Antony Blinken

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Washington was working "intensively" with its partners "to bridge the remaining gaps" for a deal to free hostages held by Hamas and secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

A Russian drone attack has struck the western Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, claiming at least one victim and leaving three others injured, according to a report by Reuters. The head of the Vinnytsia Regional Military Administration, Sergiy Borzov, provided this information.

The foreign ministers of the United States and Turkey discussed, in their meeting in Washington Friday, the Middle East, trade and investment issues, the Ukraine and other matters, and welcomed Sweden's accession to NATO as the 32nd member, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Saturday.

Miler's full statement follows:

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken that the situation in Gaza is grave and requires urgent attention as he called for an immediate ceasefire and uninterrupted humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.

Haiti's main port was forced to close Thursday as chaotic gang violence engulfed the Caribbean nation and the United States told the absent Haitian prime minister to enact "urgent" political reform.

Sweden on Thursday became the 32nd member of NATO, turning the page on two centuries of non-alignment and capping two years of tortuous diplomacy after Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered new fears.

Sweden on Thursday formally joined NATO as the 32nd member of the transatlantic military alliance, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe have spiked following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will once again call on the United States to stop its political and military support to the YPG, a terror group based in northern Syria, during his talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of the Strategic Mechanism meetings.

Turkey's foreign minister will visit the US on March 7-8 for talks on the Gaza and Ukraine wars and defense and energy, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Tuesday, as relations warm following a warplane deal and cooperation on NATO diplomacy.

The United States believes the Strategic Mechanism meetings to be held by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Hakan Fidan and Antony Blinken, in Washington this week constitute a very good opportunity for improving bilateral ties in almost all fields, including security, trade, energy and climate.