Middle Orient

The EU backed UN efforts to arrange a ceasefire in Syria’s second city Aleppo on Monday as one of the few good options left in a conflict which has claimed more than 200,000 lives. EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said special UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura had briefed …

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met Sunday morning with British parliamentary delegation , called the Friends of Egypt, to discuss the final phase of Egypt’s roadmap, and other regional topics. Shoukry also met Sunday with US Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth to discuss recent political developments there. …

US Secretary of State John Kerry appeared before Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday to ask for a new, broadened, three-year Authorization of Military Force (AUMF) under which US can continue to fight ISIL with boots on the ground if needed. The current AUMF used by the Obama Administration to …

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 …

The Algerian Foreign Ministry has withdrawn its ambassador in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Abdul Qadir bin Shaha, “because of the security situation taking place in the capital, as a precaution procedure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.”

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 …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu is scheduled to meet with his Azerbaijani and Georgian counterparts for a trilateral meeting in the eastern province of Kars on Dec. 10. During the meeting, Çavuşoğlu, Georgian Foreign Minister Tamar Beruchashvili and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov are expected to discuss bilateral and regional …