Moscow, Russia - Moscow accused Poland and Finland of threatening its security on Wednesday and vowed a response to multiplying "threats" on Russia's western frontier from NATO members. Poland, Ukraine's staunch ally and neighbor, has strengthened security on its border with Belarus after Minsk became a new base for Russian Wagner...

Two men set the Quran alight outside parliament in Stockholm at a protest similar to previous ones that have sparked tensions between Sweden and Middle Eastern countries. Salwan Momika and Salwan Najem kicked and stomped on the Muslim holy book, then set its pages on fire before slamming it shut.

Tripoli, Libya - Oil production has resumed at two major Libyan oil fields, the oil ministry said Sunday, after a brief shutdown by demonstrators protesting the arrest of a former minister. "Operations have resumed in the Al-Sharara and Al-Fil oil fields... after they were suspended" Thursday, said the ministry, part of...

German Patriot missile systems and French fighter jets were guarding the skies as NATO leaders gathered in Lithuania, on NATO's eastern flank and a land once occupied by Moscow. The Western military alliance is set to offer its full-throated backing for Kyiv's quest for victory, but its 31 nations are...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's block on Sweden's membership bid had cast a cloud over preparations for Tuesday's meeting, but the countries ironed out their differences in 11th-hour talks in Vilnius. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he was "very happy" and hailed "a good day for Sweden".

The United States supports Turkey's bid to enter the European Union but does not believe Ankara should link that to accepting Sweden's entry into NATO, a senior American official said Monday. Earlier Turkiye's Erdogan had said that EU should restart his country's inclusion bid into the EU bloc.

Erdogan has voiced repeated frustrations with what he calls Sweden's failure to keep its promise to deal with suspected Kurdish militants allegedly "roaming the streets" of Stockholm. "Sweden has taken some steps in the right direction," Erdogan's office quoted the Turkish leader as telling Biden in a call Sunday.

TRIPOLI, LIBYA- Rivals in politically divided Libya have agreed to form a committee on sharing oil revenues, a move welcomed on Saturday by the UN, after military strongman Khalifa Haftar sought a "fair" split. Haftar, who backs the country's eastern administration, had last Monday called for a committee to address the...

Ankara,Turkey - Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan discussed, in a phone call on Wednesday with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, expansion of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Black Sea Grain Initiative agreement. They also discussed cooperation in combating the threat posed by synthetic drugs, in addition...

Turkey dropped its objections to Sweden's nordic neighbour Finland joining earlier in the year and Helsinki became a NATO member in April. Sweden has been a NATO "invitee" since June 2022, but its membership bid, which must be ratified by all 31 member states, has been blocked by Turkey and...

In the Hague, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was still too early to draw conclusions from the move to Belarus of Prigozhin and, likely, some of his forces, but he vowed that the alliance was ready to defend its members. "What is absolutely clear is that we have sent...

Libya's internal turmoil may worsen with the head of the country's east-based administration threatening to block oil and gas exports from territory under its control. Oussama Hamad blamed the UN-recognized government in Tripoli for wasting energy revenues. He warned that the government is ready to take more steps, including an...

Last week, both sides agreed on the legal steps to hold the elections following talks in Morocco, but stopped short of signing a deal, suggesting that some differences remain. Among the contested points are the candidacy of dual nationals and soldiers.

War-torn Libya is regularly criticised for its handling of migrants, with rights groups alleging horrific treatment by smuggling gangs and inside state-run detention centres. Libya is a key launchpad for migrants who are often fleeing conflict and poverty in sub-Saharan Africa. They seek to reach Italian shores just 290 kilometres...

The decision comes after the Supreme Court in May cleared his repatriation to Turkey, where he is expected to serve out a drug trafficking sentence.

Istanbul, Turkey - NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called on Ankara to drop its opposition to Sweden's bid to join the defense alliance, saying Stockholm has addressed Turkey's security concerns. "Sweden has taken significant concrete steps to meet Turkey's concerns," Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "Sweden...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has begun his third term as Turkish president, vowing to serve "impartially". Despite an economic crisis and public dissatisfaction with the response to a devastating earthquake, he secured a victory in the historic runoff election. He has named Mehmet Simsek as finance minister and Hakan Fidan as...

Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in for a third term as president, promising to serve "impartially" after winning a runoff election. "As president, I swear upon my honor and integrity, before the great Turkish nation ... to work with all my power to protect the existence and independence...

Turkey and Hungary are the only NATO countries that have yet to ratify Sweden's membership bid. Erdogan, who was re-elected Sunday for another five-year term as Turkey's president, has accused Sweden of being a haven for "terrorists", especially members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

US President Biden said he hoped to work with Erdogan on "shared global challenges". Russia's President Putin, who has collaborated closely with Erdogan on key international issues despite some disagreements, told Turkey's leader that his win was "the logical result of your dedicated work".

"The transfer of nuclear munitions has begun," Lukashenko told reporters during a visit to Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin. In Washington, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called Russia's move "yet another example of making irresponsible and provocative choices".

In a world where Turkey and Russia are both sceptical of Western military, political and economic dominance, Putin and Erdogan see each other as reliable partners. "Russia must have breathed a sigh of relief," said a Western diplomat, referring to the outcome of the first round on May 14.

Parliament also announced an investigation into Bashagha. The chamber, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, had picked Bashagha in February last year to lead a government to replace that of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who sits in Tripoli.

