Eurasia

Ukrainian forces on Tuesday suspended operations against independence-seeking insurgents in the country’s eastern regions, the government said. A ceasefire initiated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was established within the “day of silence” framework in the combat area, the press service of the government’s military operation said in a statement.

Chuck Hagel is the first American defense secretary to visit Iraq since the US officially ended its long war three years ago. And his message to Iraqi leaders was plain- US military power didn’t solve Iraq’s problems last time, nor will it now.

The EU’s foreign policy chief did not raise any criticism or proposals for the alignment of Turkey’s foreign policy with the EU, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said, in reply to remarks by Federica Mogherini. Despite Turkey’s “very important contributions” to the EU’s security and defense policies, the EU …

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Baghdad today to consult with Iraqi government officials and confer with US commanders about the campaign to defeat Islamic State fighters. In remarks to a group of US and Australian soldiers, Mr Hagel said the US wants to help Iraq regain the territory it lost to Islamic …

German Chancellor Angela Merkel accused Russia on Sunday of interfering in the domestic affairs of numerous countries that are seeking closer ties to the European Union. “Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine are three countries in our eastern neighbourhood that have taken sovereign decisions to sign an association agreement with the EU,” …

The Algerian Foreign Ministry has withdrawn its ambassador in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Abdul Qadir bin Shaha, “because of the security situation taking place in the capital, as a precaution procedure and to avoid any undesirable consequences for security developments.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Monday rejected Indian allegations implicating Pakistan in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) attacks, said an official release. A press release by Pakistani Foreign Office said, “Pakistan rejects the allegations and efforts to malign Pakistan by implicating it in the recent attacks in Indian-held Kashmir,” adding that Pakistan …

President of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Sunday in Algiers held one-to-one meeting with his Greek counterpart Karolos Papoulias, on a state visit to Algeria. President Papoulias started Saturday a three-day state visit to Algeria, at the invitation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

New European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini was to meet Turkish leaders Dec. 8 for talks expected to focus partly on the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in neighboring Syria. “The Syrian crisis is going to be one of the key issues on …

British Prime Minister David Cameron will travel to Turkey on Dec. 9 to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss how to stop Britons crossing into Syria and Iraq to join Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters via the Turkish border, his spokesman said. The visit comes …