France’s foreign minister stressed Thursday that its role in an international coalition to combat ISIL will see it continue airstrikes against the militant group, but it has no intention to send in ground troops. “I’m crystal clear about it. It is necessary that Iraqis themselves are involved,” Laurent Fabius stated …
Read More »French Interior Minister to visit Ankara
The French interior minister arrived in Ankara on Sept. 26 for talks with his Turkish counterpart aimed at improving intelligence and security communications, after an embarrassing bungle allowed three suspected jihadists to walk free.
Read More »Ukraine, Russia to hold talks on gas dispute
Russia and Ukraine are holding talks to solve their long-running gas dispute as pressure mounts for a solution to head off a winter supply crisis in Ukraine and beyond. Today’s meeting in Berlin between the Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers, brokered by EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger, comes more than …
Read More »UK to join fight against IS
Prime Minister David Cameron recalled Parliament today and made a case for the UK to join US-led air strikes against Islamic State (IS) terror network in Iraq which he warned could “not just take months but years”. Cameron told MPs that IS poses a “clear and proven” threat to British …
Read More »Egyptian President, Obama discuss bilateral relations
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and US President Barack Obama discussed on Thursday evening both sides’ views on the “overall situation” in the Middle East, according to a Friday statement by the foreign ministry. The meeting dealt with bilateral relations and ways of developing them in various fields in order …
Read More »Erdogan questions Al-Sisi’s legitimacy as Egyptian President
Egypt accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of “spreading lies and fabrications,” after the president’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Thursday.
Read More »Turkey to participate in military actions against ISIL
Turkey could lend military or logistical support to U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanwas quoted as saying on Sept. 23, signaling a potential shift in Ankara’s stance on the issue. “We will give the necessary support to the …
Read More »Egypt FM hopes new Lybian govt to push for democracy
Egyptian Foreign Minister Affairs Sameh Shoukry welcomed the formation of the new Libyan government led by Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni, during the 69th UN General Assembly in New York, according to a Wednesday statement by the foreign ministry.
Read More »Obama condemns Russian agression against Ukraine
US President Barack Obama has slammed Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine but offered to lift sanctions against Moscow if it throws its weight behind an unravelling peace deal with Kiev. The outstretched hand to Moscow on Wednesday came a day after pro-Russian guerillas brushed off Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s limited self-rule …
Read More »India could be asked to join fight against IS
As Washington completes a round of airstrikes on the Islamic State (IS) of Iraq and Syria, U.S President Barack Obama on Wednesday garnered more support for the coalition at the United Nations. On Monday, PTI quoted U.S. officials as saying that Mr. Obama will ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi to …
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