Russia

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chair Hakan Fidan visited Libya on June 17 for official meetings.

The delegation met with the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.

Ankara, Moscow and Tehran agreed to hold a videoconference and then a face-to-face meeting on the Syrian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on June 16. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed the conflict in Libya and the situation in the eastern Mediterranean in a video call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Merkel's spokesman said in a statement on June 16.

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry on Monday evening criticised the Operative Group of Russian Troops, which is stationed in the breakaway region of Transnistria, for holding a ceremony to mark the recruitment of a new group of minors to the ranks of Russia's Yunarmia (Youth Army) movement. 

President Donald Trump said on June 15 he is ordering a major reduction in U.S. troop strength in Germany, a move widely criticized by members of his own party as a gift to Russia and a threat to U.S. national security.

"We're putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers,'' Trump said at the White House.

Turkey has made it mandatory for people to wear face masks in public in five more provinces as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, the country's health minister said early on June 16. 

Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that wearing masks is mandatory in Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Kayseri, Rize and Şanlıurfa provinces. The mask rule is applied in 42 provinces.

France wants talks with NATO allies to discuss Turkey's increasingly "aggressive" and "unacceptable" role in Libya, a French presidential official said on Monday, underscoring increased tensions between Ankara and Paris.

Turkey and Libya's internationally recognized government are discussing possible Turkish use of two military bases in the North African country, a Turkish source said on Monday, with a view to a lasting Turkish presence in the south Mediterranean.

Turkey, Iran, and Russia aim to hold an Astana summit via videoconference as soon as possible in order to take the necessary steps for lasting peace in Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 15.

The Turkish army's training and guidance contributed "very significantly" to the recent military success of Libya's U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), Turkey's defense minister has said.