October, 2013

• 14 October

  Croatia backs Serbia and Macedonia on EU integration

  Croatia stands strongly behind the EU perspective of all countries in the Western Balkans, including Serbia and Macedonia, stated Croatian President Ivo Josipovic. Josipovic spoke for the Bulgarian National Radio ahead of his Monday and Tuesday official visit to Sofia.

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• 11 October

  UN agrees Syria chemical arms deadline

  The UN Security Council has agreed to proposals by secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons by a target of the middle of next year. France’s UN ambassador Gerard Araud and Russia’s delegate Vitaly Churkin said after closed consultations that the 15 council members decided to authorise the plan proposed by

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• 11 October

  John Kerry says aid freeze is not a withdrawal from relations

  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said Washington’s suspension of military aid to Egypt was by no means a withdrawal from relations. His remarks came after Egypt’s Army-backed government critized the U.S. decision and insisted that it will not bow to U.S. pressure.

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• 11 October

  China calls for reconciliation in Egypt

  Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chun Ping has called for social reconciliation and national stability in Egypt as soon as possible. The call comes in the wake of the decision to dissolve the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as the announcement of Mohamed Morsy’s much-anticipated trial on 4 February. Ping also …

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• 11 October

  Syrian troops takes control of two suburbs from rebels

  Syrian army troops and Shi’ite militia fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured two southern suburbs of Damascus on Friday, killing at least 70 people, opposition activists said. The fighters, including some from the Lebanese Shi’ite movement Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi’ites backed by Syrian army tanks, searched al-Thiabiya and Husseiniya, …

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• 11 October

  Kerry makes surprise visit to Afghanistan

  US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived on an unannounced visit to Kabul Friday to try to advance troubled negotiations with Afghanistan on some US troops staying in the country after 2014. President Hamid Karzai said this week that he was prepared to walk away from the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) talks …

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• 11 October

  THE LEVANT: CHALLENGES TO THE POST-OTTOMAN ORDER

  The evolution of the Syrian crisis and its influence upon the neighboring states and the major world actors, the regional consequences of the “Arab Spring” and, not least, the recent announcements about the beginning of the exploitation of the gas resources of the Leviathan offshore deposits are only a few …

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• 11 October

  Russia expects Azerbaijan to join Eurasian Customs Union jointly with Turkey

  If Azerbaijan joins the Eurasian Customs Union, it will most likely be jointly with Turkey, deputy chairman of the Inter-Commission Working Group on International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy of the Public Chamber of Russia, Sergei Markov told journalists in Baku on Thursday.

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• 11 October

  Syrian air raids kill 30 in north, south

  Syrian air raids on rebel positions in the northern Aleppo and southern Deraa provinces killed 30 people Thursday, including civilians, a monitoring group said. Underscoring the complexity of the mission of chemical weapons now inside the country, a regime warplane bombed the rebel-held town of Safira, an

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• 11 October

  NATO says there is no military solution in Syria for now

  NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that he does not anticipate “any further role” for the military alliance in Syria. “There is no military solution to the conflict in Syria,” Rasmussen told a press conference in Athens with Greek Foreign Minister

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