Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Saturday with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi at the ministry’s Makkah Region branch.The two officials discussed strengthening bilateral relations across various sectors, as well as the latest regional developments. Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati told Asharq Al-Awsat that Araghchi briefed…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited Ukraine to take part in “direct talks” on 15 May, hours after European leaders urged Moscow to agree to a 30-day ceasefire. In a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin, Putin said Russia was seeking “serious negotiations” aimed at “moving towards a lasting, strong peace”. Earlier on Saturday,…
US President Donald Trump said late Saturday he would increase trade “substantially” with India and Pakistan. “I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations,” he posted on TruthSocial after the arch-rivals agreed to a ceasefire after days of deadly fighting. However, since the ceasefire was announced, both sides have traded…
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that if the United States’ goal is to deprive Tehran of what he said were its nuclear rights, Tehran will not back down from “any of our rights.” Araghchi was speaking in Doha a day ahead of another round of planned nuclear talks between Iran and the…
A ceasefire in Ukraine must be implemented without pre-conditions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Saturday, warning that Moscow would face more sanctions if it breached it. “We support the proposal for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire. It must be implemented without pre-conditions to pave the way for meaningful peace negotiations,”…
Major European powers threw their weight behind an unconditional 30-day Ukraine ceasefire on Saturday, with the backing of US President Donald Trump, and threatened President Vladimir Putin with “massive” new sanctions if he did not accept within days. The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine set the start of the ceasefire for May…
Hamas’s armed wing released a video on Saturday showing two Israeli hostages alive in the Gaza Strip, with one of the two men calling to end the 19-month-long war. Israeli media identified the pair in the undated video as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on…
Iran is preparing to deliver in the near future launchers for short-range ballistic missiles that the US said Tehran sent to Russia last year for use against Ukraine, according to two Western security officials and a regional official. Iran denied it had such plans and dismissed the idea as “utterly absurd.” The delivery of the…
Russia said on Saturday that fighting had been taking place in four regions of Ukraine despite this week’s unilateral ceasefire by Moscow, saying its troops had been forced to respond to Ukrainian attacks. Ukraine says Russia has continued to attack it and has called the ceasefire a farce. It did not join the truce but…
Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng began talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent early on Saturday in Geneva in a tentative first step towards defusing a trade war that is disrupting the global economy. Bessent and He were meeting in Geneva after weeks of growing tensions in which duties on goods imports between the world’s…
Pakistan and India launched strikes and counter-strikes against each other’s military installations on Saturday, prompting US calls for the nuclear-armed neighbors to begin talks and defuse their escalating conflict, the most intense since 1999. Fears that the countries’ nuclear arsenals might come into play spiked when the Pakistan military said a top military and civil…
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire” after a fourth day of strikes and counter-strikes against each other’s military installations. Pakistan’s foreign minister also said both countries had agreed to a ceasefire “with immediate effect.” “After a long night of talks mediated by the United…
Russia on Friday celebrated the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, as President Vladimir Putin presided over a massive parade of tanks, missiles and troops through Red Square and welcomed over two dozen world leaders — the most since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Victory Day, which Russia marks on May 9,…
According to the Russian President, comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China are based on the unwavering principles of “equality, mutual assistance and support and unbreakable friendship between our countries and peoples” Russia-China relations have reached the highest level in history, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters after signing joint documents with Chinese…
President Asif Ali Zardari has reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to further expand bilateral cooperation with the Russian Federation in the areas of trade, investment, technology, and people-to-people exchanges. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 80th Anniversary of Victory of the Russian Federation in the Great Patriotic War, President Asif Ali Zardari highlighted the growing momentum in…
