european union

Moscow Opposes NATO and EU Troop Deployment to Ukraine

Russia is against the deployment of Western peacekeeping troops to Ukraine as part of any settlement to end the nearly three-year conflict, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said. Talk of the possible stationing of foreign troops in Ukraine to enforce any peace deal is circulating in Western capitals, with French President Emmanuel Macron and ...

Georgia’s New President Sworn in Amid Political Showdown

Georgia inaugurated a ruling party loyalist as president in the midst of a political showdown on Sunday, moments after Tbilisi's outgoing pro-EU leader declared herself the "only legitimate president". The inauguration of former footballer Mikhail Kavelashvili is set to further escalate a months-long political crisis that has seen huge ...

Ministry of Agriculture Condemns Israeli Attacks

The Ministry of Agriculture condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon's agricultural sector, including the recent destruction of the seedling multiplication project built in Wadi Houjair in 2020 with funding from the European Union and support from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). In a ...

Fifty Tons of EU Aid Expected in Syria on December 31

Some 50 tons of EU-funded medical supplies that were flown to Turkey from Dubai are expected to enter Syria on December 31, a UN health official told AFP on Friday. The supplies, which were sent from a European Union stockpile in Dubai, landed in Istanbul early on Thursday and were to be driven to the border in the coming days. "The supplies are ...

Jordan Foreign Minister Hold Talks With Syria's New Leader

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi expressed his country's support for Syria's reconstruction in a meeting with its new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Monday, in the latest visit to Damascus by a high-profile delegation since Bashar al-Assad's overthrow. It was the first trip to Syria by a senior Jordanian official since Assad's ...

Trump’s Shadow Looms Over EU Summit as Ukraine Appeals for Unity

Donald Trump loomed large over EU leaders Thursday at their last summit before he reclaims power in the United States, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying only transatlantic unity can "save" Ukraine. The upheaval in Syria after the toppling of Bashar al-Assad, and how to deal with the new leadership, was also high-up on the agenda of the ...

France Counts Cyclone Cost as Aid Reaches Mayotte

French authorities Wednesday searched for survivors and raced to supply aid as they sought to work out the full scale of the devastation wrought by Cyclone Chido on the Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte. France's President Emmanuel Macron will be in Mayotte on Thursday, his office announced, with officials warning of a death toll reaching ...

Zelensky Huddles With European Leaders as Trump Looms

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets NATO chief Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels Wednesday to strategise over Russia's war ahead of Donald Trump's return to power in the United States. This evening's gathering was due to involve leaders from Germany, Poland, Italy, Denmark, The Netherlands and the European Union's main ...

Zelensky and NATO Leaders Discuss Next Steps in Brussels

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets Wednesday with NATO chief Mark Rutte and key European leaders in Brussels to discuss "next steps" on Russia's war as Donald Trump prepares to take office in the United States. The gathering due in the evening was set to bring together German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish leader Donald Tusk, Italian ...

All (Diplomatic) Roads Lead to Damascus…

This influx appears oddly under the auspices of all the imaginable paradoxes that Syria embodies: international sanctions, foreign interferences (Turkish interventions, Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, etc.), and not least, the fact that talks are being held with the ruling coalition of rebels now in power, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham ...

UN Says ‘Ambitious’ Aid to Country Possible as Western Powers Prepare Return

The United Nations humanitarian chief said Tuesday that he was "encouraged" after meetings in Damascus with Syria's new leaders, saying there was a "basis for ambitious scaling-up of vital humanitarian support", as Western diplomatic missions prepare to return to Damascus. "Moment of cautious hope in Syria," Tom ...

EU Chief Holds Talks on Syria With Turkey’s Erdogan

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday began talks with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a key visit following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. The talks in the capital Ankara come after the EU Commission announced the launch of an "air bridge" operation to deliver an initial 50 tonnes of health supplies to Syria ...