Turkey backs the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday. “We have no hesitation on the removal of Assad,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a live TV interview. CNN reported on Thursday that U.S. President Barack Obama was calling for a review of his nation’s Syria policy, after realizing that ISIL could not …

Russia continues to deny it has sent troops and heavy artillery into rebel-held territory in Ukraine despite sightings by NATO and the OSCE. NATO has accused Russia of sending tanks, troops and military hardware to east Ukraine, raising fears of renewed all-out fighting and calling into question the Minsk peace …

A United Nations political officials tells the Security Council that the fragile cease-fire between rebels and the government is under serious strain. The fragile cease-fire agreement between rebel pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces are “under continuous and serious strain,” a senior UN political official told the Security Council Wednesday. “With the Minsk agreements in question, and uncertainty …