Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took aim at Western leaders in Paris on Oct. 31 for focusing “too much” on the battle over the Syrian border town of Kobane, drawing nods from his host, President François Hollande, who highlighted Aleppo. “Why are coalition forces continually bombing this town of Kobane?” Erdoğan asked while speaking …

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin on Thursday said the conditions had not yet been met to deliver the first of two controversial Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, rejecting reports that Moscow would receive the first of them on Nov. 14. Speaking about the conditions that need to be met, Sapin …

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani on Friday invited the Taliban to join in a peace process backed by the international community. Speaking at a conference on Afghan peace and reconstruction in Beijing, Mr. Ghani made no specific proposals and indicated government forces wouldn’t back away from the fight. However, his mention …

The Egyptian, Cypriot and Greek foreign ministers met in the Cypriot capital Nicosia Wednesday to discuss shared interests and issues relating to energy, security, and tourism. The meeting took place in preparation for a new round of talks in Cairo on 8 November. A statement released by the Cypriot foreign …

Russia has agreed to resume gas deliveries to Ukraine through the winter in an EU-brokered deal reached by the three parties in Brussels, an EU source said. The details will be outlined by European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso as well as the Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers during a press …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would recognize elections organized by pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine on Nov. 2 despite opposition from Kiev. Ukraine held parliamentary elections on Sunday, which handed a clear victory to parties seeking closer ties with the West but voting did not take place in …

Lebanon Prime Minister Tammam Salam hoped on Tuesday that the international community is aware of Lebanon’s huge financial needs to confront the burden of refugees. “The refugees are affecting our economy and security … We call for more funding to confront the repercussions of the refugee crisis,” Salam said at the …

Pakistan’s support for a peaceful, stabile, united and prosperous Afghanistan has been acknowledged by the United Nations when on Tuesday. Jan Kubis, UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, acknowledged country’s important contribution towards peace and stability and deeper engagement on issues of trade, reconstruction, rehabilitation, regional and economic cooperation …

Turkish army has said its surveillance aircraft have conducted reconnaissance flight in northern Iraq to gather intelligence from camps of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The army said in a statement on Tuesday that four RF-4E surveillance planes flew in northern Iraq to survey “separatist terrorist organization targets,” a …

The Egyptian government has decided not to extend a comprehensive free trade agreement signed with Turkey during the rule of the ousted ex-President Mohamed Morsi. Ties between the two countries have been strained since Morsi’s ouster last year, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly condemning the “coup” and describing the military …