Eurasia Press & News

NATO said Thursday there have been around 400 intercepts of Russian military flights near its member countries this year, amid heightened tension between Moscow and the West over the Ukraine crisis. “If you look at the number of intercepts around NATO, we can talk about 400 intercepts, 50 percent more …

Two French jets, backed by US-led coalition planes, have targeted ISIL trenches near Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk as operations continue against the terrorist group’s frontlines. Two Dassault-built (AVMD.PA) Rafale fighters hit trenches, used by ISIL militants to capture the northern Iraqi oil city, at around 0330 GMT, French Defense Ministry …

Turkey and Iraq have reinforced their pledge to mend ties during the Turkish prime minister’s visit to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, agreeing on closer cooperation against Islamist jihadists’ threat and revive economic ties with a greater momentum than before. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s visit to the country, a …

Pakistan and Russia on Thursday signed a military cooperation agreement to deepen their defence ties and vowed to translate their relationship in “tangible” terms during the first visit of a Russian Defence Minister in 45 years. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Pakistan comes at a very critical juncture …

Ignoring India’s opposition, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan would hold a dialogue with Kashmiri separatists to take them into confidence before engaging in peace talks with India. “It is our fundamental belief that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue. My government started dialogue with India …

Germany’s foreign minister jetted to Kiev and Moscow yesterday in a bid to revive a failing peace plan in east Ukraine, as deadly fighting pushed EU-Russia relations to breaking point. Berlin’s top diplomat Frank-Walter Steinmeier was set to hold key talks with Ukraine’s pro-Western leaders before heading to Moscow for …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has warned of a new refugee influx Turkey may face if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime or Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants advance on Aleppo. Addressing a joint press meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on Tuesday, Çavuşoğlu said the …

Biden will meet Nov. 21 with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul. He will then participate in an extended meeting with Erdogan the next day, following a diplomatic gaffe earlier this year. During an Oct. 2 speech at Harvard University, Biden said that Turkey and other U.S. allies in …

Syrian Kurds fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the flashpoint town of Kobane made new gains Nov. 18, expelling the jihadists from several central buildings and seizing weapons, a monitor said. The advance came hours after the US-led coalition launched four strikes against ISIL positions …

Pakistan’s army chief General Raheel Sharif held talks with US officials at the Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters in Florida on a host of issues like the situation in North Waziristan and border security. Sharif, making his first visit to the US as chief of the army staff, has “been having …