North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had secured a pledge from Russia to provide comprehensive assistance if needed to ensure the security of his country in a phone call with President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15.   

Turkey on Aug. 15 slammed remarks by the presumptive U.S. Democratic presidential candidate calling for Washington to interfere in domestic Turkish politics.

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu said on Friday that any form of threat from the Russian Federation is "unacceptable," claiming that Moscow is "disturbed" that Romania is and is consolidating as the safest country in its region." "Any form of threat from the Russian Federation is unacceptable!

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he sent a letter to the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell ahead of a special meeting called at Greece's request, wanting to explain Turkey's position on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, according to the country's state-run news agency Anadolu.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu sent letters on Aug. 13 to European Union foreign ministers and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell about recent developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey's approach on the issue.  

The letters came ahead of a EU Foreign Relations Council meeting on Aug. 14 at Greece's request.

"Moscow calls on Eastern European partners to weigh the risks and consider the consequences of deploying the US military on a rotating basis on their territory," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

It is now about the emergence of a permanent military contingent of the United States and its allies in Eastern Europe in places they have never been before.

Turkey belongs to NATO, is a member of the Council of Europe and has been a candidate for accession to the European Union for quite a long time. As a result of these ties, Turkey benefits from significant funding from Europe, enjoys a customs union with the EU and participates in attractive European partnerships in education and research.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, North Macedonia this year decided against holding a traditional banquet to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the historic 2001 Ohrid Peace Accord which ended a short-lived conflict that year by granting more rights to the country's ethnic Albanians.

North Macedonia's president on Thursday handed a mandate to pro-Western ex-prime minister Zoran Zaev to form a new government after his party bloc narrowly won a July 15 election.

"I will lead a government that will not ... veer away from the road leading to membership of the European Union after obtaining membership of NATO," Zaev said.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the only solution to Turkey's dispute with Greece over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean was through dialogue and negotiation, and Ankara was not chasing any "adventures" in the region.