German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to push for a “constructive dialogue” in Ukraine amid the ongoing unrest in the country. Merkel held telephone talks with the Russian leader asking him to “push at his end for a constructive dialogue between the opposition and government,” the Chancellor’s office said in a statement. 

Turkey’s foreign minister on Thursday welcomed the adoption of a new constitution in Tunisia as a significant step on the road to democracy.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday said the operation to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme is “now behind schedule” despite Damascus’ ability to speed up the process. Ban told the Security Council in a report that “while remaining aware of the challenging security situation, it is the assessment”