Middle Orient

The Syrian opposition on Monday met in Istanbul to elect a prime minister which should run an interim government for the territory that was freed from regime control. Members of the opposition Syrian National Coalition attended the meeting, which is recognised by dozens of countries and organisations as a legitimate …

European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said in Brussels on Friday that the leaders of the bloc asked the union’s foreign ministers to discuss the arms embargo on Syria on March 22-23. “We agreed to task our foreign ministers to assess the situation as a matter of priority, already at …

France and Britain plan to have a meeting as soon as possible with European Union members to convince them to lift the arms supplying embargo imposed on Syria. The two states are concerned that the two-year-old conflict is destabilizing the region and hope the threat of arming the rebels will …

The United Nations asked governments on Wednesday for support to increase the funds needed to help over one million refugees who have fled from Syria because of war. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres warned of the “enormous threat” that the conflict represents for the entire middle-east region. “I …

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 …