Eurasia

Britain’s Foreign Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday urged the United State to “keep the pressure on Russia” over its involvement in Syria and Ukraine ahead of possible US-Russia talks. Johnson, on an unexpected visit to Washington this week, praised Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s efforts in drawing Russia for talks …

Vice President Mike Pence met with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday “to reaffirm the enduring strategic partnership between the United States and Turkey,” the Office of the Vice President announced. The two “expressed hope that their meeting would help to usher in a new chapter in US-Turkey relations, …

Syria’s army declared victory over Daesh on Thursday, saying its capture of the militants’ last town in the country marked the collapse of their project in the region. The army and its allies are still fighting Daesh in desert areas near Albu Kamal, the last town the militant group had …

The tripartite meeting of Libya’s neighbouring countries (Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt) will be held on November 15 in Cairo, Egypt, Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said in a statement after his meeting with President Beji Caid Essebsi on Tuesday at Carthage Palace.

The UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution that would bolster the peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic with 900 extra troops to help protect civilians, according to the text obtained by AFP on Tuesday. The measure follows a request from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who has warned …

France said on Wednesday it will increase its development aid to the troubled Sahel by more than a third, linking the extra funds to the fight against jihadist groups in the vast African region. The five nations in the sprawling area south of the Sahara – Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, …

Maghreb neighbours Algeria and Mauritania are to open their first border post more than 50 years after independence from France, the Mauritanian news agency AMI reported on Thursday. Mauritanian Interior Minister Ahmedou Ould Abdallah and Algerian counterpart Noureddine Bedoui signed an accord Bedoui ended a visit to Nouakchott on Wednesday, …

NATO’s defense ministers’ introductory meeting began in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, on Wednesday, as the allies are expected to confer on a range of issues including sending more troops to Afghanistan. The defense ministers are to address a wide range of issues, including new commands to improve the movement …

NATO has stepped up its air policing mission in response to increased Russian air activity around Eastern Europe in recent years. Former chief whip Gavin Williamson will commit four RAF Typhoons as part of the Nato southern air policing mission, while speaking at the Nato defence ministerial meeting in Brussels. …

The North Atlantic Alliance Organization (NATO) supports constructive and peaceful dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad to resolve their differences, said Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. “We would like very much to see constructive negotiations between the Peshmerga forces and the government of Baghdad,” Stoltenberg said on Tuesday, urging the sides not to …