened at a facility near Novy Urengoy. Russian media said transports of natural gas via Belarus and Poland …

This Week’s Highlights Russia is now supplying more oil to the U.S. than any other foreign producer aside from Canada, Bloomberg reported, noting that U.S. imports of crude and refined petroleum products from its former Cold War adversary surged 23% in May. U.S. imports of Russian goods increased by one …

A senior European Union official says Iran is ready to resume suspended nuclear talks as soon early September, Western news agencies are reporting. AFP and the dpa news agencies reported on August 7 that representatives of the country have given assurances in recent days that the talks will be resumed …

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, have spoken by telephone about ongoing “strategic stability” talks launched last month after a recent presidential summit. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on August 11 Austin and Shoigu discussed “transparency and risk-reduction efforts following the July 28 resumption of …

With the Taliban sweeping through provincial capitals, and massing near Kabul, the Afghan government is thus far vowing to resist. In this Q&A, Crisis Group experts Laurel Miller and Andrew Watkins explain that outside powers’ priority should now be to minimise further human suffering. Have the Taliban won the war? …

The administration of President Ashraf Ghani vowed Friday to defend its capital, Kabul, from the Taliban, while efforts by Abdullah Abdullah, head of the country’s National Reconciliation Council, to strike a political deal with the group seemed be gaining momentum. “It was decided with conviction & resolve that we stand …

Taliban fighters carrying out a blitzkrieg-like offensive across Afghanistan appear to have the capital, Kabul, in their sights, advancing toward the city even as the first of thousands of U.S. troops to be sent back to the country set foot on the ground. The Taliban on Friday claimed victory in …

The Taliban has captured three major Afghan cities and a string of provincial capitals in a sweeping offensive that threatens the capital, Kabul. In the past 24 hours, Taliban fighters have seized Herat and Kandahar — the country’s second- and third-largest cities — as well as Lashkar Gah, the capital …

“A NEGATIVE OUTCOME, a Taliban automatic military takeover, is not a foregone conclusion,” Mark Milley, America’s most senior soldier, intoned last month while reiterating America’s support for the embattled Afghan government. General Milley is right: such a takeover is not quite inevitable, despite the departure of American troops. But it …

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said the relations between Tehran and Ankara serve peace and stability in the region. Speaking with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a phone conversation initiated by the latter, Raisi said close cooperation between Iran and Turkey is essential for peace and security in the …