Department of State

Despite praising the defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in the Syrian town of Kobane on the Turkish border, the U.S. has rejected a visa request from Salih Müslim, the leader of the party behind the Kurdish militia who fought against the jihadists.

Kurdish fighters' expulsion of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces from the  Syrian town of Kobane helped stop the momentum of the Islamist group but is not a significant turning point in the overall campaign, a senior State Department official said on Jan. 27.
   

The United States has refuted speculation that suggested it is considering changes to its long-standing Syria policy of prioritizing the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi resigned on Jan. 23, days after Houthi rebels battled their way into his presidential palace, plunging the unstable Arab country deeper into chaos and depriving Washington of a key ally against al Qaeda.
   

Bulgaria, a country playing a "central role in Europe's emerging energy picture", is becoming "the latest wishbone in the struggle between Moscow's efforts to to assert its energy dominance over Europe and the West's efforts to cage that gassy bear," according to Foreign Policy.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched an inquiry into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories, opening a path to possible charges against Israelis or Palestinians. 

The United States will ease travel and trade restrictions with Cuba on Jan. 15, implementing last month's agreement to begin normalizing ties with the Cold War-era foe.

"What is US Secretary of State John Kerry doing in Bulgaria?," a number of media outlets, both in Bulgaria, the region and the West, seem to be wondering, against the backdrop of a few important diplomatic visits this month.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif held intensive talks on Tehran's disputed nuclear programme on Jan. 14, returning for an evening session before handing off to their deputies, officials said.

The U.S. State Department has reacted to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an?s remarks criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?s attendance of the anti-terror solidarity march in Paris.

State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said she ?vehemently disagrees? with Erdo?an?s words that accused the Israeli prime minister of being hypocritical of Netanyahu.