NATO

Turkey’s new role: How Erdogan is supporting Hamas, challenging Israel - opinion

The Turkey that once welcomed Israeli tourists with warmth has been fundamentally transformed. Under Erdogan, successive governments have strengthened the country’s Sunni Islamic identity...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes to revive the Ottoman Empire and his fundamental views are largely overlooked in the West. Here seen at a ceremony welcoming Pope Leo XIV to Ankara on November 27, 2025.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa hold a press conference at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany March 30, 2026.

Syria, Germany launch reconstruction committee, sign air transport agreement in Damascus

TOPSHOT-IRAN-US-ISRAEL-WAR TOPSHOT - An woman walks past a billboard displaying Iran's national flag at Enghelab Square in Tehran on June 14, 2026. US President Donald Trump said that a deal with Iran to end the Middle East war could be signed on June 14, and that the strategic Strait of Hormuz woul

The cancer has been named, the surgery must follow: Trump signals new era in Iran policy - opinion

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during an interview with Reuters at the 23rd edition of the annual Doha Forum, in Doha, Qatar, December 6, 2025

Turkey says it hopes US will lift sanctions soon, continues push for F-35 fighter jets


Syria pushes to gain closer ties with Western powers as it reaches meetings with G7, NATO, and WHO

The concept is to bring Syria into many key international organizations and to increase the country’s stability and investment opportunities.

Syrians gather to mark the anniversary of the 2011 uprising against the ousted President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria March 15, 2026.

Rubio cites some progress on Iran talks but says 'we're not there yet,' after NATO meeting

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States was in constant communication with the Pakistanis, who are facilitating the talks with Iran.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio give remarks at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Rubio tells NATO ministers Trump 'very disappointed' over Iran war stance

US President Donald Trump has criticized NATO members for not doing more to help with the US-Israel war with Iran, even threatening to withdraw from the alliance.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the press before boarding his plane at Homestead Air Reserve Base, Thursday, May 21, 2026.

US will send additional 5,000 troops to Poland, says Trump

US President Donald Trump said his decision to send additional troops to Poland was due to Karol Nawrocki's recent election as president.

US Army soldiers carry a simulated casualty into a MEDEVAC vehicle during NATO's Sword 26 exercise, which tests new battlefield evacuation methods using drones and AI-assisted medical technology in Bemowo Piskie, Poland, May 11, 2026.

Russian fighter jets intercept British RAF planes over Black Sea on two separate occasions

UK defense officials said Russian Su-35 and Su-27 fighter jets flew within six meters of British reconnaissance aircraft, triggering emergency systems in the most serious encounter in years.

A Russian Su-27, flies over the Black Sea alongside an RAF Rivet Joint aircraft (not pictured) in April 2026.

Syria building US relations while serving pivotal regional role - analysis

Syria knows that working on ties with Israel will be helpful because the US is very close to Israel and focused on Israeli relations currently.

A SYRIAN flag is displayed outside the White House following the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, November 10, 2025.

US plans to shrink forces available to NATO during crises, sources say

Trump's administration has repeatedly slammed European allies for not spending enough on their militaries and relying on the US for defense.

A German Army serviceman talks to US Army servicemen during NATO tests of the new counter-drone technologies in Pabrade training area, Lithuania May 15, 2026.

NATO not drawing up plans for Hormuz mission, top commander says

Any decision to launch a mission would require the approval of all NATO's 32 members, and several have already signaled opposition.

Gambia-flagged tanker vessel Bili is pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, May 2, 2026.

Belarus holds nuclear weapons exercises, says drills are not 'aimed at other states'

Belarus said the exercise would test the military's readiness to deploy nuclear weapons in different areas of the country.

A serviceman takes part in the "Zapad-2025" (West-2025) joint Russian-Belarusian military drills at a training ground near the town of Borisov, east of the capital Minsk, on September 15, 2025.

Putin’s peace rhetoric clashes with Russia’s battlefield actions in Ukraine - analysis

“That is not negotiation,” Smart said. “It is surrender language packaged as diplomacy.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 12, 2026.