Continents

Libya's UN-recognized government on Dec. 27 bombarded forces and mercenaries loyal to military commander Khalifa Haftar, according to the media office of the Burkan Al-Ghadab (Volcano of Rage) operation.

Government of National Accord (GNA) forces shelled an armory belonging to Haftar's forces in Yarmouk district south of Tripoli.

Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar has said that Turkish Cypriots have repeatedly reached out to explore energy resources together with Greek Cypriots, but that the Greek Cypriot side has never accepted these proposals.

At this difficult juncture in relations between Greece and Turkey, the Greek-American community played its own decisive role in the adoption into law by the US Congress of the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act, known as the East Med Act. By doing so, it has strengthened the position of Athens and Nicosia.

Turkey believes that Tunisia will contribute to efforts to promote stability in its eastern neighbor Libya, Turkey's president said on
Dec. 25.

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban appointed Ion Munteanu as governor of the Administration of the Danube Delta Biosphere Reservation.

Any plan excluding Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean is impossible, and Turkey will not shrink from steps needed to stand with the Libyan government and its people, said Turkey's presidential spokesman on Dec. 24. 

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.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has invested 30.8 million Turkish lira ($5.2 million) in lira-denominated bonds of a top Turkish supermarket chains, Migros.

"The new Turkish lira-denominated bond will be listed on Borsa Istanbul and its proceeds will reduce the company's foreign currency exposure," the bank announced on Dec. 23.

The foreign ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia assessed progress made in trilateral cooperation and discussed recent regional and global developments in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Dec. 23. 

Parliament in North Macedonia on Sunday passed the budget for 2020, which the government insisted emphases investments in "human capital" through salary increases, while the opposition claimed it was no more than a "bribe" ahead of snap elections due in April.