Eurasia

The Pakistan government today decided to resume dialogue with Imran Khan, a day after he threatened to “shut down” the entire country by December 16 if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif failed to initiate an impartial probe into the alleged rigging in 2013 general elections. Official sources told Dawn that Sharif …

NATO’s top military commander jetted into Ukraine for high-level talks on Wednesday as fighting rumbled on between government forces and Kremlin-backed rebels in the east. US General Philip Breedlove was set to meet with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as Kiev stirred further Russian ire by stating it hoped to join …

Turkey should impose sanctions on Russia and follow the examples of European countries, Crimean Tatar leader and member of Ukraine’s parliament said Tuesday. Mustafa Abdulcemil Kirimoglu said before his scheduled meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara.   

France suspended the planned delivery of a warship to Russia on Tuesday, after months of growing speculation about what would be the biggest arms sale ever by a Nato country to the Kremlin. The French president’s office announced the suspension “until further notice” after growing pressure from allies to suspend …

NATO’s top military commander said during a visit to Kiev on Wednesday that Russian forces were still operating in eastern Ukraine, providing the “backbone” to separatist rebels fighting government forces. NATO’s top military commander has also warned that Russia’s “militarisation” of the annexed Crimea region could be used by Moscow to …

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz and his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak approved a final memorandum agreement which will be signed by heads of states on Dec. 1. Natural gas talks with Russia to secure price discounts for increased supplies from Gazprom to Turkey are in progress, said Turkey’s  energy minister on Wednesday …

NATO is not considering establishing a no-fly zone in northern Syria, something Turkey has been calling for to alleviate security and humanitarian pressure on its southern border, one of the alliance’s top generals said. “A no-fly zone is a resource-intensive undertaking,” Lt.-Gen. John Nicholson, the new head of LANDCOM, said at his …

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will arrive in India on a three-day visit later this month to hold talks with his counterpart Manohar Parrikar during which the issue of the multi-billion dollar deal for Rafale combat aircraft is likely to come up. He will arrive in India on November …

President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and his French Counterpart Francois Hollande agreed to cooperate in efforts to counter terrorism, resolve the Palestinian situation and support the current Iraqi government. In a joint press conference held in Paris, Al-Sisi noted his discussions with Hollande were “fruitful” and reflected unified opinions regarding bilateral, …

Egypt and Emirati military officials have finalised preparations for a joint training exercise between the two countries ongoing for the last few days in Sheik Zayed city in the United Arab Emirates. The joint exercise, dubbed “Righteous Arrows”, aims to “support and strengthen the areas of military cooperation and coordination”. …