Teheran

The United States is going through an unprecedented crisis. In Greece, even during the worst days of the crisis, no one ever stormed the Parliament. Today, Trump supporters invaded the Capitol. This was the result of the President's irresponsible, extreme and violent populism. And the complicity of the Republican establishment that let things reach this point.

Greece supports EU efforts to deescalate tensions in Libya and supports the efforts of UN Secretary General Special Representative for Libya Ghassan Salame towards that goal, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said Friday, arriving at an emergency meeting of EU counterparts in Brussels.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias will be traveling to Brussels on Friday to attend an emergency meeting of the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council, called to discuss the crisis with Iran and developments in Libya.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry (MAE) sends its condolences to the families of the victims aboard the Ukrainian plane which crashed in Teheran, reads a message posted on the Twitter page of the Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on Wednesday, and the Russian leader urged Israel not to take action in Syria and to threaten its security. Israeli officials confirmed the call took place and said that Netanyahu told Putin that Israel will not permit Iran to set up a military presence in Syria.

Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu participated on Monday in Brussels in the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meeting, context in which the head of the Romanian diplomacy pleaded for the EU to maintain its attention and support, so that the process of implementing the Association Agreement / the Free Trade Agreement continue in the relationship with Ukraine.

The on-going North Korean nuclear crisis, in addition to the previous nuclear crises with Iraq and Iran, demonstrates that we lack a coherent, peaceful approach to respond decisively to major nuclear proliferation threats.

In all three cases, world leaders have wavered between war and diplomacy. The results have been suboptimal.

During the spy games of WWII, the result of the war was hanging by a thread. Gevorg Vartanian, a young Armenian who joined the Soviet intelligence circle through his father, proved to be a valuable asset, even when he was 16 years old. Vartanian’s father posed as a rich Persian merchant in Tehran for 23 years, having moved there in 1930 when his son was six years old.

During WWII, the Allies had a ship so jinxed, it destroyed itself by nearly destroying something else. And yes, you read that correctly.

The USS William D. Porter (DD-579) was a Fletcher-class destroyer named in honor of Commodore William D. Porter – a Union officer. Most just called it the “Willie Dee” – which wasn’t meant to be endearing.

Negotiations on a ceasefire in Syria are about to begin in the Kazakh capital Astana.