Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on Monday for Europe to use its influence to defuse tensions in the Gulf where Saudi Arabia and its allies have cut ties with Qatar.

• June 26, 2017

By Eugene Kogan, Tbilisi-based defence and security expert

It should be remembered that Turkey’s relations with NATO were not as smooth as perhaps some experts wished to think, even before the failed coup on 15 July 2016. For instance, back in November 2009 the AKP government was adamant that despite Turkish soldiers’ participation in the ISAF mission they were not combat troops. Turkey's position at the time irked allies in NATO and the US in particular, and it has not changed since then. READ MORE

• June 24, 2017

The head of the U.S. House of Representatives' Russia investigation said on Friday he wanted a formal response from President Donald Trump to a request for records about conversations with fired FBI Director James Comey.

• June 22, 2017

A NATO F-16 fighter jet buzzed a plane carrying Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as it flew over the Baltic Sea, but was seen off by a Russian Sukhoi-27 military jet, Russia said on Wednesday, an account partly disputed by NATO.

• June 21, 2017

The United States and Iran have flexed their military muscles in unprecedented ways in Syria to deter attacks on their allies and interests, with Russia warning Washington on Monday it would treat any U.S.-led coalition planes in its area of operations as potential targets after the U.S. military downed a Syrian jet.

• June 19, 2017

By Benyamin Poghosyan, PhD, Executive Director, Political Science Association of Armenia

In recent months, Turkey has been facing increasing difficulties with key NATO member states. The United States' growing reliance on Syrian Kurdish forces in Syria as a key force capable of effectively fighting Islamic State and US President Donald Trump's decision to arm Kurdish YPG units placed additional strains on bilateral US-Turkey relations, which have been sharply deteriorating since the July 2016 military coup and with Turkey's unsuccessful efforts to organize Fethullah Gulen's extradition from the US. READ MORE

• June 17, 2017

The United States and Russia are quietly holding talks on creating a "de-escalation zone" in southwestern Syria, Western diplomats and regional officials said, but could face fierce opposition from Iran.

• June 9, 2017

Russia scrambled a fighter jet on Tuesday to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic Sea near its border, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.

• June 6, 2017