Brussels

Migration is top of the agenda this week in Cyprus, with President Nikos Christodoulides calling for the EU to step in to help Cyprus deal with a surge in arrivals on its shores. Cyprus is pressing Brussels to designate parts of Syria as safe for returns of migrants, and also to condition EU aid to Lebanon on its preventing migrants from departing.

BRUSSELS - The head of Serbia's Mission to the EU Danijel Apostolovic noted on Friday that Serbia had made evident progress on meeting EU accession criteria and that the country was long ready to open Cluster 3 on competition and inclusive growth in its accession talks, which he said were "held hostage by unfortunate and grave geopolitical circumstances."

The European Union on Friday pledged a 270-million-euro ($290 million) financial package for Armenia as Brussels and Washington push to boost ties with Yerevan while its relations with Russia crumble.

BELGRADE - Serbia will send a non-paper to all Council of Europe (CoE) member states in which it will list facts and arguments against the so-called Kosovo's potential admission to the organisation, Belgrade-based Vecernje novosti daily reported on Friday.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has reiterated Ankara's expectation of full cooperation in the fight against terrorism from the NATO allies during the alliance's two-day summit in Brussels.

"We have expressed our expectation that all the NATO countries should fully and unconditionally support Türkiye in fighting terrorism," Fidan told reporters late on April 4.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters of New Zealand announced on Friday the country's commitment to bolstering collaboration with NATO partners to uphold collective security.

Türkiye opposed a trilateral meeting between Armenia, the United States, and the European Union scheduled for Friday in Brussels, saying Azerbaijan's absence would undermine the neutral approach to the region's complex problems and could fuel geopolitical conflict.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels on the sidelines of the NATO summit, diplomatic sources said Thursday.

Fidan and Blinken met during the second day of the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting in Brussels.

NATO foreign ministers have celebrated the alliance's 75th anniversary to warnings that Moscow was as great a threat as ever and concern over stalled US aid for Ukraine in its war against Russia.

BRUSSELS - The EU special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, said on Thursday "some gaps" between proposals by the two parties had been bridged in a new round of the Brussels dialogue earlier in the day and that he planned to continue the discussions soon based on EU ideas for compromise.