Washington

This Thursday, NATO foreign ministers convene in Brussels to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the alliance's establishment, marked by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington on April 4, 1949. Central to NATO's mission is the principle of collective defense, wherein an attack on any member nation is considered an attack on all.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg refrained from providing a direct response regarding his proposal to establish a 5-year, 100 billion euro fund aimed at bolstering support for the Ukrainian military. The idea, which circulated through news agencies, remained unconfirmed by Stoltenberg as he entered a meeting of foreign affairs ministers.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that alliance members must guarantee long-term weapon deliveries for Ukraine, as ministers discussed a proposal for a 100-billion-euro, five-year fund.

Since U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visited Beijing last year, the world's two biggest economies have resumed regular talks and averted major escalations in tensions.

But the countries still trade barbs on economic issues as they battle for superiority in advanced technologies and work to secure critical supply chains.

Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis heads to Brussels on Wednesday to attend the two-day Meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs to discuss the war in Ukraine and security in the wider region ahead of the Alliance summit in Washington on July 9-11.

The two-day meeting will also include the NATO-Ukraine Council, in the presence of the foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.

Russia announced its efforts to remove the Taliban from its list of banned terrorist organizations. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on Tuesday that there are crucial matters to address with Afghanistan's Taliban leadership, emphasizing the need for dialogue due to the Taliban's de facto authority in the country, Reuters reported.

US President Joe Biden is set to host Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on May 9 in the Turkish leader's first bilateral visit to Washington since Donald Trump was president, US and Turkish officials said on Friday.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan will visit the United States on May 9, a Turkish security official said on Friday, setting the stage for his first White House meeting during the Biden Administration.

A delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives has engaged in discussions with Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Agency (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın during their visit to the capital Ankara.

The planned visit to Washington next week by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to attend the annual event commemorating the Greek Revolution has been canceled as it coincides with the conference of ruling New Democracy. 

Mitsotakis was to travel to the US on April 4 to attend the White House event where he was to also have a meeting with President Joe Biden.