Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is coming to Turkey on Thursday, a visit that follows a recent high-level visit from the central administration of Iraq to Turkey, which signaled a thaw in strained relations with Baghdad.

Georgia’s new president said Monday that he would press ahead with efforts to deepen the former Soviet republic’s ties with the West despite Russian concerns. European leaders and observers hailed Sunday’s “clean” election won by Georgy Margvelashvili, an ally of billionaire

Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad fired Syrian Deputy Prime Minister Qadri Jamil for reportedly meeting with U.S. official in Switzerland.