Washington

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky travels Friday to Berlin and Paris where he is due to sign security deals with the two European giants and seek further support for Kiev's battle against Russia.

Ukraine said Friday there was fierce fighting in the beleaguered frontline city of Avdiivka and that it was preparing new positions around the industrial hub as Russia steps up attacks.

Ukraine has rushed soldiers to the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka, surrounded on three sides by Russian forces, where the military said the situation was "extremely critical".

Russian President Vladimir Putin described U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Wednesday as more "predictable" than Donald Trump but said the Kremlin was prepared to work with whoever wins November's election.

A deal between Türkiye and the United States on the sale of 40 new F-16s to the former creates a window of opportunity for further improving the bilateral ties should the latter show more respect to the Turkish sensitivities in combatting terrorism.

NATO said on Wednesday that Europe had increased its spending on defense and the United States needed allies, days after former US President Donald Trump suggested that Washington might not protect countries that did not spend enough.

The Russian parliament has embarked on proceedings to vote on the country's withdrawal from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) come February 21.

In a significant diplomatic engagement at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headquarters in Washington, Bulgaria's Finance Minister Asen Vassilev engaged in a comprehensive discussion with Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, underscoring the nation's steadfast commitment to joining the Eurozone by January 1, 2025.

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Wednesday, Seoul's military said, part of a string of weapons tests this year that have accompanied increasingly aggressive rhetoric from leader Kim Jong Un.

There are signs of optimism in the Western Balkan, but the countries in the region are not closer to becoming part of the European Union, despite the bloc's investments, said Migration Minister Dimitris Kairidis on Tuesday. 

Whatever the result of the US elections in November this year, relations between Washington and Athens will remain strong, US Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt said during a group discussion at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank in Washington, DC on Monday.