Eastern Mediterranean

Bono, the frontman of the Irish rock band U2, and a group of U.S. senators, paid a visit to a refugee camp in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep

Bono, the frontman of the Irish rock band U2, and a group of U.S. senators, paid a visit to a refugee camp in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep.

Turkey has denied claims by Amnesty International that it is forcibly returning hundreds of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

A Turkish diplomatic source talking to Reuters on condition of anonymity said Turkey had pursued an "open door policy" regarding the Syrian migrants who fled their country due to the more than five-year-long civil war. 

Amnesty International has raised serious allegations  regarding Turkey’s commitments to upholding human rights, according to German ‘Deutsche Welle’.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on March 23 called for Europe to drop its "geopolitical games" and unite behind efforts to fight terrorism, a day after attacks in Brussels killed 31 people.  

Putin's sudden announcement of partial withdrawal from Syria left us all stunned. Why would any leader withdraw his soldiers in the midst of a war? What is Putin after?

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on March 17 praised the fighting of Kurdish groups in Syria that have declared a federal region in areas of the country under their control.

The Kurds "have proven to be excellent partners of ours on the ground in fighting ISIL [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant]," Carter said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Syrian Kurds on March 17 declared a federal region in the country's north, officials told AFP, but both the government and an opposition coalition swiftly rejected the announcement.

The United States said on March 16 that it opposed Syrian Kurds forming an autonomous region in northern Syria but could accept such an arrangement if the Syrians themselves ultimately agreed on it. 

The number of businesses launched by Syrian refugees has reached over 600 in the southeastern province of Gaziantep with a rapid rise over the last year, according to figures from the city's chamber of trade, as reported by Anadolu Agency. 

The European Union asks Greece and Cyprus to offer concessions to Turkey hoping to seal a deal on sending back migrants, according to EU new proposal.