Trump administration

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Feb. 25 the Syrian regime will not be able to achieve a military victory and the recent offensive in Idlib only heightens the risks of conflict with Turkey.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and the crown prince on Feb. 20 to discuss shared security interests in the Gulf and threats from Iran. He also toured a sprawling desert air base in Saudi Arabia where a few thousand U.S. troops are deployed as part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to stymie Iran's regional reach.

Austria's foreign minister said on Feb. 19 that he will travel to Tehran this weekend amid efforts by European countries to keep alive Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers.

US President Donald Trump has fired Deputy Secretary of Defense for Political Affairs John Rood, the Associated Press and TASS reported.

A senior official confirmed last year that Ukraine has made sufficient progress in fighting corruption to merit the release of $ 250 million from Congress by the Trump administration in a conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on Friday welcomed an agreement to resume rail services between the two countries as an important step toward calmer relations between the two estranged nations. It follows an earlier breakthrough on resuming air links.

US President Donald Trump's administration is considering nominating Jeffrey Okamoto, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, as the first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, citing three people familiar with the process of selection.

The U.S. military on Feb. 10 disclosed a more than 50 percent jump in cases of traumatic brain injury stemming from Iran's missile attack on a base in Iraq last month, with the number of service members diagnosed climbing to over 100.    

Already in December 2016, I noted, the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump as US president signified the end of Euro-Atlantic project as it had existed in the Western Balkans. The subsequent three years have borne out the truth of this assessment.

Flags fly outside parliament event at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDY RAIN

The Palestinian Authority has cut all ties with the United States and Israel, including those relating to security, after rejecting a Middle East peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Feb. 1.

Abbas was in Cairo to address the Arab League, which backed the Palestinians in their opposition to Trump's plan.

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Turkey on Jan. 27 urged its citizens not to travel China unless it is necessary.

"It is highly recommended that our citizens do not travel to China unless it is necessary and if they travel there, they should stay away from the regions where the [coronavirus] cases are seen, especially in Hubei province," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.