Washington

Russia said Feb. 11 it was ready to discuss a ceasefire in Syria as foreign ministers gathered in Munich in a bid to kick-start peace talks derailed by the regime onslaught on the besieged city of Aleppo.  

Turkey's problem with the U.S. over the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of the Syrian Kurds, and its military wing the Peoples Defense Units, involves a dead-end for Ankara. Turkey has declared both groups to be extensions of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and wants its allies to declare them as terrorist groups too.

Outgoing French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Feb. 10 criticized the U.S. role in Syria, saying he did not see "a very strong commitment" from Washington.

"There are ambiguities ... You don't get the feeling that there is a very strong commitment," Fabius told reporters shortly before announcing that he was stepping down after nearly four years as foreign minister.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has publicly raised questions over the nature of bilateral relations with the United States, as Washington has not categorized Syria's Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) as a terrorist organization.

Moscow on Feb. 10 warned that Washington's deployment of a US missile defense system to South Korea could spark an arms race in the region.

South Korean and US defense officials said last week they would begin formal talks on the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) system in response to North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests.    

A representative office of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of Syria is to be opened in the Russian capital Moscow on Wednesday.

Russia's Foreign Ministry had earlier stated it could not allow such an office to appear in the country under current legislation, but an agreement was then reached that the structure would function as a non-profit organization.

Distress in Ankara is growing as more support is declared by Turkey's major ally, the United States, for the Syrian Kurdish group the Democratic Union Party (PYD). The Turkish government considers the PYD to be an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is officially designated a terrorist group by both the U.S. and the EU.

Turkey has summoned the top U.S. diplomat in order to protest Washington's latest statement that refused to call the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union (PYD) a "terrorist" organization.

The United States welcomes a Saudi offer to deploy special forces to support a coalition ground operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) inside Syria, the kingdom's foreign minister said Feb. 8.

The row between Washington and Ankara over the PYD shows no signs of abating, with the pair again disagreeing on whether it is a terror groupThe row between Turkey and the United States over the definition of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) has grown, with Turkey's foreign minister stating that allied countries needed to make up their minds as to who their partners were in the f