The 69-year-old has become one of Turkey's most important and divisive leaders since his Islamic-rooted party ended half a century of secular rule and launched an era of social transformation. Turkey became a strategic player with a vibrant economy and a modern army of drones that shifted battlefields in wars...

Amman, Jordan - Jordan King Abdullah on Wednesday received a phone call from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during which they discussed “the deep-rooted cooperation and strategic partnership,” in military, training, and defence areas, as well as joint efforts in countering terrorism. They also discussed regional and international developments, including...

Senior officials from the Biden administration have confirmed the authenticity of the documents, which have been posted on Twitter and Telegram, a platform widely available in Russia. “We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter,” said Sabrina Singh, the deputy press...

Two weeks after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly backed its bid, Turkish lawmakers unanimously supported Finland's membership of the US-led defense alliance after the Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Turkey was the final NATO nation to ratify the Nordic country's accession, which NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said will make the "NATO...

Finland and its neighbour Sweden ended decades of military non-alignment and decided to join NATO last May. Their applications were accepted at a June alliance summit but the bids still needed to be ratified by all the members' parliaments -- a process that stalled with Turkey and Hungary.

Putin called the talks with Chinese president "meaningful and frank" and said that Russia, which has been largely cut out of European markets because of sanctions, would be able to meet China's "growing demand" for energy. Xi's trip coincides with a surprise visit to Kyiv by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio...

Ankara, Turkey--Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended months of diplomatically charged delays on Friday and asked parliament to quickly back Finland's bid to join NATO. A simultaneous decision by fellow holdout Hungary to schedule a Finnish ratification vote for March 27 means the US-led defence alliance will likely grow to 31...

A statement from NATO said that "participants welcomed the progress that has been made" on a three-way deal struck last year aimed at satisfying Turkey's complaints. The latest meeting came after Ankara had earlier suspended negotiations in outrage at protests in January that included the burning of the Koran outside...

Turkey said on Monday that NATO accession talks with Sweden and Finland would be held next month, after being postponed in January over a row about protests held in Stockholm. "The meeting will be held on March 9," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara, alongside...

Putin was speaking on the sidelines of a patriotic concert in Moscow on Thursday on the eve of the first anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale offensive in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey to show support to the earthquake-hit country and NATO ally which has had tumultuous ties with Washington. His visit comes after a 7.8-magnitude tremor hit southeastern Turkey and northern Syria killing nearly 45,000 people but his trip had been planned before...

Blinken will visit Incirlik air base, through which the United States has shipped aid, and then hold talks in the capital Ankara on "continued US support," State Department spokesman Ned Price said Wednesday. The top US diplomat will also take part in the Munich Security Conference, where the Ukraine war...

Ankara has been most recently outraged by anti-Islamic protests by a far-right extremist who was allowed to burn the Koran outside the Turkish embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen.

"Our collective message is that we want to call for calm, for reflection, for calm in the process so that we can return to functioning talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkey on our common NATO membership," Kristersson told a press conference, adding that he wanted a return to "dialogue." Ankara...

Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan on Saturday torched a copy of the Islamic holy book in front of Turkey's embassy in the Swedish capital, stoking the anger of Ankara which said it would not support the Scandinavian country's bid for NATO membership. Sweden's ambassador to Indonesia, Marina Berg, was summoned as...

The Turkish leader said that they had agreed on an adjustment to the timetable with its junior right-wing coalition partner to avoid disrupting the school exam schedules.

The snub underlines Arab divisions over the Tripoli-based government, whose legitimacy is contested by a rival administration in the war-torn country's east. Regional heavyweights Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were not represented at all at the gathering -- a preparatory session ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in...

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's objections to Sweden's NATO membership rest largely on Stockholm's refusal to extradite Turkish nationals Ankara wants to prosecute for "terrorism".

Meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he intended to discuss his country's request for modernized versions of the mainstay F-16 fighter jets. "As we said together before, this is not only for Turkey but also important for NATO and for the United States...

Most of Turkey's demands have involved Sweden because of its more robust ties with the Kurdish diaspora.

In a statement announcing measures to disrupt financiers of the Islamic State group, the State Department wrote of joint action between "the United States and Turkiye," written with an umlaut over the u. "The Turkish embassy did request that we use this spelling in our communications," State Department spokesman Ned...

Turkey, which helped broker a deal with the United Nations for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea this summer, is seeking to bring together Russian and Ukrainian leaders for negotiations to end the war. It already hosted a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers in...

Sweden's Supreme Court cited the risk of Turkey's "persecution based on this person's political beliefs" when it blocked the request on Monday.

The United Nations had previously handled the repatriation of refugees from Libya, but the deal between authorities in the west, east and south has enabled the Interior Ministry's agency tackling illegal migration to work in a unified way across the country.

Tripoli, Libya— The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Wednesday he had urged eastern Libyan military chief Khalifa Haftar to "prevent" crimes by his troops, as investigations into their actions continue. Karim Khan, the first ICC prosecutor to visit the war-torn country in a decade, arrived in Libya on Saturday. The...

Despite the change in stance in Stockholm, some analysts believe Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections in June 2023 could delay the Nordic NATO bids.

Ankara has accused the two Nordic nations of providing a safe haven for outlawed Kurdish militants it deems "terrorists" and held back on ratifying their NATO membership despite an agreement in June.