Eurasia

All Balkan countries will join the union when they meet EU criteria for accession, says European Commission President. All Balkan countries that have applied for EU membership should join the union when they are ready, said EC President, Jose Barosso, during his visit to Berlin.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has announced that he would schedule a sitting of the Consultative Council of National Security over the ongoing refugee crisis in the country. Plevneliev told reporters on Tuesday that he would announce the date for the sitting “within days,” noting that the budget of Bulgaria’s security services will be …

Kurdish rebels are ready to re-enter Turkey from northern Iraq, the head of the group’s political wing said at his mountain hideout, threatening to rekindle an insurgency unless Ankara resuscitates their peace process soon. Accusing Turkey of waging a proxy war against Kurds in Syria by backing Islamist rebels fighting …

EU Ambassador to Turkey Jean-Maurice Ripert has said that the European Union and Turkey share the same goal in Egypt, which is establishing peace and democracy in the Middle Eastern country, even if they do not use the same language.

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman has called Turkish President Abdullah Gül to thank Turkey for its efforts in saving nine Lebanese pilgrims who were being held hostage by the Syrian opposition and getting them home safely.

Pakistan has stated that the Kashmir dispute is the core issue that remains unresolved between India and Pakistan. Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry expressed disappointment over the comments made by India’s External Affairs Minister on the status of Jammu and Kashmir in the Indian media.

The U.S. has quietly decided to release more than $1.6 billion in military and economic aid to Pakistan that was suspended when relations between the two countries disintegrated over the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden and deadly U.S. airstrikes against Pakistani soldiers.

A female suicide bomber blew herself up on a city bus in southern Russia on Monday, killing six people and injuring about 30, officials said. The attack in Volgograd added to security fears ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

The European Union’s General Affairs Council has confirmed the opening of Chapter 22, on regional policies, with Turkey, in a move welcomed by the EU’s commissioner for enlargement Stefan Füle. 

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh failed Monday to strike a long-delayed nuclear power deal with Russia during talks with President Vladimir Putin that also focused on big arms and energy deals. Singh is using one of his last major foreign trips as prime minister before 2014 general elections