Russia

Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed regional defense and security issues, especially Syria, in a phone call on Tuesday, Türkiye's Defense Ministry said on X.

Güler and Austin also discussed bilateral ties during the call, the ministry added.

Russian missiles killed at least one person and damaged energy infrastructure across Ukraine, according to officials, who reported a massive Christmas attack.

Air raid sirens rang out over Ukraine on Wednesday morning, while the air force reported Russian Kalibr cruise missiles had been launched from the Black Sea.

Mount Tambora changed the world.

The candidacy of the main political party of Serbia’s Kosovo in the parliamentary elections in February was rejected yesterday (Monday) by the electoral commission, some members of which accuse it of being closely linked to Belgrade and not recognizing Kosovar statehood.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Tuesday to discuss topics including potential challenges in 2025, the situation in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija and Serbia's majority Russian-owned oil company NIS.

An aerial view shows rebel fighters clearing mines in a field in the Syrian town of Saraqib, on Dec. 21, 2024.

Syria's new authorities announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and integration into the regular defence forces.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has received a New Year and Christmas greeting card from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I extend to you my heartfelt greetings for the upcoming holidays - the New Year and Orthodox Christmas," Putin's greeting card read.

Donald Trump‘s ambition to acquire Greenland has resurfaced as he prepares to assume a second term as President of the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico of wanting to "help" President Vladimir Putin by continuing to import Russian gas.

Zelensky said EU leaders had observed that Fico, who visited Moscow on Dec. 22, opposes reducing energy dependence on Russia, "implying that he wants to help Putin earn money to fund the war and weaken Europe."

The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank off the Spanish coast on December 23, following an explosion onboard. The ship, traveling from Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok, was in the Mediterranean Sea between the Spanish city of Águilas and Algeria's Oran when the incident occurred. The explosion caused the ship to list, prompting a hazardous area to be marked for shipping.