Middle Orient

EU High Representative Catherine Ashton Wednesday repeated calls for the head of the Syrian regime Bashar al-Assad to step down but stressed that there can be no military intervention without an UN Security Council resolution.

Britain and Russia tried to present a unified front over the Syrian crisis on Wednesday, but their deep differences on whether outside powers should arm the rebels were quickly laid bare. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said arming Syria’s opposition would

The UN’s top humanitarian official, Valerie Amos, on Wednesday began a two-day visit to Turkey, meeting Syrian refugees at a camp in southern Anatolia. Speaking at the start of her visit to the southern province of Kilis, Amos, the undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has invited four Syriac Metropolitans to a meeting that will take place in Ankara on March 18, amid growing interest in the community. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is also expected to participate in the meeting, alongside Turabidin Metropolitan

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with his British counterpart William Hague in London. The two foreign minister discussed latest developments in Syria, the Middle East peace process, situation in Iraq and Egypt.

During a two-day forum on 28-29 March Greece, Israel and Cyprus enhanced collaboration on energy investments for exploiting natural gas reserves in southeastern Mediterranean Sea. It is expected that a trilateral memorandum in the fields of electricity and natural gas to be signed soon. “The axis of Greece, Cyprus and …

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday (February 13th) to discuss the situation in Egypt and the state of the Greek economy. Papandreou said his country is willing to

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who stepped down Friday (February 11th) after weeks of mass protests. The Turkish leader expressed hope for a fast transition to a constitutional democracy through elections. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also welcomed the developments. …

Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak resigned as president and handed control to the military on Friday after 29 years in power, bowing to a historic 18-day wave of pro-democracy demonstrations by hundreds of thousands. “The people ousted the president,” chanted a crowd of tens of thousands outside his presidential palace in Cairo. …

Protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir Square want to increase the pressure on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak after the government conceded little ground in talks with opposition groups. They are calling for many more anti-Mubarak supporters to join them in mass demonstrations today and on Friday. They fear that if the protest …