Special counsel John Durham on Monday released his report on the FBI’s role in investigating the 2016 Donald Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia. This investigation, codenamed “Crossfire Hurricane,” had been—according to Durham’s report—”swiftly” opened as a full-blown investigation in response to “unevaluated intelligence information” by FBI personnel “without ever …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the favorite to win Turkey’s hotly contested runoff election that will have implications for its relationship with Washington. Turkish voters will return to the polls later this month in a heated runoff election that will be watched closely by the United States. The Biden administration …

Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, said the Jeddah summit will likely end with “nice promises” in front of the cameras but a different outcome in reality as normalization with Assad, overriding sanctions and the return of refugees face mounting hurdles. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad landed in Saudi …

Evghenia Gutul’s victory in the race for governor of autonomous Gagauzia has been dogged by allegations of irregularities. If confirmed, her pro-Russian party, bankrolled by a fugitive oligarch, will have a seat in Moldova’s pro-European cabinet. Evghenia Gutul may not have much of a political background to speak of, but …

Police and prosecutors in Kosovo are struggling to solve violent crimes, particularly when they occur in a northern pocket of the country populated mainly by Serbs, according to a BIRN analysis of crime data illustrated in an interactive map. Violent crime in Kosovo frequently goes unpunished, particularly in the Serb-majority …

The ‘springtime’ predicted by the opposition did not arrive in Turkey’s May 14 elections – and in the May 28 presidential run-off, the odds are stacked against them. “Spring will come again” was the motto of the opposition’s presidential candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. But Turkey’s twin elections on May 14 for …

While U.S. President Joe Biden has constantly pledged his support for Kyiv, his rhetoric has invariably failed to result in providing the Ukrainians with the military support they require. Even when, as happened earlier this year, the White House reluctantly agreed to provide Ukraine with Abrams tanks – a move …

Beijing Struggles to Balance Its Ties to Russia and Europe On April 21, China’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, proclaimed that whether Crimea is part of Ukraine “depends on how the problem is perceived.” He added more fuel to the fire by saying that “ex-Soviet countries don’t have an effective …

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday officially took over the rotating presidency of the Arab League summit from Algeria as Syria’s attendance at the meeting was welcomed after years of isolation. Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf handed over the presidency to the Kingdom’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan during a meeting …

Iran and Russia agreed to build a railway between two Iranian cities as they continue to develop their trade relations despite US sanctions. Iran and Russia signed a major railway agreement on Wednesday. The deal is part of the International North–South Transport Corridor the two countries are developing with India …