Mikhail Bogdanov

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has strongly condemned the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, according to Reuters. Following Haniyeh's death, which Hamas attributes to an Israeli attack on his residence, Palestinian nationalist and Islamic groups have called for a general strike and mass protests.

The temperature is soaring. The already incendiary region of the Near Middle East is one step closer to the danger of a broader escalation after the assassination of Hamas’ top political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran early this morning.

Russia's Foreign Ministry is actively engaged in negotiations to establish visa-free travel agreements with several nations across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, as reported by TASS.

Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Moscow on March 14, where he is scheduled to meet top ally Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Turkish, Russian, Iranian, and Syrian deputy foreign ministers will meet in Russia's capital Moscow on March 15-16 for talks on Syria, according to diplomatic sources.

Moscow hosted expert consultations of Russian and Turkish diplomats on Libya on Dec. 23, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Dec. 24.

The talks were held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Russia's Mikhail Bogdanov and Turkey's Sedat Önal headed the delegations, the ministry said in a statement published on its official website.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Monday that Russia, Turkey and Iran had discussed a possible meeting of their foreign ministers on Syria, which could be held in Kazakhstan's Astana in March, the TASS news agency reported.

Bogdanov also warned against escalation in the Middle East after Israeli strikes on Syria, the RIA news agency said.

Representatives from three guarantor countries - Turkey, Russia and Iran - will come together in Astana on July 4 and 5 in a bid to conclude works to establish "de-escalation zones" inside Syria and to detail peace monitoring mechanisms in the war-torn country. 

Russian-backed peace talks on Syria in Astana have been pushed back, organizers said on June 8, as key players wrangle over the future of fragile safe zones in the war-torn country.

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador in Moscow to demand explanations for the airstrikes Israel conducted near the Syrian city of Palmyra last week, the ministry confirmed.