Abdullah bin Zayed

The United Arab Emirates hopes to finalize a trade partnership agreement soon with Turkey in a bid to increase the trade volume, its foreign minister has said during a visit to Istanbul to hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Turkish ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Tugay Tunçer has taken office as of May 1 amid Turkey's recent outreach to the Gulf country, with which Ankara had been at odds due to regional disagreements.

Serbia is committed to raising relations with that country to the level of strategic partnership, Dacic also said, according to the Serbian government.

At the reception at the Serbian embassy in Abu Dhabi, Dacic said that the UAE recognized Serbia as an important partner in the Balkans, as evidenced by the number of successful Emirate companies operating in our country.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized control of nine areas, including the village of Dabiq, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Oct. 16, largely imposing border security between the Turkish towns of Kilis and Karkamış, the military said on Oct. 17, as the country's foreign minister said the next target was al-Bab. 

Russia said on Friday that it is open for dialogue with the United States on all issues of mutual concern, including the crisis in Syria.

"We have never avoided dialogue with the United States, and remain open for discussion of all issues of mutual interest, including Syria," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti.